SEATTLE -- At long last, the Mariners have signed a Major League free agent.

The club announced on Monday that it had agreed to a one-year deal with veteran infielder Donovan Solano, who will earn $3.5 million in salary with the chance to earn an additional $1 million in performance bonuses, according to a source.

In a corresponding move, left-hander Austin Kitchen was designated for assignment to clear Solano a spot on the 40-man roster, which was at capacity.

Entering his age-37 season, Solano possesses the defensive versatility to move around the infield, voids that the Mariners have long been looking to fill -- specifically, the right-handed hitter will be in the mix at first, second and third base, with the chance to contribute at designated hitter.

Solano spent last season in San Diego, where he slashed .286/.343/.417 (.760 OPS) with a career-high eight homers, 13 doubles and 35 RBIs in 309 plate appearances across 96 games, good for 0.8 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs, and 118 wRC+ (league average is 100). He carried a 21% strikeout rate and a 7.1% walk rate.

Solano won¡¯t add more power to the Mariners¡¯ lineup, but his hitting profile suggests that he could bring more contact to a group whose 26.3% K rate from 2023-24 was MLB¡¯s highest.

¡°Donovan has been among the most underrated hitters in the game over the past six years,¡± Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said in a statement. ¡°His veteran presence, consistent performance and positional versatility bring a lot to our roster.¡±

Solano essentially split his time at three positions last year -- first base (26 games), third base (32 games) and DH (29 games) -- after joining the Padres in early May from Triple-A El Paso, where he began the season after signing a Minor League contract.

He had a resurrection of sorts in 2024, given that he fielded no Major League offers into mid-April, when the Padres called with their opportunity. Solano began his season in extended spring training, then after 12 games at El Paso, he was promoted to The Show and forced his way into more playing time after hitting .410 with a 1.027 OPS in 45 plate appearances in May.

The Mariners will be Solano¡¯s fifth team over the past five seasons, after the Padres (¡®24), Twins (¡®23), Reds (¡®22) and Giants (¡®21). He broke into the Majors in 2012 with the Marlins, where he spent parts of four years before a one-year stint with the Yankees (¡®16). He did not play in the Majors from 2017-18, when he was in the Yanks¡¯ and Dodgers¡¯ organizations in the upper Minors, before finding his way back in '19 with the Giants. He won the Silver Slugger Award at second base in the shortened 2020 season.

At $3.5 million, plus the possibility of performance bonuses, Solano gets a nice payday in the late stage of his career, while the Mariners land a player that, on paper, fits their needs and budget. According to sources, Seattle has been operating with roughly $15 million to spend this offseason, with the ideal plan of adding two to three infielders.

But until Monday, the only position player additions they¡¯ve made to the 40-man from outside the organization were third baseman Austin Shenton (in a Nov. 19 trade with the Rays) and catcher Nick Raposo (in a Dec. 19 waiver claim from the Blue Jays). They also claimed relievers Tyler Jay (from the Brewers) and Hagen Danner (from the Blue Jays) last week.

Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander still have the financial wiggle room to make another addition, with the most logical fit at this stage in the offseason being a reunion with veteran Justin Turner, who remains a free agent and who¡¯d slot in nicely in the first base mix with Luke Raley.