The Seattle Mariners made a roster transaction on April 14, calling up former .500 slugger Patrick Wisdom from Triple-A Tacoma, and placing struggling DH Rob Refsnyder on the Paternity List.
The move is currently temporary, with most players only missing around a week for paternity leave. However, if Wisdom gets an opportunity to prove himself, he could find himself as a mainstay on the big league club.
Refsnyder has been struggling at the big league level, while Wisdom has been mashing at Triple-A. Paternity leave might have come at the wrong time for Refsnyder if Wisdom can slug his way into a permanent roster spot.
Refsnyder’s 2026 Has Begun in the Worst Way Possible
The Mariners signed Refsnyder to platoon with Dominic Canzone at DH and serve as an emergency fourth outfielder. So far, Refsnyder has started four games at DH and one in right field. The Mariners signed him to do one thing: crush left-handed pitching, something he’s done well in his career. All five of his starts have come against left-handed starters, yet Refsnyder has yet to collect his first hit of 2026.
With a .000 batting average and a .158 OBP, Refsnyder has so far failed to do the one thing Seattle asked of him. He joins a long list of veteran right-handed bats the Mariners have signed to be part of platoons. Donovan Solano, who platooned at first base in 2025, was released midseason. AJ Pollock, who platooned at left field in 2023, was traded for scraps in June.
According to FanGraphs, Refsnyder’s 155 wrc+ against left-handed pitching from 2022-2025 ranks sixth in the MLB. How long will the Mariners wait for him to show that he can still be that version of himself?
Patrick Wisdom Has Been Good Before, and is Mashing Right Now
Wisdom, a former Cardinals first-round draft pick who was once part of the Mariners minor-league system in 2020 (though he never played a game for any Mariners-affiliated team due to the COVID pandemic), found success with the Chicago Cubs in the early 202os.
As a rookie in 2021, Wisdom blasted 28 home runs and finished fourth in NL Rookie-of-the-Year voting, slugging .518. In 2022, he added 25 home runs while playing in a career-high 134 games. In 2023, he slugged .500 in 97 games, hitting 23 more home runs.
Wisdom could have been one of the game’s best power hitters, but his batting average cratered from .231 in 2021, to .207 in 2022, .205 in 2023, and .171 in 2024. The Cubs moved on from Wisdom in 2024, and he wound up in Korea in 2025. There, Wisdom found his swing again, blasting 35 home runs and slugging at a .535 clip.
His power surge from Korea has so far continued in Triple-A Tacoma, where Wisdom landed in 2026. The 34-year-old has already hit nine home runs in his first 15 games as a Rainier and has a 1.145 OPS. He is putting up Barry Bonds-level numbers, albeit in the very offense-friendly Pacific Coast League.
Wisdom’s ridiculous power surge has forced the Mariners hand, and he’s a right-handed hitter who could theoretically fill the same role of the DH platoon that Refsnyder is supposed to be filling.
The next left-handed pitcher the Mariners face will likely be Rangers‘ starter Mackenzie Gore, who would be slated to face Seattle on Sunday, April 19th. If Wisdom is still on the roster, he’ll likely get his first chance to start against Gore. What happens if he has a good day at the plate and perhaps hits his first big league home run since 2024? The Mariners might be tempted to keep him over Refsnyder, at least until Wisdom cools off.
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