Mariners Sign 27-Year-Old Third Baseman Away from Guardians By Jackson Roberts Newsweek Updated January 30, 2026 2:32 PM We know that the Seattle Mariners’ starting infield will soon look different from how it did at the end of last season,
but we don’t necessarily know who the newcomers will be. Second baseman/designated hitter Jorge Polanco signed with the New York Mets, and third baseman Eugenio Suárez was still a free agent as of Friday afternoon. Seattle retained first baseman Josh Naylor on the open market and will continue to start J.P. Crawford at shortstop, but the other two,
assuming Suárez leaves, would be a lot to replace. The Mariners have a handful of young players they’re excited about as potential replacements for Suárez and Polanco, including two rookies from last year in Ben Williamson and Cole Young, plus all-world prospect Colt Emerson. But adding even more depth for spring training was evidently an objective as well. According to the official Major League Baseball transactions log, the Mariners signed former Cleveland Guardians third baseman Will Wilson to a minor-league deal.
The transaction first appeared on the log on Friday, but the signing was made official on Monday. Wilson, 27, appeared in 34 games for the Guardians as a rookie last year, batting .192 with a .511 OPS and no home runs. He was optioned to Triple-A on September first, failed to make the club’s postseason roster, and was outrighted off the 40-man roster at the start of November, making him eligible to elect free agency. Once a first-round pick for the Los Angeles Angels in 2019,
Wilson has had a roundabout journey to the big leagues. He was traded to the San Francisco Giants just six months after he was drafted as part of a salary dump involving infielder Zack Cozart, and after a slow progression through the San Francisco system,
he was selected in the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 Draft by Cleveland last offseason. Even if he’s not close to the top of the infield pecking order at the start of Seattle’s spring training, perhaps a change of scenery could help Wilson get his bat on track and prepare to contribute at the big-league level by the end of the season.
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