Donovan Solano Could See Time As Designated Hitter
According to Adam Jude of the Seattle Times, Mariners infielder Donovan Solano could see time as a designated hitter and occasionally at the hot corner during the 2025 season. The Mariners signed Solano in the winter to a one-year $3.5 million contract. He was expected to be used primarily at first base on the short side of a platoon with Luke Raley. However, given his strong play last season, the Mariners may look to keep his bat in the lineup more often. If he were to see time at DH, this could limit Mitch Garver's or Mitch Haniger's opportunities. If he were to shift to the hot corner, this could push Jorge Polanco down the depth chart. Last season in San Diego, the 37-year-old posted a .286/.343/.417 slash line with eight home runs and two stolen bases. For now, he should only be targeted in deeper formats, but could find value in standard leagues if he were to earn an everyday spot in the starting nine.
Seattle Mariners first baseman Donovan Solano is expected to join the team on Saturday. Solano has missed the early portion of camp due to visa issues. However, given that he only missed a brief period of camp, Solano should not be in any danger of missing Opening Day. Earlier in the offseason, the 37-year-old signed a one-year deal with the Seattle Mariners worth $3.5 million. Reports suggested that the team views Solano as a primary first baseman. Last season in San Diego, Solano made most of his starts at the hot corner but did see 26 opportunities at first base. Across 96 contests, Solano held a .286/.343/.417 line with eight home runs and two stolen bases. Fantasy managers should expect him to operate in a platoon role at first base alongside Luke Raley.
Seattle Mariners first baseman Donovan Solano has not reported to camp due to visa issues. Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times said the team hopes Solano will report to camp by Friday. Earlier in the offseason, the Mariners signed the first baseman to a one-year contract worth $3.5 million. In addition, reports in the offseason suggested that the team will primarily deploy Solano at first base in a platoon alongside Luke Raley. Last season in San Diego, the 37-year-old posted a strong .286/.343/.417 slash line with eight home runs and two stolen bases. However, he generated a modest .307 xwOBA, suggesting he could face some regression during the 2025 campaign. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his status during spring training. However, given that he is expected to be on the short side of a platoon, he will only carry value in deeper AL-only formats.
Donovan Solano Expected To Play Primarily At First Base
According to Daniel Kramer of MLB.com, Seattle Mariners infielder Donovan Solano is expected to spend most of the 2025 season at first base. Solano signed a one-year contract with the Mariners earlier this offseason. Throughout his career, he has been deployed at several positions in the infield, but it appears the Mariners view him primarily as a first baseman. As a result, fantasy managers should expect him to be on the short side of a platoon with Luke Raley throughout most of the season. Last summer with San Diego, the 37-year-old posted a .282/.343/.417 line with 13 doubles and eight home runs. However, he generated poor metrics, which suggest he could be due for some regression during the 2025 season. Solano should only be targeted in deeper AL-only formats, given his lack of power and potential for a limited role.
According to the team, the Seattle Mariners have signed free agent infielder Donovan Solano to a one-year contract worth $3.5 million. The 37-year-old spent the entire 2024 campaign with the San Diego Padres and posted a solid .286/.343/.417 line. He hit eight home runs, 13 doubles, swiped two bags, and held a 22:65 BB:K ratio. Under the hood, he generated a .307 xwOBA and 37.4% hard-hit rate, suggesting he could be due for some regression in 2025. Solano performed very well against southpaws last season, posting a .302 AVG and .443 SLG, which was much higher than the .277 AVG and .403 SLG he posted against right-handed pitching. During the 2023 season, the 11-year MLB veteran posted a similar .282/.369/.391 line with five long balls. Fantasy managers should expect Solano to compete for an everyday role in the Seattle infield.
Making a rare start, San Diego Padres infielder Donovan Solano went 4-for-5 with four singles and four RBI in Tuesday's victory versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. Solano has not gotten much playing time as a bench bat, but he has been productive when called upon. On the season, the veteran is hitting .314 with four homers and 25 RBI in 185 at-bats. Although those numbers are respectable, his limited playing time makes him more valuable to the Padres than for fantasy managers. Unless an injury occurs, the versatile infielder can be left on the waiver wire for now.
Minnesota Twins infielder Donovan Solano will start at first base for Game 4 of the ALDS against the Houston Astros. Solano is taking over for Alex Kirilloff against Jose Urquidy. Kirilloff will often start against righties, but Urquidy has backward splits in his career, prompting the Twins to go with Solano. Solano led off against lefty Framber Valdez on Sunday but he will be hitting eighth against Urquidy.
Minnesota Twins infielder Donovan Solano (knee) is once again not in the lineup on Saturday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Donnie Barrels will miss his fourth straight contest after exiting Tuesday's contest early with a right knee sprain. It's unclear if he'll need an IL stint or not at this point but it seems clear that the Twins are hoping he can avoid that scenario with some off days. The veteran infielder is slashing .278/.377/.402 with four home runs and 25 RBI over 310 plate appearances on the season. Rookie Edouard Julien is serving as the Twins' DH on Saturday while veteran Jorge Polanco is covering second base against Taijuan Walker and the Phillies.
Minnesota Twins infielder Donovan Solano's (knee) MRI exam showed that he has a mild MCL sprain in his right knee after getting injured in Tuesday's game. Nothing showed up on his ankle, but he remains sore on Wednesday and is not in the starting lineup against the Detroit Tigers. It's unknown how long Solano will be out, but the team doesn't view it as a long-term injury. It doesn't mean that the 35-year-old won't go on the injured list, but he should at least be back this season. He's considered day-to-day for the time being while the team waits for the swelling in his knee to subside. Solano is a much better real-life player than a fantasy one. He's currently hitting .278/.377/.402 with only four homers, 25 RBI and 30 runs scored in Minnesota.
Minnesota Twins infielder Donovan Solano (knee) left Tuesday's game early against the Detroit Tigers with a right-knee sprain. Before leaving, Solano went 1-for-2 with a strikeout to raise his season average to .278. He was replaced at first base by Joey Gallo. The 35-year-old Solano should be considered day-to-day for now, but this is the type of injury that could easily require an injured-list stint. Solano isn't much to look at for fantasy purposes, though, as he came into Tuesday's affair hitting .277/.377/.402 with only four home runs, 25 RBI, no stolen bases and 30 runs scored in 264 at-bats over 99 games in 2023 for the Twins.
Donovan Solano
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Mariners
