Seattle Mariners Acquire Carlos Rivero
With qualifying offers due today, all eyes are on the guys who will have the chance to turn down over $15 million in guaranteed 2015 salary to chase an even more substantial payday. Nobody’s eyes were going to be on Boston Red Sox utility infielder Carlos Rivero, because why would they have been? But now some eyes, our eyes, are on Rivero, since he was just acquired by the Seattle Mariners off waivers.
This marks the Mariners’ first real acquisition of the offseason, as previously the only addition to their roster was Brian Moran, who was the Los Angeles Angels’ pick in the Rule 5 draft last winter. Moran underwent Tommy John surgery and didn’t pitch all year, so the Angels simply gave him back to the Mariners. Doesn’t count! So Rivero’s the first new Mariner.
Who is Carlos Rivero, you ask? What does he do? Why is he here? Well, perhaps the simplest way to explain him is this: Willie Bloomquist. Seriously, that’s it. He’s a 26-year-old Willie Bloomquist who only made his major league debut last season. He’s a utility player, and he’s here in case the M’s resident utility player gets hurt again, as he did in 2014.
Rivero has eight MLB plate appearances to his name, all coming last season with Boston. His slash line as a big leaguer: .571/.625/1.286, as he mashed a home run, two doubles, a single, and a walk during his cup of coffee. That gave him a WAR of 0.1, which, incidentally, is the same total ammassed last year by the one and only Willie Bloomquist.
Small sample noise aside, Rivero’s a fine depth piece who can provide defense all around the infield. He’s been playing affiliated ball since 2006, and has been jumping between AA and AAA since 2009. He’s not someone you want to have on your big league roster, but if there’s a need for an injury fill-in he’ll do just fine.
There will be opportunities for the Mariners to add high-end talent this offseason. Free agency hasn’t even started yet! In the meantime, there are depth moves to be made, and that’s exactly what this is. Welcome to Seattle, Carlos Rivero. I mean, Tacoma. Welcome to Tacoma, probably.