Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Casey Lawrence

Mariners Designate Casey Lawrence, Activate Trent Thornton

By | at

The Mariners announced that right-hander Trent Thornton has been reinstated from the 15-day injured list.  To make room on the active roster, the M’s have once again designated righty Casey Lawrence for assignment.

Thornton returns after missing a month due to appendicitis.  The righty has allowed five homers in only 15 1/3 innings of work out of the Mariners’ bullpen, which has been the biggest culprit in Thornton’s 5.87 ERA.  A 16.9% strikeout rate also hasn’t helped, but in something of an all-or-nothing statistic, Thornton has a career-best 51% grounder rate and a .250 BABIP, so he has been successful when he has been able to keep the ball in the park.

In under two months’ time, Lawrence has already made an early bid for MLBTR’s most written-about player of 2025.  Lawrence has been designated for assignment six times in the last eight weeks, with Seattle logging five of those DFAs and the Blue Jays the other instance.  The right-hander has cleared waivers five of those six times (except for when the Jays claimed him away from the Mariners), and on three occasions Lawrence elected free agency before quickly re-signing with Seattle.

Chances are that Lawrence’s latest trip to DFA limbo will again result in the right-hander staying with the M’s, whether he just accepts an outright assignment or if he again clears waivers, elects free agency, and re-signs a new minor league deal.  Throughout this transactional whirlwind, Lawrence has also posted a 4.08 ERA over 17 2/3 innings with Seattle and Toronto, with only an 8.8K% but also a tiny 1.3BB%.

Mariners Select Casey Lawrence, Designate Blake Hunt

By | at

The Mariners have again selected Casey Lawrence onto the MLB roster. They optioned rookie righty Blas Castaño to Triple-A Tacoma while designating catcher Blake Hunt for assignment in corresponding moves.

This is already the fifth time this season that the Mariners have selected Lawrence’s contract. Each of the previous four was followed by a DFA within five days. One of those DFAs resulted in a waiver claim by Toronto, but Lawrence has otherwise cleared waivers. In each case, he either accepted a minor league assignment or re-signed with Seattle after briefly electing free agency. Lawrence also quickly returned to the M’s after being dropped by Toronto.

The 37-year-old is clearly content with the arrangement. He’s able to collect at least a day or two of MLB pay for each stint on the roster. Lawrence has provided multiple innings as a low-leverage relief option for skipper Dan Wilson. He has turned in a 4.08 ERA with seven strikeouts and one walk across 17 2/3 frames over six appearances. Castaño tossed three innings in mop-up work last night, so he’ll be unavailable for a few days. That led the Mariners to swap him out for Lawrence.

Seattle acquired Hunt from Baltimore in January. The righty-hitting catcher has fanned 29 times in 96 Triple-A plate appearances this season, hitting .231/.271/.407 in 25 games. Hunt has bounced between Seattle’s and Baltimore’s 40-man rosters but has yet to get into a major league game. He’s drawn praise for his power upside but has struggled to reach base against upper level pitching. Hunt is a .232/.284/.413 hitter in just shy of 500 career Triple-A plate appearances. He’ll be traded or, more likely, placed on waivers in the next few days.

Mariners Outright Casey Lawrence

By | at

The Mariners announced Friday that right-hander Casey Lawrence again passed through waivers following a recent DFA. He’s been assigned outright to Triple-A Tacoma.

Lawrence has the right to reject the assignment and elect free agency, although at this point, whether he chooses to do so seemingly has little bearing on his future with the organization. Lawrence has been designated for assignment by Seattle a whopping four times in the past six weeks — plus another time by the Blue Jays, who briefly claimed him from Seattle. (He elected free agency following that DFA and re-signed with the Mariners.) Each time, he’s returned to the Mariners.

In 2025 alone, Lawrence has had four stints with the Mariners, and there’s little reason to think it’ll stop there. He appears perfectly content to function as an effective 41st player on the 40-man roster, being selected to the roster whenever the big league club needs some extra length in the bullpen and then quickly being placed on waivers. The 37-year-old righty clearly has a good relationship with the organization and is comfortable in the Tacoma area, which is no surprise given that he also spent the entire 2024 season pitching for the Mariners’ Triple-A squad there.

Lawrence has pitched in six MLB games this year — five with Seattle, one with Toronto — and eaten up 17 2/3 innings in a long relief role. He’s logged a 4.08 ERA in that time, including a flat 3.00 mark in his 15 frames as a Mariner. He’s averaging just 88 mph on his fastball and carries a minuscule 8.8% strikeout rate, but Lawrence has also walked only one of the 80 men he’s faced (1.3%).

It’s not the smoothest way to earn a living, but by my count he’s picked up 23 days of major league service time this year. Even with a league-minimum split on the contracts he’s signing — and the Mariners are presumably compensating him a bit better than that — he’d have already earned a bit more than $96K in just big league salary, before factoring in any minor league pay. Assuming he has several more stints of this nature ahead of him, he’ll take home a fair bit more cash in 2025 than your standard mid-30s journeyman on the fringes of big league rosters, however unorthodox the road to that endgame may be.

Mariners Designate Casey Lawrence For Assignment, Select Jesse Hahn

By | at

The Mariners announced that they have designated right-hander Casey Lawrence for assignment. Fellow righty Jesse Hahn has been selected to the roster in a corresponding move. Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times reported the moves prior to the official announcement.

MLBTR readers should not be surprised to see Lawrence bumped off the roster again. The Mariners selected his contract yesterday, the fourth time this year they have done so. In each instance, Lawrence pitched in a game or two before being designated for assignment. The first two resulted in him clearing waivers, electing free agency and re-signing with the M’s on a new minor league deal. The third time they put him on waivers, the Blue Jays claimed him. That club also used him once before putting giving him the DFA treatment. That led Lawrence back to the Mariners on yet another minor league deal.

Yesterday, Lawrence served as the bulk pitcher in a bullpen game, which was necessary due to rotation injuries. The M’s have had George Kirby and Logan Gilbert on the injured list for a while and Bryce Miller recently joined them. That leaves them with a four-man rotation core of Luis Castillo, Bryan Woo, Logan Evans and Emerson Hancock.

Yesterday, Casey Legumina officially started the game but went just one inning as an opener. Lawrence then came in and tossed five innings, allowing one earned run. That was enough for a tough-luck loss as the M’s fell to the White Sox 1-0.

Based on the circumstances, it always seemed likely that Lawrence would be bumped off the roster yet again and that has indeed come to pass. Per Condotta, Kirby will be reinstated from the IL to start tomorrow’s game, bringing the M’s back to a five-man rotation.

Lawrence will be placed on waivers again in the coming days. Based on recent history, it’s fair to assume that he will clear and then return to the M’s on another minor league deal. Though it’s also possible that some club in need of a fresh arm puts in a claim, as the Jays did a few weeks back. After yesterday’s outing, Lawrence now has a 4.08 earned run average in 17 2/3 innings on the year. He has a career ERA of 6.42 in 141 2/3 innings spread over five seasons.

Hahn, 35, gets a roster spot for now. In a similar situation to Lawrence, he had his contract selected earlier this year but made just two appearances before being designated for assignment. He logged four scoreless innings in those appearances before getting the DFA treatment. He cleared waivers, elected free agency and re-signed with the M’s on another minor league deal. Shortly after re-signing, he landed on the minor league injured list but he has evidently returned to health. He’s made four scoreless Triple-A appearances in the past two weeks.

The M’s will need to open an active roster spot for Kirby’s activation tomorrow. Perhaps Hahn is slated for a short stay but they could also opt to send down Troy Taylor, who has options and is struggling, with a 12.15 ERA so far.

Hahn has a 4.17 career ERA in 315 1/3 big league innings but this is his first season with major league work since 2021. A shoulder injury cost him the 2022 and 2023 seasons and then he was stuck in the minors last year. As mentioned, he’s been putting up zeroes so far in 2025 but in a small sample.

Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images

Mariners Select Casey Lawrence, Designate Austin Shenton For Assignment

By | at

The Mariners announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Casey Lawrence. Left-hander Jhonathan Díaz was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma in a corresponding active roster move. To open a 40-man spot for Lawrence, infielder Austin Shenton has been designated for assignment. Brady Farkas of Refuse to Lose was among those to relay last night that Lawrence was likely to be called up today.

Lawrence, 37, has been on and off the Mariners’ roster all year long. He signed a minor league deal with Seattle in the offseason and this is the fourth time they have selected him to the roster. In the first two instances, he was quickly designated for assignment after an appearance or two. He elected free agency after clearing waivers and returned to the club on a fresh minor league deal. His third DFA resulted in him being claimed by the Blue Jays. That club gave him similar treatment, putting him into one game before sending him into DFA limbo. Lawrence again elected free agency and returned to the M’s on a fresh minor league deal, leading to today’s selection.

Around all those transactions, he has 12 2/3 innings in five appearances. He has a 4.97 earned run average, 8.3% strikeout rate, 1.7% walk rate and 45.3% ground ball rate. He now has a 6.59 career ERA in 136 2/3 innings, spread over five different seasons.

The Mariners recently put Bryce Miller on the 15-day injured list, joining George Kirby and Logan Gilbert. That leaves them with a four-man rotation core of Luis Castillo, Bryan Woo, Emerson Hancock and Logan Evans. When Miller hit the IL about a week ago, Díaz was recalled to give the club a fresh arm capable of covering multiple innings, but he hasn’t been used since. His last outing was a minor league game on May 9th, 11 days ago.

Lawrence last pitched on the farm May 15th. That was only for two innings, but it seems the Mariners felt better about him on regular rest as opposed to Díaz after such a long layoff. Casey Legumina is listed as tonight’s starter but he will probably serve as an opener, as he’s mostly been a one-inning guy this year. After that, the M’s will see what they get from Lawrence as part of a bullpen game.

To get Lawrence onto the big league roster, the M’s are risking losing Shenton. The 27-year-old infielder was acquired from the Rays in a November cash deal. He’s out to a slow start this year. He has stepped to the plate 169 times at the Triple-A level. He has eight home runs but has been punched out at a 29% clip. He has a .207/.284/.413 line and 76 wRC+ on the year.

That rough performance has nudged him off the 40-man and into DFA limbo, which can last for as long as a week. However, the waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Mariners will have a maximum of five days to explore trade interest.

It’s possible that some other club looks beyond the rough 2025 numbers to see potential. Over the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Shenton took 940 minor league plate appearances. His 28.1% strikeout rate in those was certainly high but he also drew walks at a huge 15.1% clip and hit 49 home runs. He produced a combined slash line of .286/.399/.549 in that time, leading to a 149 wRC+.

For his minor league career, Shenton has mostly played the infield corners, with some brief looks at second base and in the outfield corners as well. He has less than a year of service time and is still optionable for the rest of this year and one additional season. Put it all together and it’s possible some club will be enticed to acquire him as a depth piece.

Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images

Mariners, Casey Lawrence Agree To Minor League Deal (Again)

By | at

Right-hander Casey Lawrence is back with the Mariners — again. The two sides have agreed to yet another minor league pact, per the Mariners’ transaction log at MLB.com. Lawrence is represented by Big League Management.

If and when the 37-year-old veteran makes his way back to the major league roster, it’ll be his fourth stint with Seattle in 2025 alone. It’s been a wild year for Lawrence, who re-signed with the Mariners as a minor league free agent over the winter. This is the third season in which he’s logged big league time with the M’s, though his prior stints haven’t involved such frequent rides on the DFA carousel.

Lawrence was claimed by the Blue Jays on the heels of his most recent Mariners DFA, also marking the third season in which he’s suited up for Toronto. The Jays designated him after one long relief outing (2 2/3 innings, three runs allowed). He elected free agency after passing through waivers and is now back in the Pacific Northwest.

Across his three stints with Seattle this season, Lawrence has pitched 10 innings and allowed four earned runs (3.60 ERA) on 14 hits and a walk with four strikeouts. Coupled with his lone appearance in Toronto, Lawrence has a 4.97 ERA on the season. He’s fanned just 8.3% of the hitters he’s faced but also has just a 1.7% walk rate. He’s also made a pair of starts with the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate, totaling 10 1/3 innings and holding opponents to five runs on 13 hits with an 8-to-3 K/BB ratio (18.2 K%, 6.8 BB%).

Lawrence spent the entire 2024 season in the rotation for the Mariners’ Tacoma affiliate as well, so despite the frequent DFAs — four times already in a six-week-old season — there’s probably some stability with regard to his living situation. It may seem inconvenient to the player or even callous on the surface, but Lawrence seems comfortable with an arrangement that effectively renders him the 41st man on Seattle’s 40-man roster. Teams and players are typically up-front with one another in situations like this one; it’s not as though Lawrence is being blindsided by the frequent removal from the roster. The Mariners will likely continue to shuttle him on and off the 40-man roster when they need length in the bullpen or a spot start.

Casey Lawrence Reportedly Drawing Interest From Multiple Teams

By | at

Right-hander Casey Lawrence might not be a free agent for long. The 37-year-old elected free agency after the Blue Jays designated him for assignment on Wednesday. However, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports that the Blue Jays are “engaged” with Lawrence about a potential reunion. Nicholson-Smith adds that the veteran swing-man is also “believed to be” drawing interest from other clubs.

Lawrence has been a popular recurring character on MLBTR’s front page over the past month. He opened the season in the Mariners organization, pitching 10 innings over three separate stints with the big league club. The first two times the Mariners DFA’d him, he passed through waivers and elected free agency, only to sign new minor league contracts with the team shortly thereafter. The third time, however, the Blue Jays swept in and claimed him off waivers. He would appear in one game for the Jays, giving up three runs on six hits in 2 1/3 innings, before they, too, cut ties.

Across parts of five MLB seasons, Lawrence has thrown a total of 136 2/3 innings with a 6.59 ERA and a 4.60 SIERA. He has not pitched more than 15 big league games or 30 big league innings in a season since his rookie campaign eight years ago. While he has continued to work as a starter in the minors, he has not started an MLB contest since April 2017.

Lawrence’s 4.97 ERA in 2025 might somehow be overselling his performance so far, considering seven of the 14 runs he has given up have been unearned. What’s more, he has struck out just five of the 60 batters he has faced. The 87.6-mph average velocity on his sinker makes it one of the slowest (and most hittable) primary fastballs in the game. Nonetheless, he is a low-cost option who is ramped up and ready to throw major league innings for any team that might need them. Evidently, that has been enough for him to draw repeated interest from Seattle and Toronto, and potentially some other teams as well.

Casey Lawrence Elects Free Agency

By | at

Right-hander Casey Lawrence has cleared waivers and elected free agency, per Mitch Bannon of The Athletic. The righty was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays earlier this week. He has the right to elect free agency as a player with a previous career outright.

Lawrence, 37, was claimed off waivers from the Mariners at the start of the week. The Jays were facing a bit of a pitching crunch at the time. They had optioned left-hander Easton Lucas to drop down to a four-man rotation. Then a rainout in the Bronx led to a doubleheader and the staff getting a condensed workload on the weekend.

The Jays then got bombed by the Red Sox on Tuesday, with starter Bowden Francis getting pulled after allowing seven earned runs in three innings. After Dillon Tate and Mason Fluharty combined to cover 3 1/3 frames, Lawrence took the final 2 2/3. He allowed three earned runs on six hits while recording one strikeout. Left-hander Eric Lauer was then called up to give the Jays another guy capable of covering multiple innings, with Lawrence bumped off as the corresponding move.

There is clearly some appeal in Lawrence’s services, in this exact type of role. The Mariners have added him to their roster three times this year. In each case, he made an appearance or two before getting quickly designated for assignment. He is out of options and can’t be sent to the minors without being removed from the 40-man roster entirely. He has the right to reject outright assignments, as mentioned.

The first two times Seattle bumped him off the roster, he elected free agency and returned on a fresh deal. The third time, he was claimed by the Jays, who utilized him in the same way. Now perhaps he will sign another fresh pact with one of those two clubs. Both clearly value his ability to mop up garbage innings as part of regular roster churn.

He has a 4.97 earned run average through 12 2/3 innings this year and a 6.59 ERA in 136 2/3 career innings. He recently spoke about his situation in self-aware terms, realizing that he may not have much time left in the majors, so he’s trying to appreciate the present before thinking about the next stage of his career. With several clubs dealing with pitching injuries around the league, he should be able to latch on somewhere else soon.

Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images

Blue Jays Select Eric Lauer, Designate Casey Lawrence For Assignment

By | at

The Blue Jays announced that they have selected left-hander Eric Lauer to their roster. To open a 40-man spot for him, Casey Lawrence has been designated for assignment. Prior to the official announcement, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic relayed that Lauer was no longer scheduled to start for Triple-A Buffalo. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reported that Lauer was on his way to join the Jays.

Lauer, 30 in June, signed a minor league deal with the Jays in the offseason. He’s been pitching out of the Buffalo rotation so far this year, having logged 24 innings over five starts. He has allowed 4.50 earned runs per nine with a 20.6% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate.

The Jays need some innings, whether that’s from a starter or a bulk guy pitching behind an opener. Left-hander Easton Lucas took a rotation spot earlier in the year when Max Scherzer landed on the injured list. Lucas had two good starts and two awful ones, getting optioned to Buffalo last week.

The Jays planned to use some off-days in the schedule to have a four-man rotation for a while, though Mother Nature interrupted there. A rainout in the Bronx on Saturday led to a Sunday doubleheader, with Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt starting those two games. After an off-day on Monday, Bowden Francis started against the Red Sox last night. José Berríos could have started on regular rest today but the club would have needed someone to start Thursday’s game.

The club grabbed Lawrence off waivers on Monday to give them a long man on the heels of the doubleheader. He was needed immediately, as Francis only lasted three innings yesterday. After Dillon Tate and Mason Fluharty got four and six outs respectively, Lawrence came in and absorbed 2 2/3 innings of long relief. Lauer logged five innings in each of his four most recent starts for the Bisons, so he will ideally give the club some length today. The last of those starts was on Thursday, so he’ll be on five days of rest today.

It’s unclear if he’ll stick on the roster beyond today’s game. The Jays have another off-day on Monday, so they could go back down to four starters for a couple of turns. Lucas was optioned on April 21st, so he’ll be beyond the 15-day minimum by next week and could be recalled. Jake Bloss has also been in better form of late, with his two most recent Triple-A starts resulting in 12 strikeouts and no earned runs allowed. That could get Lauer bumped off the roster, depending on how things go in today’s game. It’s also possible Lauer holds a rotation spot for a few turns while Lucas and Bloss stay in Buffalo as depth.

Either way, Lauer will be making his first major league appearance in quite some time. He had a solid run with the Padres and Brewers earlier in his career. From 2018 to 2022, he had a 4.11 ERA over 550 innings. His 22.1% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate were both around league average. But in 2023, a shoulder impingement sent him to the injured list for most of the year. He was only able to toss 46 2/3 innings with a 6.56 ERA. He split 2024 between Triple-A clubs of the Astros and Pirates as well as the Kia Tigers of the KBO League, with an ERA near 5.00 in all of those stops.

He is out of options and can’t be easily sent back down to the minors if this is just a spot start situation. If he’s later designated for assignment and passed through waivers unclaimed, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. Players gain that right when they have a previous career outright or at least three years of service time, with Lauer meeting both criteria.

Lawrence heads into DFA limbo for the fourth time this year, the first three being with the Mariners. He was called up by Seattle whenever they needed a fresh arm to cover long relief innings. Since he is out of options, he was designated for assignment a few days after being called up in each instance. The first two DFAs resulted in him clearing waivers and returning to the team, though the Jays claimed him on the third try.

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images

Blue Jays Claim Casey Lawrence

By | at

The Blue Jays have claimed right-hander Casey Lawrence off waivers from the Mariners, according to announcements from both clubs. The righty had been designated for assignment by Seattle over the weekend. The Jays opened a 40-man roster spot yesterday by transferring Ryan Burr to the 60-day injured list. Lawrence is out of options so the Jays will need to open an active roster spot once he reports to the club.

Lawrence, 37, is a veteran swingman who has bounced between the Jays, Mariners and Cardinals in his big league career. He has often served as a multi-inning reliever, soaking up innings to save an overworked pitching staff from further taxation.

This year, he has essentially been the 41st man on Seattle’s 40-man roster. He started the season with the Mariners on a minor league deal. They have selected his contract to the roster three times. In all three cases, he was designated for assignment within a few days. In the first two instances, he cleared waivers and then returned to the big league club once needed. He has a 3.60 earned run average in ten innings over four appearances.

This time, he didn’t clear waivers, as the Jays now have a need for such a pitcher. They recently optioned Easton Lucas, dropping their five-man rotation down to four. Thanks to some off-days, the club planned to go with a four-man rotation for a while, but a rainout on Saturday seemingly altered those plans.

Both Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt had to start yesterday to cover the doubleheader, which was the result of the postponement. The club is off today then has Bowden Francis on schedule for tomorrow. José Berríos could start on regular rest on Wednesday after starting on Friday. But neither Gausman nor Bassitt would be on regular rest for Wednesday’s game. Jake Bloss started for Triple-A Buffalo yesterday and won’t be an option by Wednesday either. Lucas was only optioned a week ago, on April 21. He can’t return to the big league within 15 days of that move unless replacing an injured player on the roster. Eric Lauer is an option as he’s been in the Triple-A rotation and tossed five innings on Thursday, though he’s not on the 40-man roster at present.

Perhaps Lawrence will make a spot start or simply give the club a long relief option for the next few days. Paxton Schultz tossed 57 pitches in relief of Gausman in the first game of yesterday’s twin bill, one of six relievers the club used yesterday. Schultz might not be available for a few days after that, so Lawrence could step in as a multi-inning option out of the bullpen.

It’s entirely possible that it will be another short stint for Lawrence on a club’s roster, just with the Jays this time instead of the Mariners, something he recently spoke to Tim Booth of The Seattle Times about. “I think I’m used to kind of the movement of it,” Lawrence said. “And I think it’s one of those things where you understand your role in the team and you’re willing to do whatever is going to help the team. Right now, it’s kind of doing this.”

Though living out of a suitcase is surely a challenge, Lawrence seems to be focused on appreciating what time in the majors he does have left. “I’ve been fortunate, like I said, and I never take it for granted,” Lawrence said. “Especially when you’re like this, you’re kind of riding the roller coaster a little bit. So I take every day for what it’s worth, and really try to be where my feet are, just be a part of the team.”

Though he’s still carving out some playing time, he’s self-aware enough that his mind has wandered to what’s next. “I know that at 37, I’m on the back end of my career. And I know when I’m done playing, I want to get into player development or front office, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say, I’ve had those conversations of, ‘Am I ready for that yet?’ But I’m not there yet,” he said.

Photo courtesy of Stephen Brashear, Imagn Images

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top