Former Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Buddy Kennedy, who spent some time with the team in 2025, joined the Seattle Mariners on Sunday.
Kennedy can play across the infield, but has primarily played third base for teams during his brief stints in MLB. The 27-year-old played seven games with the Dodgers last season, recording one hit in 17 at-bats and tallying one RBI. He stepped into the picture to fill in for the injured Max Muncy.
He was one of two players to feature for both the Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays last season—the other being Jose Ureña—guaranteeing himself a World Series ring before a game had been played.
After last season, Kennedy signed with the San Francisco Giants on a minor league deal. He came up to MLB at the beginning of June and played seven games for them before they DFA’d him. He didn’t record a hit in any of his seven at-bats, and walked once.
Prior to his time with the Dodgers, Kennedy played with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies and Blue Jays.
Over the course of his MLB career, Kennedy has two homers and 20 RBIs, posting a lifetime OPS of .527. His longest stretch in MLB came during his rookie campaign with the Diamondbacks back in 2022, where he played 30 games with a .612 OPS.
Where Does Buddy Kennedy Fit with the Mariners?
While the Mariners picked Kennedy up, it’s hard to see immediately where he fits in the squad. Rookie Colt Emerson—who the Mariners extended before he even played an MLB game—currently mans third base and is having a decent season, and Cole Young has played a majority of the Mariners’ games at second this year.
Both Young and Emerson are left-handed batters, though, and Kennedy could provide some platoon support for the Mariners should they find themselves facing a southpaw on the mound.
The Mariners are currently one game below .500, and have fallen out of first place in the AL West after a rough stretch of games. Just two games separate the first and fourth place teams in that division, so they’ll hope Kennedy can make a difference and help them make their way back to the top spot.
One Response
I don’t think another,” has-been ” player will help our situation, we need our third baseman back off the IL. I liked Dan Wilson as a player, but he tries to be middle of the road, instead of going for it. Bad decisions on use of his Bull pen will cost us again this year. Need some fire at the position, not Milk Toast.