The Mariners announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of lefty Taylor Guilbeau from Triple-A Tacoma and placed right-hander Brandon Brennan on the 10-day injured list due to right shoulder inflammation.
Guilbeau, 26, currently ranks 22nd among Mariners prospects at both MLB.com and Baseball America. Seattle acquired the hard-throwing southpaw in the trade that sent Roenis Elias to the Nationals, and he’ll step into the Seattle bullpen after just five innings with the team’s Tacoma affiliate.
A tenth-round pick by the Nationals back in 2015, Guilbeau posted mixed results as a starter before enjoying greater success out of the ‘pen. Last season was Guilbeau’s first full year as a reliever, and after an ugly outing to begin the season in early May, he rattled off 35 1/3 innings of 1.53 ERA ball in Class-A Advanced and averaged nearly a strikeout per inning along the way. Control has long been an issue for Guilbeau, but he’s been better in that department in 2019. Through 48 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A, he’s worked to a 2.77 ERA with 10.2 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a ground-ball rate near 58 percent.
MLB.com’s scouting report on Guilbeau notes that the move to relief substantially bolstered his fastball, and he was throwing 95 to 96 mph in last year’s Arizona Fall League. In addition to an impressive fastball, Guilbeau has an above-average slider but draws more questionable reviews on his changeup and ability to locate the ball. The Mariners likely view Guilbeau as a pure relief option, and his proximity to the big leagues undoubtedly held appeal as well. Adding players either at the MLB level or close to graduating there has been a point of emphasis for the Mariners in their rebuild, and Guilbeau will now get an opportunity to show that he’s deserving of a long-term place in the Seattle relief corps.
The 28-year-old Brennan will return to the injured list after making just three appearances. The Rule 5 pick allowed a solo homer and a walk in two innings of work before landing back on the IL due to shoulder discomfort for the second time this season.
That’ll be 40 pitchers for them this year. Pretty sure that ties their own record, which with 6 weeks to go, they’ll surely break with September callups.
They’ve also got 24 position players, so will they break the overall record?
This guy doesn’t need to be very good and this will still be a really solid trade for Seattle.
You were literally talking Elias up left and right weeks before the deadline. I think they did just fine in their trade here but cmon.
Even if he’s below average, 6 years of a 26 year old reliever is more valuable than 2 1/2 years of a good 30 year old reliever for a rebuilding team, pretty simple logic. And that’s not counting the 20 year old flame thrower they also got in return.
Pure speculation but I have to think Brennan’s recent return to the injury list is a result of overuse during the first half of the season where he was the best RP in a bad BP. Although our pen has been poor all yr there are a few promising RPs for next yr- Austin Adams, Tui, and a healthy Brennan look like decent middle relievers/set up pitchers.