Mariners Designate Mike Kickham

The Mariners have designated lefty Mike Kickham, the club announced. Seattle needed a 40-man spot for the contract of Joe Beimel, who was promoted along with shortstop Chris Taylor.

Kickham, 26, was added in a minor deal with the Cubs this January. He has seen limited MLB action with the Giants, but did not crack the Seattle roster. Through 21 innings over five starts at Triple-A Tacoma, he had worked to a 7.29 ERA with just 5.1 K/9 against a troubling 12.0 BB/9.

Meanwhile, the Mariners will give the southpaw Beimel another shot at the bigs. He was a pleasant surprise to the team last year, but couldn’t find a major league deal and only rejoined the M’s after being released by the Rangers. Likewise, Taylor was quite useful last year — he posted 1.5 WAR  in just 151 plate appearances — and figures to share time with Brad Miller.