MLB Rumors: Former Yankees SS Didi Gregorius Signing MiLB Contract With Mariners

The Seattle Mariners signed veteran shortstop Didi Gregorius to a minor league contract Thursday, according to Stadium's Russell Dorsey.

Gregorius, 33, most recently played with the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna of the Mexican League, where he had a 1.208 OPS with 11 homers after signing with the organization May 1. His last stint in MLB came with the Philadelphia Phillies, who he was with from 2020 to 2022.

He was released by the Phillies on Aug. 4 of last year, despite signing a two-year, $28 million deal ahead of the 2021 season. He previously played for the New York Yankees from 2015 to 2019.

The Mariners' deal with Gregorius is still pending a physical, per Dorsey.

A native of the Netherlands, Gregorius got his chance in professional baseball with the Cincinnati Reds after a scout saw him play in a tournament in 2006 and the organization signed him as an international free agent.

He went on to have big league stints with the Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, Yankees and Phillies. But he was perhaps best known for his five seasons in the Big Apple.

All of Gregorius' best statistical campaigns came with the Yankees, particularly in 2017 and 2018 when he finished 20th in the AL MVP vote in consecutive seasons.

Arguably his best year came in 2017, as he had a career-high .287 batting average with 25 homers and 87 RBI, helping to lead New York on a deep postseason run, falling just one game short of a World Series appearance.

In 2020, he signed with Philadelphia but never quite reached the same heights, ultimately getting released ahead of the team's run to the World Series last season.

He'll join a Mariners organization that hasn't received much offensive production from shortstop this year. J.P. Crawford, the team's starter, is batting .240/.345/.340 with just three homers and 22 RBI in 58 games.

Gregorius will be looking to add a little more pop if he makes it all the way up to Seattle this season. The Mariners sit in fourth place in the AL West, 10 games behind the first-place Rangers and 5.5 games out of a wild-card spot.