The Mariners announced a pair of DFA resolutions this evening. Outfielder Cade Marlowe and left-hander Jhonathan Díaz each went unclaimed. Díaz elected free agency, while Marlowe will stick in the organization without occupying a 40-man roster spot.
Díaz lost his roster spot when Seattle acquired Casey Legumina from the Reds. The 28-year-old southpaw had been on the roster since Seattle selected his contract in late May. They kept him on optional assignment to Triple-A Tacoma for most of the year. Diaz made five big league appearances, including one start. He allowed six runs (five earned) over 9 2/3 innings, striking out eight while issuing three walks.
Before his Seattle tenure, Díaz spent parts of three seasons with the Angels. He has yet to reach 20 major league innings in a season. Over 45 career frames, Díaz has a 4.80 earned run average with a below-average 15% strikeout percentage and a lofty 12.6% walk rate. The Venezuelan-born southpaw is coming off a solid year in Tacoma. Díaz put up a 4.36 ERA with a near-23% strikeout rate and a strong 54.1% grounder percentage across 23 appearances. He only averaged 89-90 MPH on his fastball, but the Triple-A numbers will surely get him another minor league opportunity somewhere.
Díaz had the right to choose free agency because he’d been outrighted by the Angels in 2023. This is Marlowe’s first career outright, so he had no choice but to accept the minor league assignment. The 27-year-old has appeared in 42 MLB games over the past two seasons. Marlowe had a middling year with Tacoma, hitting .236/.342/.395 over 411 trips to the plate. He was designated for assignment as the corresponding move for the finalization of the Jorge Polanco deal. The Mariners figure to extend him a non-roster invitation to MLB camp later this month.
Diaz is kidding himself if he believes he’ll have a better situation than the spring training chance of being a rare LHP in a cavernous ballpark with a deadly marine layer and a poorly designed batter’s eye. Good luck on the White Sox, Jhonathan.
Why do I think Howdy Doody will pick him up and add him to the misfit toys in the bullpen?
You have to admire Free Agency. He works really hard on his campaign. Very studious, sticks to the key issues and never loses focus. Always makes a good presentation and never leaves room for doubt.
It’s no wonder he gets elected so often.
Diaz would make a good batting practice pitcher. Glad Marlowe is sticking around.