Outfielder who had middling performance with Guardians resurfaces with Mariners 

For 14 games, the Cleveland Guardians fans got a first-hand look at the Stuart Fairchild experience. And it featured some defense, lots of walks and lots of strikeouts. 

That experience ended up being a bit too much for the Guardians, who designated Fairchild for assignment at the end of June to make room on their roster for Cooper Ingle. 

Fairchild ended up electing free agency after that DFA, and left free agency earlier this week when he signed a minor league deal with the Seattle Mariners. 

He made his organizational debut on Wednesday with a 1-for-3 showing with a home run in the Arizona Complex League. That placement seems like an obvious tune-up ahead of an eventual move to Triple-A. 

Stuart Fairchild could get a big league opportunity with the Mariners

Although Fairchild didn’t get a ton of playing time with the Guardians, the Mariners may be the perfect spot for him given their abundance of outfield injuries. 

Along with having center fielder Julio Rodríguez on the concussion IL, right-handed platoon outfielder Rob Refsnyder is also on the shelf with a hamstring strain. They’re also without infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan, who has a groin strain. 

Refsnyder’s injury will likely have the biggest impact on Fairchild’s potential MLB timeline given they both have the same kind of profile as a right-handed hitting platoon option who plays solid defense. Refsnyder has been dealing with discomfort in both knees all season, and had to get injections in both of his knees. 

Quite an ominous update. 

And it’s not like Refsnyder was setting the world on fire before he got hurt (.133/.203/.239 slashline), so Fairchild could theoretically serve as a long-term replacement for him if he’s able to make a positive big league impression with the club. 

Fairchild was never able to do that with the Guardians, as he went 3-for-19 with 14 strikeouts and seven walks. 

That walk rate would be among baseball’s best if he was able to sustain it across an entire season, but his 51.9% strikeout rate would be among baseball’s worst. 

Fairchild has a solid skillset that could help him succeed as a fourth outfielder, but he was a bit of a net negative on the Guardians’ roster, which is why the team's front office decided to finally pull the trigger on a Cooper Ingle call-up. 

While the  Guardians picked up a huge series win over the Mariners at the end of June, both teams entered play on Thursday with 47-46 records, though the Mariners were in the lead in the American League West while the Guardians were a game behind the White Sox in the AL Central. 

Both teams should be in the center of the American League postseason picture all season, and Fairchild joining the Mariners means he could end up haunting them later this season. 

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow