Mariners recall infielder who provided Guardians with feeble production in 2025

Last April, the Cleveland Guardians recalled Will Wilson as they navigated a variety of middle-infield injuries. 

A year later, the same thing has happened again — albeit on the other side of the country. 

On Monday, the Mariners selected Wilson’s contract from Triple-A as the corresponding move for Brendan Donovan going on the injured list due to a hamstring strain. Wilson didn’t appear in Seattle’s 6-4 win Monday night over the Athletics. 

Former Guardian Will Wilson finds new life with Mariners 

Wilson appeared in 34 games with the Guardians last year across two stints on the big league roster and slashed .194/.267.244 with four doubles, two RBI and two steals while spending most of his time at third base and second base. 

Almost all of his playing time came against left-handed pitching (.621 OPS against southpaws). 

Wilson’s call-up last season spoke to the direness of the Guardians’ middle-infield depth at the time, since Travis Bazzana was still at Double-A and Juan Brito was hurt.

Not only was he the best stopgap option at the time, but the Guardians didn’t need to worry about his service time since he wasn’t a part of the long-term picture. It was as much of a win-win as could be (given the situation). 

But the Guardians’ front office cut him loose after the season, and he quickly found a new home in Seattle on a minor league deal. He slashed 275/.383/.400 with one home run and four RBI in Triple-A Tacoma before being recalled.

While his current stint on the Mariners’ roster may not last long, this could be the start of him going back and forth between MLB and Triple-A since Donovan struggled with hamstring injuries throughout his career. 

That said, the Mariners also have top prospect Colt Emerson (who is signed to an eight-year, $95 million extension) waiting in the wings in Triple-A.

Although Emerson didn’t get recalled in this instance because he’s dealing with a sore wrist, it’ll only be a matter of time until he makes his big league debut. 

But until then, Wilson will likely be in a platoon at third base with the switch-hitting Leo Rivas, who has fared much better against right-handed pitching in his career. 

If anything, Wilson’s promotion to Seattle’s big league club shines a light on how much better the Guardians’ middle-infield situation is this season. While Gabriel Arias’ injury hurt, Brayan Rocchio hitting .286 and leads the Guardians in RBI, Brito finally broke through to the bigs and Bazzana is knocking on the door right behind him. 

Not to mention Daniel Schneemann is in the midst of a breakout month in his customary utlity role while Angel Martínez is finally settling into the outfield.

It’s not a perfect situation, but it’s clearly in a much better spot than last season.

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