The Mariners announced this afternoon that they’ve designated right-hander Cody Bolton for assignment. Bolton’s 40-man roster spot will go to right-hander Jesse Hahn, whose contract has been selected from the minors. Left-hander Tayler Saucedo was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Hahn’s addition to the active roster.
Bolton, 27 in June, was a sixth-round pick by the Pirates back in 2017 and made his big league debut with Pittsburgh in 2023. That first stint in the majors did not go especially well, as the righty posted a lackluster 6.33 ERA (72 ERA+) with a 20.6% strikeout rate against a hefty 14% walk rate in 21 1/3 innings of work. While he pitched better at Triple-A Indianapolis, with a 3.86 ERA and a more reasonable 9.2% walk rate, that still wasn’t to convince the club to keep Bolton on their 40-man roster throughout the winter; in early November, the club traded Bolton to the Mariners in a cash deal.
Bolton’s time in Seattle went better than his time in Pittsburgh, but still left something to be desired. The right-hander pitched impressively for the Mariners at Triple-A Tacoma, with a 3.07 ERA in 29 1/3 innings of work that’s made all the more impressive by the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League. Strong as that work was, however, the righty still posted a below-average 4.34 ERA (85 ERA+) with a 20.5% strikeout rate and a 10.8% walk rate that were largely reminiscent of his time with the Pirates. While Bolton stuck with the Mariners on the 40-man roster throughout this past offseason, a rough start to the 2025 campaign at Triple-A where he’s surrendered three runs in two innings of work was evidently enough for Seattle to pull the plug. The club will now have one week to either trade Bolton or attempt to pass him through waivers. Should he clear waivers successfully, the Mariners can outright him to the minor leagues as a non-roster depth option going forward.
The departure of Bolton makes room for Hahn, whose debut with the Mariners will be his first MLB appearance since 2021. A sixth-rounder drafted by the Rays back in 2010, the 35-year-old hurler made his debut with the Padres back in 2014 and enjoyed an impressive rookie campaign where he posted a 3.07 ERA in 73 1/3 innings spread between 12 starts and a pair of relief appearances. His 10.5% walk rate was a bit elevated, but he largely made up for it with a strong 22.9% strikeout rate to post solid results in line with those expected of a #4 starter.
Hahn was included by the Padres in an offseason trade with the A’s that sent catcher Derek Norris to San Diego, and his first year in Oakland saw the righty continue to fill the role of a potential mid-rotation arm with a 3.35 ERA and 3.51 FIP in 16 starts. Unfortunately, much of Hahn’s 2015 season was wiped out by a flexor tendon injury, and when he came back to the mound in 2016 he no longer looked like the same pitcher. The righty posted a lackluster 5.59 ERA in 116 innings of work for the A’s over the next two seasons before being traded once again, this time to the Royals in a trade that brought back reliever Ryan Buchter.
Hahn did not appear in the majors for the Royals until 2019 due to a UCL injury that eventually required surgery, and when he came back late in the 2019 season it was as a reliever. The right-hander ultimately made just 29 appearances for the Royals over parts of three seasons, with a 4.62 ERA (105 ERA+) and a 4.81 FIP in 25 1/3 innings of work. Hahn hit the injured list due to shoulder issues back in 2021 and didn’t pitch again professionally at any level until 2024, when he latched on with the Dodgers on a minor league deal. He’s thrown 51 1/3 solid innings for the Dodgers and Mariners at Triple-A since then, and now appears poised to make his comeback to the majors. He was released from his minor league deal with Seattle just a couple of weeks ago ahead of Opening Day, but evidently re-signed with the club on a fresh minor league deal since then.
Making room for Hahn on the active roster is Saucedo, who served as a solid middle relief option for Seattle in each of the past two seasons with a 3.54 ERA and 3.79 FIP in 86 1/3 innings of work across 105 outings. Things have not gone well for the southpaw so far this year, however, with four runs allowed and more walks than strikeouts in his first three appearances. He’ll head to Tacoma to serve as optionable depth for the Mariners for the time being as he awaits his next big league opportunity.
What are the mariners doing.
When your player payroll budget is maxed out at 155M 35% of your players have to come from the waver wire where most are paid close to league minimum if they make the active roster! Ownership not willing to invest more money into team payroll has caught up with the Mariners big time at this point! The offense is anemic so the pressure on the starters to be near perfect is real..
No matter how good the pitching is you can’t win consistently scoring 3 runs or less per game! This team will be lucky to win as many games as they lose!
They should designate Wilson for not walking Adames in the 11th!
I sat at the game next to Tom Hanks and he was not too happy w developments. He go: “WILSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Bolton’s Bol’tin
We have basically no left handed pitchers at this point since Johnathan Diaz isnt good in the big leagues and saucedo is struggling so much to where we have to drop him for now
Is gabe speier healthy? He’s the only lefty I can think of now on the active roster
They only need one lefty reliever. If they find another who can handle RHHs, great, but Speier has looked solid and Sauce’ hasn’t.
And of course, Sauce’, Bolton, Hahn,…it doesn’t matter who’s holding that eighth spot. Seattle has been using their eight reliever more as a reserve, and both Brash and Taylor will tighten the ‘pen up eventually (hopefully sooner than later).
Tell me, how am I supposed to live without you?
Wow! Seattle didn’t DFA Bolton because he wasn’t good enough — they DFA’d him because MLB’s evolving roster rules are gradually making optionable relievers a liability instead of an asset.
Him being DFA’d uses an option. He is in fact now in an option year.
And FYI you were trying to make the exact opposite point just yesterday. In both cases you clearly show you have no idea the multiple possibilities being designated for assignment can mean….
@Tigers3232:
You’re wrong—DFA’ing Bolton doesn’t ‘use an option’ in the way you imply, and your misstep guts your argument. Fact: Bolton’s DFA (April 5, 2025) removes him from the 40-man roster; options only apply to active roster shuttling between MLB and minors, not DFA status. He’s out of options from prior years (per his Pirates/Mariners tenure), so Seattle can’t send him down without waivers—exposing your confusion. My point stands: MLB’s 2023 rule changes (5-option limit per season per player, 15-day minimum for pitcher recalls) make optionable relievers like Bolton (4.34 ERA, 10.8% BB) a roster clog, not a strength. Seattle’s cutting him isn’t about his stuff—it’s about roster physics. Hahn (35, no options, 51 1/3 solid Triple-A innings) and Saucedo (optioned to Tacoma) fit a leaner, less flexible bullpen model. Yesterday’s Lawlar take? Unrelated—prospect call-ups aren’t reliever churn. Your ‘multiple possibilities’ jab flails at basics you misread; Bolton’s DFA proves my case: optionable depth is a dying asset in this rulebook. Checkmate.
Players have a limited number of option years, once they are optioned that year becomes one of said years. That is how it works plain and simple.
When a player is designated for assignment they can be sent down if they have option years remaining, which in the case of Bolton he has one. Nowhere in the article did it state he was cut. DFA means designated for assignment, for a player with option years they don’t have a choice they are under team control
AGAIN you DO NOT UNDERSTAND what being designated for assignment means or the different possibilities depending on the player.
I favor the optioning of Saucedo to minor leagues. He has been shaky since last year.
“Strong as that work was” is NOT PROPER ENGLISH. You can’t just leave “as” out to begin the sentence. It’s not optional! Grammar is not optional when you’re being paid to write.