The Mariners have added a hitter who can undoubtedly punish a baseball. But the hard part is getting him to do it often enough. They claimed first baseman Michael Toglia off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds. The switch-hitter brings a 25-homer season on his rsum, recent minor-league production and a contact problem that follows him into another opportunity.
The appeal is obvious, Seattle gets a chance to work with a hitter whose power has already shown up against major-league pitching. But there's plenty left to fix before the Mariners could actually plug him into their lineup.
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Michael Toglia Gives the Mariners Power Worth Exploring
Toglia hit 25 home runs in 116 games for Colorado in 2024. That season his barrel rate ranked in the 98th percentile and his hard-hit rate in the 94th. He made sure to punish pitches that were leaking over the plate.
The more recent case for taking a chance comes from his 2026 minor-league season. Toglia slashed. .273/.373/.547 with 22 home runs. But his brief opportunity with the Reds didn't go so well. He logged three hits in 26 at-bats, no home runs and a .371 OPS. It's just a sample, however the larger concern is how consistently major-league pitchers
have been able to exploit his swing.
Toglia struck out in 32.1 percent of his plate appearances during that 25-homer season. Even with the power and a healthy walk rate, he finished with a 98 wRC+, slightly below league-average offensive production.
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Twenty-five homers sounds great until you look at the rest of the at-bats.
Seattle has a very specific task here. They need to find a way for Toglia to make more contact while preserving the swing that makes him dangerous.
The Mariners Still Need Bats They Can Count On
Toglia also comes with a health consideration. His season ended with shoulder surgery, adding another question to Seattle's evaluation heading toward 2027. The sensible approach is to give him a chance to earn a role and keep building the offense around dependable production.
Every now and then, you can find some production in a decent waiver claim. Good teams make these bets because finding an extra contributor can make an impact over a long season. Toglia's power gives Seattle a credible reason to try.
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The trouble starts when possible production becomes expected production before a player has earned that trust. Seattle cannot budget 25 home runs into next year's lineup simply because Toglia hit that number once.
His contact issues have to improve, and his shoulder recovery will be extremely important to audit before Opening Day 2027.
We should judge this move by what follows it. Add established hitters, create real competition and let Toglia's performance decide how much responsibility he gets.
The claim makes sense. Toglia has enough power to be interesting and enough recent production to deserve a look.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/mariners/onsi as Mariners Claim Michael Toglia as Power Upside Meets a Familiar Strikeout Problem
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