Mariners Ink Scott Heineman to Minor League Contract
The Mariners have signed veteran outfielder Scott Heineman to a minor league contract. He reported to Triple-A Tacoma on Thursday night and was in uniform for the team's game against Reno, though he did not play.
Heineman was an 11th-round selection of the Rangers back in 2015 and made his debut four years later in Texas. He most recently played for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan and went 5 for 34 with a double, a walk and six strikeouts in 12 games. Before that, he appeared in 19 games for the Reds during the 2021 MLB season, running a slash line of .100/.206/.300 with a pair of home runs and a whopping 44.1 percent strikeout rate.
In all, Heineman has been a career .172/.249/.325 hitter through 68 major league games. He's registered 51 total innings at first base and has played all three outfield spots, spending most of his time (218.1 innings) in center field. Interestingly, that's where he's graded out the best in a small sample, notching two defensive runs saved to zero in each corner.
Assuming Taylor Trammell, who's hit .364/.444/.727 since being called up on May 22, is not sent down to make room for when the Mariners expectedly activate outfielder Justin Upton, Heineman should be able to get frequent playing time down in Tacoma sooner than later.
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