We've reached our 3rd stop of the Mariners reunion tour, as the Seattle Mariners have inked outfielder Endy Chavez to a minor league deal. Ryan Divish reported that Chavez expects to start the season in AAA, and is just fine with it. Chavez is 35 and played for the Baltimore Orioles in a utility outfielder capacity in 2012, managing just a .226 wOBA over 169 scattered PA.
Chavez last played for the Mariners in 2009 and filled in admirably for an injured Ichiro Suzuki to begin the season, until his year was famously ended by Yuniesky Betancourt being a turd.
The injury kept Chavez away from the major leagues for nearly 2 years, until he re-emerged with the Texas Rangers in 2011.
Chavez could never contribute much with the bat (save for 2006) but has always possessed a plus glove, and will act as an insurance policy in AAA. You could read into this and say this is a sign that Jason Bay will make the team over Casper Wells so that the team now has their backup backup CF, or you could say that Chavez is merely filling the Darren Ford role from last year. Either way, he joins camp today and it's nice to see him back without Yuni around to ruin his life again.