The Mariners have outrighted right-handed pitcher Pat Light, per a club announcement. That opens a 40-man roster spot, though it’s not immediately clear whether the team has plans for how to use it.
Seattle claimed the 26-year-old Light off waivers from the Pirates just under two weeks ago, though his stay on the 40-man was brief. Light has gone from the Red Sox to the Twins (in exchange for Fernando Abad) to the Pirates (for cash) to the Mariners all in a span of roughly 11 months.
It’s not hard to see the appeal of Light, who runs his fastball up to the upper 90s and averages nearly 95 mph on the pitch. He’s had no trouble missing bats in the minors and turned in a tantalizing 2.37 ERA with 9.9 K/9 against 4.5 BB/9 in 38 Triple-A frames last season. However, control problems have plagued the hard-throwing Light throughout his career (63 walks in 99 Triple-A innings), and he’s posted particularly unremarkable numbers in Triple-A this season. Through 28 innings between the Triple-A affiliates for the Pirates and Mariners, Light has a 4.82 ERA with a greatly diminished 6.4 K/9 rate and a still-problematic 5.8 BB/9 rate.
I didn’t even realize he was on our 40-man.