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Emerson Hancock

Mariners Outright Zach Muckenhirn

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August 11: The Mariners announced today that Muckenhirn cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma.

August 9: The Mariners have officially selected the contract of prospect Emerson Hancock, a move that was reported yesterday. In corresponding transactions, the M’s optioned right-hander Devin Sweet to Triple-A and designated left-hander Zach Muckenhirn for assignment.

Muckenhirn, 28, made his major league debut with the Mets earlier this year, tossing six innings over three appearances with four earned runs allowed. He was designated for assignment in July and then promptly traded to the Mariners as part of the deal that sent Trevor Gott and Chris Flexen to Queens. Flexen was released by the Mets shortly thereafter, highlighting the fact that they were taking on Flexen’s contract in order to effectively buy Gott.

The M’s saved some money in that deal but also added Muckenhirn to their system, sending him to Triple-A Tacoma. He’s thrown 8 2/3 innings for that club with a 9.35 ERA in that small sample, which likely helped loosen his grip on a roster spot. But he had a much more palatable 0.88 ERA in 30 2/3 innings for the Syracuse Mets prior to the trade, giving him a combined 2.75 ERA at Triple-A this year. He’s only struck out 14.8% of opponents at that level but has kept the ball on the ground on close to half of the balls in play he’s allowed.

With the trade deadline now in the rear-view mirror, the M’s will have a week to put Muckenhirn on outright waivers or release waivers. Left-handed relief tends to always be in demand and Muckenhirn can serve as a long-term depth option since he has just a few days of service time and a full slate of options. His strikeouts haven’t been there this year but he punched out 23.8% of minor league hitters last season, in addition to consistently solid ground ball rates.

If the lefty were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would stick with the M’s since he lacks the necessary service time or previous career outright that’s necessary for the right to elect free agency. But if he’s still not on the roster at season’s end, he would qualify for minor league free agency.

Mariners To Promote Emerson Hancock

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The Mariners are calling up pitching prospect Emerson Hancock for his big league debut, reports Robert Murray of Fansided. Hancock, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2020 draft, is not yet on the 40-man roster and will need to have his contract selected.

Hancock, 24, has tossed 98 innings in Double-A this season, working to a 4.32 ERA with a career-best 26% strikeout rate, a 9.2% walk rate and a 42% ground-ball rate. He’s been prone to nightmare outings this season, twice being tagged for nine runs in a start and serving up seven runs in another. Outside those few hiccups, he’s generally been excellent; dating back to June 1, he’s sitting on a 2.97 ERA — despite the fact that one of those nine-run drubbings occurred along the way. Over his past four outings, Hancock has a 1.44 ERA and 26-to-4 K/BB ratio in 25 innings.

Widely regarded as one of the Mariners’ top five prospects, Hancock sits in the mid-90s with his heater and has a trio of secondary offerings — all of which garner average or better ratings on MLB.com’s scouting report on the right-hander. FanGraphs touts Hancock’s changeup as his best bat-missing offering, while his slider also draws above-average grades.

Hancock will become the latest in a growing line of homegrown pitching talent to join the Mariners’ roster. Seattle also drafted and developed George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo, all of whom ranked among the sport’s top 100 prospects prior to their respective debuts. Hancock might not be quite as highly touted as some of those arms were at the time of their own promotions, but he’s nevertheless a former top-10 pick with some success at the Double-A level and a good chance at laying claim to a spot in the Seattle rotation.

It’s an increasingly crowded starting staff in Seattle — hence ample trade interest in the Mariners’ young, controllable arms at this year’s deadline — as the staff also features ace Luis Castillo and injured veterans Robbie Ray and Marco Gonzales. Ray will be out well into next year after undergoing Tommy John surgery, however, and Gonzales has been limited to just 10 starts this season. It’s an enviable wealth of pitching talent — one that figures to draw interest again in the offseason.

For now, Hancock’s promotion will give the club six starters, though it’s possible one of Woo or Miller could see their workload reduced in the near future. The former only tossed 57 innings in the minors last year but is already up to 99 this season between the majors and minors. Miller got to 133 2/3 last year and is up to 105 1/3 here in 2023. Adam Jude of the Seattle Times reported yesterday that the club has been considering deploying a six-man rotation, in light of those concerns about their younger hurlers. Hancock logged 98 1/3 frames last year and is up to an even 98 this season, which may put a ceiling on how many innings he has to give as well. In the short term, an injured list stint for Woo keeps the rotation at five players.

The club has been hot lately, winning six in a row and nine of their last 11. That’s helped them leapfrog teams like the Red Sox and Yankees and put the M’s in the top spot among American League teams not currently in playoff position. They’re still two games back of the Blue Jays for the last Wild Card spot but they are firmly in the mix for a playoff run, with Hancock hopefully giving them a boost in that regard.

Mariners Could Deal From Rotation, Open To Offers On Paul Sewald

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There’s been ample speculation surrounding the Mariners’ excellent young rotation since it was reported that the Cardinals had interest in 26-year-old righty Logan Gilbert. And while a trade involving one of Seattle’s talented arms could be a long shot due to the lofty asking price associated with all controllable young starters, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the M’s would at least consider dealing from their stock in order to acquire a young hitter with several years of control remaining.

Seattle’s rotation features veteran ace Luis Castillo and a quartet of touted young righties: Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo. Gilbert and Kirby have largely established themselves as quality big league arms, while Miller and Woo have impressed during their rookie efforts.

Gilbert, sporting a 3.88 ERA, 24.4% strikeout rate and 4.4% walk rate in 20 starts, is controllable for four more years beyond the current season. Kirby (3.49 ERA, 22.6% strikeout rate, 2.4% walk rate) has an additional five seasons of control remaining. Miller (3.96 ERA, 23.9% strikeout rate, 5.1% walk rate in 75 innings) and Woo (4.91 ERA but a 28.9% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate in 44 innings) would each come with six seasons of control beyond the current year. Both Miller and Woo were ranked among the sport’s top 100 prospects at the time of their respective promotions.

The price to acquire any of those arms would surely be steep; not only would the Mariners be seeking a controllable bat to plug into the lineup — they’d likely be seeking a high-end, all-around contributor. Reds fans have regularly asked in MLBTR chats about the possibility of shipping Jonathan India to the Mariners for one of those starters, for instance, but league-average offense at second base and three-plus years of control likely isn’t enough to sway Seattle president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto to part with anywhere from four to six seasons of control over a big league starter. (Notably, Rosenthal suggests a trade of India is far likelier in the offseason than in the next few days.) The same could well apply to Cardinals outfielder Dylan Carlson — another roughly league-average hitter with three-plus seasons of club control remaining.

Should the Mariners find an offer to their liking on any of their talented young arms, Rosenthal suggests they could call up Emerson Hancock from Double-A. The former sixth overall pick has a 4.26 ERA with solid but not eye-popping strikeout and walk numbers over 19 starts there. Rosenthal also floats the possibility of Seattle acquiring an impending free agent starter — perhaps in a Teoscar Hernandez swap with another win-now club — to step into a rotation spot vacated by a trade of a controllable arm. Marco Gonzales is currently on the injured list but could return later in the season; perhaps Robbie Ray will make it back from Tommy John surgery at some point next year.

While a deal involving one of Seattle’s controllable starters would be tough to pull off, trades of shorter-term veterans could be easier to line up. Reliever Paul Sewald is surely of interest to a number of clubs, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported tonight (on Twitter) that Seattle is signaling an openness to moving him.

Sewald has been one of the best relievers in the sport since breaking out with Seattle in 2021. He owns a 2.90 ERA in 170 2/3 innings in an M’s uniform. The right-hander has been effective in all three seasons, including an even 3.00 ERA over 42 frames this year. He’s striking out just under 36% of opponents against a modest 7.9% walk rate.

The 33-year-old righty is playing this season on a $4.1MM arbitration salary. He’s eligible for that process once more before hitting free agency during the 2024-25 offseason. The asking price on Sewald obviously wouldn’t be as extreme as those on the M’s starters, but Seattle would surely aim high in those talks as well.

Rays, Blue Jays, Red Sox Reportedly Most Active Teams In Jose Berrios Market

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5:44 pm: The Rays, Blue Jays and Red Sox are the most active teams in the Berrios market, reports Heyman, who adds that the division’s other contender, the Yankees, have also checked in. It doesn’t seem likely that the Mets — who have long been interested in Berrios but deterred by the Twins’ asking price — will wind up landing him. The Mets continue to be put off by Minnesota’s demand, hears Andy Martino of SNY, and Anthony DiComo of MLB.com suggests that’s also the case in discussions between the two clubs regarding Pineda.

2:39pm: The Twins have numerous offers in hand for Berrios, per Ken Rosenthal and Dan Hayes of The Athletic, who add that the market has exceeded the Twins’ initial expectations (Twitter link). A trade is seen as increasingly likely. TSN’s Scott Mitchell tweets that the Blue Jays are “definitely” in the mix for Berrios.

2:34pm: The Twins are getting “bombarded” with offers for Berrios, Nightengale tweets, adding that the Padres in particular are being aggressive in their efforts.

1:58pm: Some teams who’ve spoken to the Twins about Berrios get the sense that they’re more willing to move him now than they were earlier in the summer, tweets MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.

MLB Network’s Jon Heyman lists the Dodgers as a team with interest, and, like myriad other recent reports, also indicates the Padres have interest. Dan Hayes of The Athletic recently wrote that the Padres had interest in Berrios, Michael Pineda and Kenta Maeda. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote this morning that San Diego is more focused on Berrios than on Max Scherzer.

8:11am: The Twins have already traded away Nelson Cruz, and with an off-day Thursday, today’s focus figures to be entirely on their deadline efforts to reload the club for 2022 and beyond. Jose Berrios is Minnesota’s most coveted trade candidate, and Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune writes that offers for Berrios “have spiked” with the trade deadline now less than 48 hours away.

MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that the Mariners have been pursuing a Berrios acquisition this week, with the Twins focusing on one of Seattle’s top pitching prospects (Emerson Hancock or George Kirby) as part of a multi-player return. The two sides aren’t close to a deal, Morosi adds. Both Hancock (2020) and Kirby (2019) were first-round picks in recent Mariners drafts and have pitched at Class-A Advanced this year. Both players have missed time with shoulder fatigue this year, but Hancock returned this week and Kirby is expected back within the next couple of weeks, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweeted a couple days ago.

The Mets, too, have been linked to Berrios throughout the month of July, but all indications to this point have been that they consider the asking price too steep. Indeed, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports that the Mets are “very” interested but also had “sticker shock” when the Twins initially asked for a combination of two top-100 prospects and a young big leaguer. Beyond that, the Mets’ lack of premium pitching prospects may be a problem. Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes that the Mets would perhaps need to involve a third team if they hoped to actually land Berrios. They’ve recently been more connected to rental pitchers.

Of course, virtually every contender or pseudo-contender has checked in with the Twins on Berrios’ asking price, given his affordable $6.1MM salary for the 2021 season as well as his remaining year of arbitration eligibility before free agency. The 27-year-old Berrios is enjoying the best season of an already impressive career, having pitched to a 3.48 ERA with career-best marks in strikeout percentage (25.7) and ground-ball percentage (43.6). His 6.5 percent walk rate is the second-lowest of his career, and the durable right-hander’s current pace would put him in line to land somewhere in the 195 to 200 range in terms of total innings pitched.

Mariners To Sign Emerson Hancock

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The Mariners have agreed to terms with No. 6 overall pick Emerson Hancock, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (via Twitter). The University of Georgia righty will receive a $5.7MM signing bonus that closely aligns with his $5,742,900 slot value.

Regarded by many as the best right-handed pitcher in this year’s draft, the 6’4″, 213-pound Hancock has dominated SEC opposition since the beginning of his sophomore year with the Bulldogs in 2019. Dating back to last season, Hancock has pitched to a 2.31 ERA with averages of 10.3 strikeouts and 1.6 walks per nine innings pitched — including a gaudy 34-to-3 K/BB ratio in 24 innings prior to this year’s shutdown.

Hancock, 21, landed between fourth and seventh in this year’s class on the rankings of Baseball America, MLB.com, ESPN, FanGraphs and The Athletic. His obviously strong control of the strike zone is complemented by a fastball in the 93-97 mph range — Callis notes it can top out at 99 mph — and a changeup that he seldom used in college ball despite the fact that scouts consider it a potentially plus offering. Reviews on his slider are a bit more mixed, though most reports have it as an above-average offering as well.

The Mariners have drafted a college player with their first-round pick in each season under GM Jerry Dipoto, including three straight college right-handers. Hancock joins George Kirby and Logan Gilbert as another high-end, first-round arm to add to a growing stable of impressive pitching prospects in the Seattle system. Given his lofty draft status, Hancock could emerge as the best of the bunch, joining rotation hopefuls Justus Sheffield and Justin Dunn as potentially controllable long-term cogs on the starting staff.

Both Baseball America (No. 56) and FanGraphs (No. 78) already rank Hancock within MLB’s 100 best prospects; Baseball America lists him third in the organization behind only Julio Rodriguez and Jarred Kelenic — and places him just two spots ahead of presumptive 2020 first baseman Evan White on the aforementioned top 100 list.

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