The Mariners announced that they have recalled right-hander Alex Hoppe. The righty will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. In a corresponding move, Seattle has designated righty Casey Legumina for assignment. Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reported the moves prior to the official announcement.
Hoppe, 27, was just acquired from the Red Sox in November. That was the Rule 5 protection deadline. The Sox apparently didn’t have roster space for him, so they sent him to the Mariners in exchange for minor league catcher Luke Heyman. The M’s immediately selected him to their 40-man so that he wouldn’t be available in the Rule 5.
He started the season on optional assignment at Triple-A and is out to a great start with his new organization, having thrown eight scoreless innings. Of the 30 batters he has faced, he struck out 12 of them, a 40% clip. He also induced grounders on two thirds of ball in play. He has issued three walks, a 10% pace.
That’s a small sample of size of work. Last year’s numbers were somewhat similar but not quite as impressive. He tossed 61 1/3 innings across Double-A and Triple-A with a 4.55 ERA, 26.4% strikeout rate, 12.3% walk rate and 54.7% ground ball rate.
His fastball averages in the upper-90s and he pairs that with a high-80s slider he has been throwing more than half the time so far this year, while also mixing in a cutter and a changeup. The M’s will give him a chance to see if his stuff plays against major league hitters. He has a full slate of options and can be easily sent back down to Triple-A if he scuffles, or just if they need some fresh arms.
For now, the roster casualty is Legumina. He made his major league debut with the Reds but that club designated him for assignment in January of 2025. The Mariners sent cash to Cincinnati in order to get Legumina. His first season with the Mariners didn’t go especially well. He made 48 appearances for the big league club, throwing 49 2/3 innings with a 5.62 ERA. His 25.1% strikeout rate was a bit better than average but his 11.4% walk rate was a few ticks worse than par.
Due to those struggles, he was sent to the minors a few times and burned his final option year, leaving him out of options here in 2026. That put him on thin ice in terms of his roster spot. Thus far, he has thrown 11 2/3 innings over eight appearances. His 4.63 ERA is about a run better than last year but his strikeout rate is down to 17% in that small sample. The lower ERA is mostly due to the fact that none of the fly balls he has allowed have cleared the fence, a fact that wouldn’t have been sustainable.
His velocity is also down on most of his pitches. His four-seamer averaged 94.3 miles per hour last year but is down to 93.5 so far this year. His sinker has gone from 93.8 to 93 mph while his slider has dropped from 81.1 to 79.7 mph.
Legumina’s struggles and his out-of-options status have pushed him into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so Seattle could take as long as five days to explore trade interest, but they could also place him on waivers sooner than that. If he were to clear outright waivers, he would stick with the Mariners as non-roster depth. Since he doesn’t have a previous career outright or at least three years of service time, he would not have the right to elect free agency.
Photo courtesy of David Frerker, Imagn Images
Mariners are telling players that when fringe players lose a game they lose their spot. Or just making room for a rookie. Never impressed with the Pea. Always was just hanging on. Go Ms.
He should’ve lost his spot like halfway through last year. This is coming way too late.
Last season Legumina could still be optioned back and forth from AAA. Now he’s out of options so a DFA was probably inevitable.
Good. Casey hasn’t been very sharp.
My favorite moment involving Casey Legumina was Christian Walker hitting a walk off home run of him last year.
Last night was rough. Not sad to see him go, unfortunately
Been waiting for this guy to get released forever. Comes into games and promptly gives up runs consistently.
Legumina will likely get picked up by the Cubs and then thrive. That seems to be one destination our failed middle leverage relievers seem to find themselves of late. Definitely not the worst 6th, 7th inning guy I’ve ever seen trotted out there.
Legumina has always been really bad but the Mariners do need a fresh arm either way.
This was Jerry’s way of MAKING Dan Wilson stop being bad at bullpen decisions. If he can make every guy in the pen a leverage option, then Dan cant screw up everytime.
You guys ride Dan for being bad at bringing in relievers. First every manager makes mistakes. Dan might make more than usual but remember he has little experience with relievers making the decision to bring in who. I for one think he is getting better and will excuse the likely mistakes.
“Dan, stop playing the guys I give you!!” How does Jerry escape your ire, but Dan gets both barrels? Weird.
Don’t take Legumina if you are allergic to Legumina.
Maybe he can be traded for a bag of peanuts.
Not sure who else was available last night but Legumina coming into the 8th inning of a tied game is not something you want to see. Let’s hope the M’s can pull another bullpen rabbit out of their hat this year.