MITCH HANIGER NEWS

Mitch Haniger declines to exercise opt out, keeps $15.5 million salary in Mariners deal

Right fielder Mitch Haniger has declined to exercise his opt out with the Seattle Mariners and will remain with the team in a contract that calls for a $15.5 million salary next ye...

NOVEMBER 5 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

On base twice in rare start Haniger, drawing his first start since Sept. 18, went 1-for-3 with a walk in a win over the Athletics on Friday.

Impact The veteran outfielder has been relegated to spot duty down the stretch, as Friday marked only his sixth turn with the starting nine since the calendar flipped to September. In his 2024 return to Seattle, Haniger hasn't been able to approximate the level of production he flashed during the height of his first Mariners tenure, and he's now gone 13 games without an extra-base hit.

SEPTEMBER 28 • ROTOWIRE

Losing out on at-bats vs. righties Haniger will serve as the Mariners' designated hitter and No. 8 batter in Sunday's game against the Rangers.

Impact Though he'll be included in the lineup Sunday against Rangers southpaw Andrew Heaney, Haniger has fallen out of the mix for regular playing time against right-handers in September. Haniger failed to pick up a start in any of the Mariners' previous six games.

SEPTEMBER 15 • ROTOWIRE

Not starting Wednesday Haniger isn't in the Mariners' lineup Wednesday against Oakland.

Impact Haniger will be missing a third consecutive start Wednesday after recording just one hit over his last five games. Mitch Garver will serve as Seattle's designated hitter and bat seventh while Haniger sits.

SEPTEMBER 4 • ROTOWIRE

Resting Tuesday Haniger isn't in the Mariners' lineup for Tuesday's game against Oakland.

Impact Haniger is 1-for-15 with six strikeouts over his last five games and will now miss out on the starting nine for the second consecutive game. Cal Raleigh will take over as Seattle's designated hitter while Mitch Garver catches for Luis Castillo.

SEPTEMBER 3 • ROTOWIRE

Taking seat Monday Haniger isn't in the Mariners' lineup for Monday's game against the Athletics.

Impact After going 0-for-3 with a strikeout Sunday, Haniger will now sit down for the fourth time in Seattle's last five games. His absence will put Randy Arozarena in the DH spot while Luke Raley mans left field, opening up first base for Justin Turner.

SEPTEMBER 2 • ROTOWIRE

On bench Friday Haniger is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Angels.

Impact Haniger will yield to Mitch Garver at DH on Friday, marking Haniger's third time missing the starting lineup in four games. Friday's contest marks the first time in 2024 that Haniger hasn't been in the starting nine against a left-handed pitcher.

AUGUST 30 • ROTOWIRE

On bench Wednesday Haniger is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.

Impact With Cal Raleigh getting a day off behind the plate but staying in the lineup at designated hitter, the Mariners won't have a spot available for Haniger. The 33-year-old should crack the lineup more often than not when the Mariners face left-handed pitching, but Haniger's opportunities to pick up starts against righties may be more sporadic, especially now that Julio Rodriguez is able to play the outfield again coming off a right ankle injury.

AUGUST 28 • ROTOWIRE

Not starting Monday Haniger is absent from Monday's game against Tampa Bay, Shannon Drayer of SeattleSports.com reports.

Impact Hanniger will begin Monday's contest in the dugout after going 0-for-7 with two strikeouts over his last two outings. Justin Turner will serve as the designated hitter and bat sixth against Rays right-hander Ryan Pepiot.

AUGUST 26 • ROTOWIRE

Woo pitches seven strong innings, Mariners score twice in sixth and beat the Giants 4-3

Bryan Woo pitched seven strong innings, and the Seattle Mariners capitalized on two hit batters in the sixth to score twice and beat the San Francisco Giants 4-3 on Sunday

AUGUST 25 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Belts pinch-hit homer Wednesday Haniger entered a loss to the Dodgers on Wednesday as a pinch hitter in the top of the ninth inning and hit a solo home run in his only at-bat.

Impact The veteran outfielder had returned to the starting lineup Tuesday following a one-game absence due to a quadriceps injury and had gone 0-for-4, but he delivered in the clutch off the bench a day later. However, Haniger's blast only served to get the Mariners halfway to Los Angeles' eight-run total and turned out to be the final run of the night for Seattle. The solo shot did snap an 11-game homer-drought for the 33-year-old, whose .353 slugging percentage remains a career low.

AUGUST 22 • ROTOWIRE

In Tuesday's lineup Haniger (quad) will start in right field and bat seventh Tuesday against the Dodgers.

Impact Haniger was forced to make an early exit from Saturday's game due to a quad injury, but he was available off the bench Monday and will now return to the starting nine Tuesday. The 33-year-old has begun to heat up lately, slashing .256/.293/.436 with two homers and eight RBI across 41 plate appearances since the start of August.

AUGUST 20 • ROTOWIRE

Inching closer to full strength Haniger (quad) is being considered day-to-day and was available to pinch hit Monday night against the Dodgers, Kyle Glaser of The Associated Press reports.

Impact The Mariners didn't call upon Haniger to pinch hit in the series opener, but the fact that he was available off the bench is a positive sign. The outfielder suffered a quad injury during Saturday's game against the Pirates and hasn't seen any action since.

AUGUST 20 • ROTOWIRE

Rare multi-hit effort Saturday Haniger went 2-for-2 with a run in a loss to the Pirates on Saturday before being removed from the game in the fourth inning with a quadriceps injury.

Impact Haniger's multi-hit effort was his first since Aug. 3. The veteran outfielder has started to show some signs of climbing out of his season-long funk this month, now carrying a .256 average and .729 OPS across 41 August plate appearances, albeit while striking out at an elevated 34.1 percent clip over that span. Haniger's timely hitting has seen an uptick during the sample, however, as he's delivered eight RBI with the help of a pair of home runs.

AUGUST 18 • ROTOWIRE

Squeezed out of lineup Haniger is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Tigers.

Impact Haniger had started in all but two of the Mariners' previous 18 games, but he'll hit the bench Thursday and looks like he could be at risk of losing hold of his near-everyday role with both Dominic Canzone and Julio Rodriguez recently making returns from the injured list. Canzone will start in right field Thursday, while Rodriguez is out of the lineup after aggravating a right ankle injury Wednesday, though the Mariners don't believe the 23-year-old will have to return to the IL. Assuming Rodriguez is back in action in short order as the Mariners' primary designated hitter, Haniger may have to settle for the short side of a platoon in the outfield with the lefty-hitting Canzone.

AUGUST 15 • ROTOWIRE

Mariners take on the Mets on home winning streak

The Seattle Mariners host the New York Mets aiming to continue a three-game home winning streak

AUGUST 11 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Game-winning knock Thursday Haniger went 1-for-4 with a game-winning three-run double in a win over the Tigers on Thursday.

Impact Haniger stepped to the plate with two out and the bases loaded in the ninth and delivered handsomely, lacing a double to right field that just got past the glove of Ryan Vilade and skipped to the wall. The bases-clearing knock gave the Mariners the win and pushed Haniger's RBI total to six over the last six games. The timely hit also snapped a brief 0-for-9 three-game funk for Haniger, who, despite Thursday's heroics, is still limping along with a .208 average and .644 OPS across 98 games this season.

AUGUST 9 • ROTOWIRE

Mitch Haniger comes through again for Mariners with walk-off double against Tigers SEATTLE - When his bases-loaded walk beat the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night, Mitch Haniger...

AUGUST 9 • NEWSOBSERVER.COM

Mitch Haniger gives Mariners walk-off win over Tigers Mitch Haniger lined a three-run double to right field with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Seattle Mariners a 4-3 vic...

AUGUST 9 • NEWSOBSERVER.COM

Mitch Haniger gives Mariners walk-off win over Tigers Mitch Haniger lined a three-run double to right field with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Seattle Mariners a 4-3 vic...

AUGUST 9 • THESTATE.COM

Haniger hits 3-run double in ninth to rally Mariners to 4-3 win over Tigers

Mitch Haniger hit a game-ending three-run double as the Seattle Mariners rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 4-3

AUGUST 9 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Mariners' Mitch Haniger feeling hot entering series with Tigers Mitch Haniger had a premonition.Shortly after the All-Star break, the struggling Seattle Mariners outfielder approached manager Scott Servai...

AUGUST 6 • NEWSOBSERVER.COM

Plays hero in Saturday's win Haniger went 2-for-3 with two RBI from a solo home run and a game-winning bases-loaded walk while adding another base on balls and an additional run in an extra-inning victory over...

Impact Haniger was responsible for the Mariners' first and final runs of the night, accomplishing the former with his 11th home run of the season in the fifth to start a comeback from a 5-0 deficit. It was Haniger's second straight game leaving the yard after having homered just once in the previous 13 contests, and it also extended his on-base streak to eight consecutive starts. Haniger's plate discipline also paid off in the 10th when he pushed the game-winning run across with his second walk of the night, and he's looked much more like his typically reliable self of late by forging a .286 average and 1.087 OPS across the 36 plate appearances covering his last nine games.

AUGUST 4 • ROTOWIRE

Mitch Haniger's Offensive Turnaround is at Least Partially Credit to Justin Turner, He Says Haniger’s offense looks nothing like it did in the first half of the season.

AUGUST 4 • STAR-TELEGRAM.COM

Mitch Haniger Matches Seattle Mariners History in Comeback Victory on Saturday The Seattle Mariners rallied for an improbable victory on Saturday night, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 6-5 in 10 innings. The M's trail...

AUGUST 4 • SI.COM