The Mariners announced they have claimed OF Canaan Smith-Njigba off waivers from the Pirates. Smith-Njigba is the older brother of Seahawks rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (who has my same birthday! Happy almost birthday, birthday twin!).
The baseball-playing Smith-Njigba was drafted in the fourth round of the 2017 Draft by the Yankees, but flipped to the Pirates in 2021 as part of the Jameson Taillon trade. If you follow the AFL, Smith-Njigba was a Javelina that fall, joining Mariners Zach DeLoach and Cade Marlowe in Peoria’s lineup. He’d go on to make his debut for the Pirates in June of 2022, but his first season was interrupted with a right wrist fracture just two days in.