Mariners Add Connor Joe Before Curtis Washington Jr. Could Even Unpack His Bags

Poor Curtis Washington Jr. Sort of. Of course he knew the call-up was probably temporary. But still, it’s a shame they couldn’t let the guy breathe. At least he had the opportunity to put on the Mariners uniform, sit in the dugout, hang around the guys, and probably have the coolest day of his baseball life.

And the Mariners couldn’t even give him a blowout inning against the Orioles. Not a pinch-hit cameo or a ceremonial “go stand in left field and don’t let anything weird happen” moment.

Instead Connor Joe was called before Washington could even order room service. The Mariners announced Wednesday that they recalled Joe from Triple-A Tacoma and optioned Washington back to High-A Everett after the June 16 game. Hopefully the mountain was for his drive.

Curtis Washington Jr.’s Mariners Call-Up Was Strange From the Start

Washington’s call-up was always a little weird. But it was only about logistics. The Mariners needed an emergency guy and the Rainiers were in Salt Lake City. Clearly couldn’t get one of those guys on a plane fast enough.

That’s not an intentional shot at Washington. However, it’s likely his .190 batting average in High-A wasn’t going to translate well at the major league level.

Still, there was something kind of fun about it. Even if it was only for a day. Washington got to have his name blow up on Twitter and in Google search. A bunch of Mariners fans know who he is now. And if he ever gets the call again, maybe in September when/if the Mariners are way up in the division, we’ll get to see him take some hacks in T-Mobile Park.

This kind of makes the whole Connor Joe follow-up funny. He’s a welcome sight after the Mariners were forced to start Miles Mastrobuoni at first base, which took us right back to 2022, when Sam Haggerty had a giant mitt over there while covering for Ty France. No one wanted to see it, and yet, somehow, it wasn’t a disaster. With Josh Naylor day-to-day, Joe filling in at first base almost feels like a breath of fresh air, all things considered.

Joe makes more practical sense for what Seattle needs right now. He’s already on the 40-man roster. He actually has major-league experience. And he can move around. In 18 games with Seattle this season, he’s hitting .182 with one home run, three RBI, two doubles, two stolen bases and six walks. In 24 games with Triple-A Tacoma, he was hitting .242 with seven doubles, two homers, nine RBI and nine walks. None of that says he’ll survive a roster crunch when Brendan Donovan inevitably returns. But his job is literally just being a serviceable bench piece.

Either way, poor Curtis Washington Jr. And yet, good for Curtis Washington Jr. He can say he was a Mariner once. Now go use Funko Field as a launching pad so you can get a real call-up next time.

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