Seattle Mariners Outfielder Trains With Juan Soto in Dominican Republic
With a little over a month until pitchers and catchers are expected to report to Spring Training, many Seattle Mariners players have been seen in videos posted on social media preparing for the 2025 regular season.
Mariners starting pitcher Bryce Miller shared video in late December of him throwing his first bullpen of the offseason and starting shortstop JP Crawford posted some footage of him getting some work in at the Driveline training facility.
And Seattle outfielder Victor Robles recently shared video of him training with baseball's $765 million man.
A video posted to "X" (formerly known as Twitter) by Ben Ranieri (@BenRanieri10) showed Robles, Juan Soto and other players working out in the Dominican Republic.
Victor Robles and Juan Soto training together this offseason pic.twitter.com/AaMLyzjvmC
— Ben Ranieri (@BenRanieri10) January 2, 2025
Robles and Soto were both originally signed as international free agents out of the Dominican Republic and were teammates for several years with the Washington Nationals.
Both players earned a World Series ring playing for the Nationals in 2019 and were both considered top five prospects in baseball when they were working their way through the minors.
Since that World Series, both players have experienced vastly different career paths. Soto was traded by Washington to the San Diego Padres in 2022.
The Padres re-tooled their major league roster and pitching staff with a blockbuster deal that sent Soto to the New York Yankees on Dec. 7, 2023. Soto elected free agency after helping lead the Yankees to an American League pennant and became the highest paid player in baseball history after signing his 15-year, $765 million deal with the New York Mets this offseason.
JUAN SOTO THREE RUN HOME RUN IN THE 10TH!!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/Tj4b5CuM4T
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) October 20, 2024
Robles was cut by the Nationals on June 1 this past year but signed with the Mariners three days later. He saw a career resurgence where he carved out a starting role in the team's outfield and became the lead-off hitter for the team during their spirited, albeit unsuccessful, postseason push to end the season. He earned a two-year, $9.75 million extension with a $9 million club option for 2027.
Victor Robles has a 181 wRC+ as a Mariner. Chills
— Steve (@MarinersSteve) June 15, 2024
(check sample size if you’re a hater) pic.twitter.com/Dj0YSHMoRq
Soto and Robles have both defied expectations for different reasons. But despite not being on the same team anymore and being well past the prospect stage, they're still working together before beginning new chapters of their careers.
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