The Mariners have agreed to a minor league deal with utilityman Alen Hanson, per an announcement from their player development department. Hanson, a client of Daniel Szew’s L.A. Sports Management, will report to Triple-A Tacoma.
Hanson, 28, signed a similar deal with the Mariners prior to the 2020 season, though that arrangement was impacted by the lack of a minor league season in 2020. He’ll now return to the Mariners and give them some depth both around the infield and in the outfield.
The last big league appearance for Hanson came with the 2019 Blue Jays, for whom he posted a .163/.229/.163 slash in a small sample of 48 plate appearances. That marked Hanson’s fourth season with some big league time, as he’s also had stints with the Pirates, White Sox and Giants.
At one point, Hanson was considered one of the top prospects in the game. Baseball America rated him as a Top 75 prospect in 2013-14, while MLB.com had him ranked among the game’s 100 best farmhands each year from 2013-15. Unfortunately for Hanson and for the Pirates, who signed and developed him, the results have never been there at the MLB level.
Hanson did rack up 30 extra-base hits in a career-high 310 plate appearances for the 2018 Giants, but his overall .232/.266/.368 line in 625 plate appearances as a Major Leaguer has been lacking. He’s had better results in the upper minors and has logged at least 180 innings at every position on the field other than first base, catcher and pitcher, so he’ll give the M’s some depth at multiple spots.