Mariners Sign Pat Valaika To Minor League Deal

The Mariners signed infielder Pat Valaika to a minor league deal last week. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Tacoma, where he made his season debut over the weekend.

A right-handed hitter, Valaika has appeared in parts of six big league campaigns. He got to the highest level each season between 2016-21, suiting up for the Rockies and Orioles. Valaika set a career mark with 281 plate appearances for Baltimore in 2021 but struggled to a .201/.250/.290 slash that season. For his career, he carries a .221/.264/.378 line with 30 home runs and a lofty 27.2% strikeout rate over 864 plate appearances.

Last season, the UCLA product spent the year in the Braves’ system. He got into 114 games for their top affiliate in Gwinnett, putting up a .242/.303/.368 mark with a reasonable 20.6% strikeout percentage in 466 trips to the dish. He never got an MLB call from Atlanta and returned to minor league free agency over the offseason.

Valika has extensive experience throughout the infield. He’s capable of playing anywhere on the dirt, though public metrics have been lukewarm on his shortstop performance. He’ll bring a fair bit of experience and defensive flexibility to the upper minors in Seattle and adds another righty-swinging utility bat to the mix.

Dylan Moore is on the injured list, pushing the switch-hitting Sam Haggerty into a complementary role to the lefty-swinging Kolten Wong at second base. The M’s acquired Nick Solak in a trade with the Reds last week and have him on optional assignment to Tacoma. Valaika and Mason McCoy are among the non-roster depth players in the organization.