SUNDAY: Seattle has outrighted Machi to Triple-A, the team announced.
SATURDAY: The Mariners have announced that they’ve designated righty Jean Machi for assignment and selected the contract of fellow righty Ryan Weber from Triple-A Tacoma. Weber will start against the Blue Jays today.
The Mariners selected Machi’s contract just last week with the idea that he’d provide help for their bullpen. He did just that, allowing only two runs (one earned) over 7 1/3 innings, although he walked four batters and struck out just four. He also pitched 2 1/3 of those innings yesterday and therefore would probably not have been much help today, as Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune points out. The Mariners also plan to have fellow reliever Steve Cishek return from the disabled list in the coming days. It was the 35-year-old Machi’s first stint in the big leagues since 2015, when he pitched 58 innings for the Giants and Red Sox.
Weber will attempt to help a Mariners rotation that has lately been decimated by injuries to Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, James Paxton and Drew Smyly, becoming the ninth starter to take the hill for Seattle this season. The only two healthy starters remaining from the team’s Opening Day 25-man (which itself didn’t include Smyly, who has missed the entire season thus far with elbow trouble) are Yovani Gallardo and Ariel Miranda.
The 26-year-old Weber made seven starts over parts of the 2015 and 2016 campaigns with the Braves. He had an 0.85 ERA and just 1.1 BB/9 in 31 2/3 innings with Tacoma, although with a modest 5.4 K/9.
Given all the call ups, I wonder how many of Tacoma’s Opening Day rotation remain in Tacoma?
When will Whalen or Moore get a chance? I’m guessing they have to be the next ones up as I think there the only ones left in Tacoma that haven’t been up yet.
Oh and I forgot to add Dylan Unsworth.
Unsworth is in AA and not pitching good. Moore has one AAA start and they’re not going to waste service time at this point. Whalen is a reliever, was up last week, and has to spend 10 days in the majors before eligible to be recalled.
And now Weber left today’s game with an injury.