The Mariners announced that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder John Andreoli from Triple-A Tacoma and optioned right-hander Dan Altavilla to Tacoma in his place. Seattle had an open spot on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding move in that regard wasn’t required.
Andreoli, 28 in early June, will be making his first appearance in the Majors after spending seven seasons in the Cubs’ minor league ranks. He inked a minor league pact with Seattle back in December and has gotten off to a strong .294/.353/.452 start in Triple-A, where he hit three homers, seven doubles and two triples while also going 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts.
While Andreoli never ranked as one of the Cubs’ very best prospects, he has a history of strong performances and solid on-base tendencies in the minors, as evidenced by a career .261/.364/.414 slash in parts of four Triple-A seasons. Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen gave him an honorable mention on last year’s ranking of the Cubs’ prospects, calling him a plus runner “with an awkward swing but a terrific feel for the strike zone.” Indeed, Andreoli has walked in 13.2 percent of his career plate appearances in Triple-A.
[Related: Updated Seattle Mariners depth chart]
The addition of Andreoli will give the Mariners some needed depth in the outfield as the team’s roster is left reeling in the wake of last week’s suspension for Robinson Cano and this week’s announcement that Dee Gordon will miss at least 10 days due to a fractured toe. With Gordon and Cano out of the lineup, the Mariners will lean on Ben Gamel, Guillermo Heredia and Mitch Haniger in the outfield, with Gordon Beckham and Andrew Romine getting action at second base. Andreoli can handle all three outfield spots, which should give manager Scott Servais a bit of flexibility when writing out the lineup card.
As for Altavilla, he’ll look to get back on track in Tacoma after an uneven start to the season. The hard-throwing 25-year-old is currently sporting a solid 3.24 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings of work, but he’s also issued a dozen walks and thrown four wild pitches.
Always liked this guy while he was with the Smokies and Iowa. He’s nothing more than 4th or 5th OF, but its cool to see him finally get the call.
Another guy whom the Cubbies wouldn’t use because they’re trying to win…..
And they won. Try again, idiot.