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Matt Festa

Each MLB Team’s Players On WBC Rosters

By Darragh McDonald | February 9, 2023 at 7:30pm CDT

The World Baseball Classic is returning this year, the first time since 2017. The quadrennial event was supposed to take place in 2021 but was scuttled by the pandemic, now returning after a six-year absence. Rosters for the tournament were announced today and those can be found at this link. Here is a breakdown of which players from each MLB team are set to take participate. Quick caveat that this list is fluid and might be changed as more information becomes available.

Without further ado…

Angels

  • Glenn Albanese Jr.
  • Jaime Barria
  • Gustavo Campero
  • Alan Carter
  • Jhonathan Diaz
  • Carlos Estevez
  • David Fletcher
  • Jake Kalish
  • D’Shawn Knowles
  • Shohei Ohtani
  • Jose Quijada
  • Luis Rengifo
  • Gerardo Reyes
  • Patrick Sandoval
  • Mike Trout
  • Gio Urshela
  • Cesar Valdez
  • Zack Weiss
  • Aaron Whitefield

Astros

  • Bryan Abreu
  • Jose Altuve
  • Ronel Blanco
  • Luis Garcia
  • Colton Gordon
  • Cristian Javier
  • Martin Maldonado
  • Rafael Montero
  • Hector Neris
  • Jeremy Pena
  • Ryan Pressly
  • Andre Scrubb
  • Kyle Tucker
  • Jose Urquidy
  • Derek West

Athletics

  • Denzel Clarke
  • Jordan Diaz
  • Jake Fishman
  • Zack Gelof
  • James Gonzalez
  • Adrian Martinez
  • Joshwan Wright

Blue Jays

  • Jose Berrios
  • Jiorgeny Casimiri
  • Yimi Garcia
  • Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
  • Spencer Horwitz
  • Alejandro Kirk
  • Otto Lopez
  • Damiano Palmegiani

Braves

  • Ronald Acuna Jr.
  • Luis De Avila
  • Roel Ramirez
  • Alan Rangel
  • Eddie Rosario
  • Chadwick Tromp

Brewers

  • Willy Adames
  • Sal Frelick
  • Alex Hall
  • Matt Hardy
  • Joel Payamps
  • Rowdy Tellez
  • Abraham Toro
  • Luis Urias
  • Michele Vassalotti
  • Devin Williams

Cardinals

  • Nolan Arenado
  • Genesis Cabrera
  • Tommy Edman
  • Giovanny Gallegos
  • Paul Goldschmidt
  • Ivan Herrera
  • Matt Koperniak
  • Noah Mendlinger
  • Oscar Mercado
  • Miles Mikolas
  • Lars Nootbaar
  • Tyler O’Neill
  • JoJo Romero
  • Adam Wainwright
  • Guillermo Zuniga

Cubs

  • Javier Assad
  • Owen Caissie
  • Danis Correa
  • Ben DeLuzio
  • Roenis Elias
  • Miles Mastrobuoni
  • Matt Mervis
  • B.J. Murray Jr.
  • Vinny Nittoli
  • Fabian Pertuz
  • Liam Spence
  • Seiya Suzuki
  • Marcus Stroman
  • Pedro Strop
  • Nelson Velazquez
  • Jared Young

Diamondbacks

  • Dominic Fletcher
  • Jakob Goldfarb
  • Gunnar Groen
  • Merrill Kelly
  • Ketel Marte
  • Eric Mendez
  • Dominic Miroglio
  • Emmanuel Rivera
  • Jacob Steinmetz
  • Mitchell Stumpo
  • Alek Thomas

Dodgers

  • Austin Barnes
  • Mookie Betts
  • Freddie Freeman
  • Clayton Kershaw
  • Adam Kolarek
  • Miguel Rojas
  • Will Smith
  • Trayce Thompson
  • Julio Urias

Giants

  • Jonathan Bermudez
  • Camilo Doval
  • Joey Marciano
  • Joc Pederson

Guardians

  • Enyel De Los Santos
  • Dayan Frias
  • Andres Gimenez
  • Bo Naylor
  • Richie Palacios
  • Cal Quantrill
  • Cade Smith
  • Meibrys Viloria
  • Josh Wolf

Marlins

  • Sandy Alcantara
  • Luis Arraez
  • Johnny Cueto
  • Jesus Luzardo
  • Anthony Maldonado
  • Jean Segura

Mariners

  • Matt Brash
  • Diego Castillo
  • Matt Festa
  • Harry Ford
  • Teoscar Hernandez
  • Milkar Perez
  • Julio Rodriguez
  • Eugenio Suarez
  • Blake Townsend

Mets

  • Pete Alonso
  • Jonathan Arauz
  • Edwin Diaz
  • Eduardo Escobar
  • Dominic Hamel
  • Elieser Hernandez
  • Francisco Lindor
  • Jeff McNeil
  • Omar Narvaez
  • Cam Opp
  • Adam Ottavino
  • Jose Quintana
  • Brooks Raley
  • Claudio Scotti

Nationals

  • Alberto Baldonado
  • Paolo Espino
  • Lucius Fox
  • Alberto Guerrero
  • Joey Meneses
  • Erasmo Ramirez

Orioles

  • Daniel Federman
  • Darwinzon Hernandez
  • Dean Kremer
  • Cedric Mullins
  • Anthony Santander
  • Rodney Theophile

Padres

  • Xander Bogaerts
  • Nabil Crismatt
  • Nelson Cruz
  • Jarryd Dale
  • Yu Darvish
  • Jose Espada
  • Ruben Galindo
  • Luis Garcia
  • Ha-Seong Kim
  • Manny Machado
  • Nick Martinez
  • Evan Mendoza
  • Juan Soto
  • Brett Sullivan
  • Julio Teheran

Phillies

  • Jose Alvarado
  • Erubiel Armenta
  • Malik Binns
  • Jaydenn Estanista
  • Vito Friscia
  • Brian Marconi
  • J.T. Realmuto
  • Kyle Schwarber
  • Noah Skirrow
  • Gregory Soto
  • Garrett Stubbs
  • Ranger Suarez
  • Trea Turner
  • Taijuan Walker
  • Rixon Wingrove

Pirates

  • David Bednar
  • Tsung-Che Cheng
  • Roansy Contreras
  • Alessandro Ercolani
  • Santiago Florez
  • Jarlin Garcia
  • Antwone Kelly
  • Josh Palacios
  • Jeffrey Passantino
  • Tahnaj Thomas
  • Duane Underwood Jr.
  • Chavez Young
  • Rob Zastryzny

Rangers

  • Mitch Bratt
  • Jose Leclerc
  • Martin Perez

Rays

  • Jason Adam
  • Jonathan Aranda
  • Randy Arozarena
  • Christian Bethancourt
  • Trevor Brigden
  • Wander Franco
  • Andrew Gross
  • Joe LaSorsa
  • Francisco Mejia
  • Isaac Paredes
  • Harold Ramirez
  • Graham Spraker

Red Sox

  • Jorge Alfaro
  • Richard Bleier
  • Rafael Devers
  • Jarren Duran
  • Ian Gibaut
  • Rio Gomez
  • Norwith Gudino
  • Enrique Hernandez
  • Nick Pivetta
  • Henry Ramos
  • Alex Verdugo
  • Masataka Yoshida

Reds

  • Donovan Benoit
  • Silvino Bracho
  • Luis Cessa
  • Fernando Cruz
  • Alexis Diaz
  • Arij Fransen
  • Kyle Glogoski
  • Tayron Guerrero
  • Evan Kravetz
  • Nicolo Pinazzi
  • Reiver Sanmartin
  • Vin Timpanelli

Rockies

  • Daniel Bard
  • Jake Bird
  • Yonathan Daza
  • Elias Diaz
  • Kyle Freeland
  • Justin Lawrence
  • German Marquez
  • Michael Petersen
  • Alan Trejo

Royals

  • Max Castillo
  • Robbie Glendinning
  • Carlos Hernandez
  • Nicky Lopez
  • MJ Melendez
  • Vinnie Pasquantino
  • Salvador Perez
  • Brady Singer
  • Bobby Witt Jr.
  • Angel Zerpa

Tigers

  • Javier Baez
  • Miguel Cabrera
  • Chavez Fernander
  • Andy Ibanez
  • Jack O’Loughlin
  • Jacob Robson
  • Eduardo Rodriguez
  • Jonathan Schoop
  • John Valente

Twins

  • Jose De Leon
  • Edouard Julien
  • Jorge Lopez
  • Pablo Lopez
  • Carlos Luna
  • Jose Miranda
  • Jovani Moran
  • Emilio Pagan
  • Christian Vazquez

White Sox

  • Tim Anderson
  • Kendall Graveman
  • Eloy Jimenez
  • Lance Lynn
  • Yoan Moncada
  • Nicholas Padilla
  • Luis Robert
  • Jose Ruiz

Yankees

  • Indigo Diaz
  • Kyle Higashioka
  • Jonathan Loaisiga
  • Gleyber Torres
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Arizona Diamondbacks Atlanta Braves Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Cincinnati Reds Cleveland Guardians Colorado Rockies Detroit Tigers Houston Astros Kansas City Royals Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Dodgers Miami Marlins Milwaukee Brewers Minnesota Twins New York Mets New York Yankees Oakland Athletics Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Seattle Mariners St. Louis Cardinals Tampa Bay Rays Texas Rangers Toronto Blue Jays Washington Nationals Aaron Whitefield Abraham Toro Adam Kolarek Adam Ottavino Adam Wainwright Adrian Martinez Alan Rangel Alan Trejo Alberto Baldonado Alejandro Kirk Alek Thomas Alex Hall Alex Verdugo Alexis Diaz Andre Scrubb Andres Gimenez Andy Ibanez Angel Zerpa Anthony Santander Austin Barnes Ben DeLuzio Bo Naylor Brady Singer Brett Sullivan Brooks Raley Bryan Abreu Cal Quantrill Camilo Doval Carlos Estevez Carlos Hernandez Cedric Mullins Cesar Valdez Chadwick Tromp Chavez Young Christian Bethancourt Christian Vazquez Clayton Kershaw Cristian Javier Daniel Bard Darwinzon Hernandez David Bednar David Fletcher Dean Kremer Devin Williams Diego Castillo Dominic Fletcher Duane Underwood Eddie Rosario Edouard Julien Eduardo Escobar Eduardo Rodriguez Edwin Diaz Elias Diaz Elieser Hernandez Eloy Jimenez Emilio Pagan Emmanuel Rivera Enrique Hernandez Enyel De Los Santos Erasmo Ramirez Eugenio Suarez Evan Mendoza Fernando Cruz Francisco Lindor Francisco Mejia Freddie Freeman Garrett Stubbs Genesis Cabrera Gerardo Reyes German Marquez Giovanny Gallegos Gleyber Torres Gregory Soto Guillermo Zuniga Harold Ramirez Harry Ford Hector Neris Henry Ramos Ian Gibaut Isaac Paredes Ivan Herrera J.T. Realmuto Jacob Robson Jaime Barria Jake Bird Jake Fishman Jared Young Jarlin Garcia Jarren Duran Jason Adam Javier Assad Javier Baez Jean Segura Jeff McNeil Jeremy Pena Jesus Luzardo Jhonathan Diaz Joc Pederson Joel Payamps Joey Meneses Johnny Cueto JoJo Romero Jonathan Aranda Jonathan Arauz Jonathan Bermudez Jonathan Loaisiga Jonathan Schoop Jordan Diaz Jorge Alfaro Jorge Lopez Jose Altuve Jose Alvarado Jose Berrios Jose De Leon Jose Leclerc Jose Miranda Jose Quijada Jose Quintana Jose Ruiz Jose Urquidy Josh Palacios Josh Wolf Jovani Moran Juan Soto Julio Rodriguez Julio Teheran Julio Urias Justin Lawrence Kendall Graveman Ketel Marte Kyle Freeland Kyle Higashioka Kyle Schwarber Kyle Tucker Lance Lynn Lucius Fox Luis Arraez Luis Cessa Luis Garcia Luis Rengifo Luis Robert Luis Urias Manny Machado Marcus Stroman Martin Maldonado Martin Perez Masataka Yoshida Matt Brash Matt Festa Matt Mervis Max Castillo Meibrys Viloria Merrill Kelly Miguel Cabrera Miguel Rojas Mike Trout Miles Mastrobuoni Miles Mikolas MJ Melendez Mookie Betts Nabil Crismatt Nelson Cruz Nelson Velazquez Nicholas Padilla Nick Martinez Nick Pivetta Nicky Lopez Nolan Arenado Omar Narvaez Oscar Hernandez Oscar Mercado Otto Lopez Owen Caissie Pablo Lopez Paolo Espino Patrick Sandoval Paul Goldschmidt Pedro Strop Pete Alonso Rafael Devers Rafael Montero Randy Arozarena Ranger Suarez Red Sox Reiver Sanmartin Richard Bleier Richie Palacios Roansy Contreras Rob Zastryzny Roel Ramirez Roenis Elias Ronald Acuna Ronel Blanco Rowdy Tellez Ryan Pressly Sal Frelick Salvador Perez Sandy Alcantara Seiya Suzuki Shohei Ohtani Silvino Bracho Spencer Horwitz Tahnaj Thomas Taijuan Walker Tayron Guerrero Teoscar Hernandez Tim Anderson Tommy Edman Trayce Thompson Trea Turner Vinnie Pasquantino Vinny Nittoli Vladimir Guerrero Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Wander Franco Will Smith Willy Adames Xander Bogaerts Yimi Garcia Yoan Moncada Yonathan Daza Yu Darvish Zack Weiss

112 comments

Mariners Announce Six Roster Moves

By Mark Polishuk | July 9, 2022 at 6:41pm CDT

Mariners manager Scott Servais told reporters (including MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer) about a series of roster moves prior to tonight’s game with the Blue Jays, including catcher Luis Torrens being activated from the 10-day injured list.  Torrens joins minor league callups Matt Brash and Matt Festa as new faces on Seattle’s roster, while right-hander Ken Giles was placed on the 15-day IL due to shoulder inflammation, catcher Andrew Knapp was designated for assignment, and right-hander Erik Swanson was placed on the paternity list.

Left shoulder inflammation sent Torrens to the IL back on June 27, so he’ll return after missing only just beyond the 10-day minimum.  The Mariners were hoping Torrens’ good numbers in 2021 meant he was ready to take a step forward as a part-time DH and catcher this season, but he has struggled to a .222/.280/.241 slash line over 118 plate appearances.  Cal Raleigh has started to emerge as a solid regular starter behind the plate, and Tom Murphy is gone for the season due to shoulder surgery, so there would seemingly be room for Torrens to remain as the backup catcher for the remainder of the year.

Seattle selected Knapp’s contract when Torrens hit the injured list, and Knapp has appeared in two games in a Mariners uniform.  Due to Knapp’s service time and the fact that he has been outrighted off a 40-man roster in the past, he has the freedom to elect free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate — Knapp already chose free agency when the Pirates DFA’ed him in May, which paved the way for Knapp to sign with the Mariners.  It remains to be seen if Knapp will become a free agent again, or if he’ll choose to remain at Triple-A Tacoma (assuming he clears DFA waivers) as a depth option.

After missing all of 2021 due to Tommy John surgery, Giles then suffered a strained tendon in his right middle finger that delayed his M’s debut until June 21.  The veteran reliever has allowed no runs and only one hit over 4 1/3 innings of work, albeit with four walks in that small sample size.  Unfortunately for Giles, he’ll now be sidelined again with this latest injury.

Brash and Festa will look to fill the holes in Seattle’s bullpen, and Brash is making his return to the big leagues in a new relief role.  Beginning the year as a starting pitcher, the former top-100 prospect posted a 7.65 ERA over five starts and 20 innings, recording almost as many walks (17) as strikeouts (19).  The Mariners made the aggressive decision to promote Brash to the majors without any time spent at Triple-A, so Brash got his first taste of the top minor league level when the M’s demoted him in May and then converted him to relief pitching.

The results have thus far been impressive.  Over his last 17 innings, Brash has posted a 1.59 ERA, a whopping 37.9% strikeout rate, and only a 7.57% walk rate.  The hard-throwing Brash has the stuff to be a dominant reliever on paper, should he keep his past control problems in check.

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Seattle Mariners Transactions Andrew Knapp Erik Swanson Ken Giles Luis Torrens Matt Brash Matt Festa

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Mariners Select Tommy Milone, Designate Joey Gerber

By Darragh McDonald | June 18, 2022 at 8:00pm CDT

The Mariners announced some roster moves in between games of today’s doubleheader. They have selected the contract of left-hander Tommy Milone, with right-hander Matt Festa being optioned to create room on the active roster. In order to make space on the 40-man roster, righty Joey Gerber has been designated for assignment.

Milone, 35, is a veteran who appeared in each season from 2011 to 2021. As soon as he gets into a game here in 2022, it’ll mark his 12th straight MLB season. He’s appeared for many teams in that time, including a previous stint with the Mariners in 2019, as well as spells with the Nationals, Athletics, Twins, Mets, Orioles, Braves and Blue Jays. One of the softest throwers in the league, Milone is able to survive by limiting free passes. His 17.7% career strikeout rate is certainly low, given that this year’s league average is around 22%. However, his 5.6% walk rate is a few ticks below this year’s 8.3% league average.

Signed to a minor league deal in the offseason, Milone has made seven starts for Triple-A Tacoma this year. In 32 innings, he has a 1.13 ERA, with a 24.8% strikeout rate and 6.8% walk rate. That tiny ERA is certainly nice, but is likely being depressed by a .208 BABIP and 100% strand rate, neither of which are sustainable. Nevertheless, the Mariners will give him a shot to see if he can replicate those kinds of results at the big league level.

As for Gerber, 25, he was an eighth round selection of the Mariners in the 2018 draft. A pure reliever, he’s never made a start in his professional career. He pitched well in the lower levels of the minors and earned his way up to Double-A in 2019. In 22 2/3 innings there that year, he put up a 1.59 ERA with a whopping 31.3% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate and 37.5% ground ball rate. In 2020, the minor leagues were wiped out by the pandemic, but he was able to reach the majors, throwing 15 2/3 innings for the Mariners that year. Despite always racking up Ks in the minors, he only struck out 9.7% of hitters he faced in the bigs, though in a small sample size.

Despite those promising minor league numbers and making his MLB debut at the age of 23, he has since hit a wall due to injuries. Back surgery prevented him from pitching at all in 2021, either in the majors or minors. This year, a forearm strain has kept him out of action, except for a single-inning appearance in the Complex League on June 11. His current health situation isn’t publicly known, but will certainly have a bearing on next steps. Since injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers, it’s possible that Gerber ends up on release waivers in the coming days.

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Seattle Mariners Transactions Joey Gerber Matt Festa Tommy Milone

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Mariners Make Six Roster Moves

By Mark Polishuk | May 5, 2022 at 5:28pm CDT

5:29PM: Brash will pitch out of the bullpen at Triple-A, as reported by The Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish and other media members.  Relief work could give Brash a quicker path back to the majors and allow him to better help the Mariners in 2022, even if the team still sees him as a longer-term starting pitcher.

2:47PM: The Mariners announced six roster moves, including the news that right-hander Matt Brash has been optioned to Triple-A.  Left-hander Nick Margevicius was designated for assignment, and righty Matt Festa was placed on the 15-day injured list with right elbow tendinitis.  Joining the roster from Triple-A Tacoma are right-hander Riley O’Brien and left-hander Danny Young, with Young’s contract being officially selected.  In addition, recently-designated right-hander Matt Koch has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A.

Brash has never pitched at the Triple-A level before, as the Mariners made the aggressive move of adding him to the Opening Day roster after an impressive Spring Training.  A rather lightly-regarded prospect who was acquired from the Padres in 2020, Brash exploded into top-100 notoriety with a very impressive 2021 season with the Mariners’ high-A and Double-A affiliates.

Results were far more mixed for Brash in his first taste of the bigs, however.  Brash has a 7.65 ERA over five starts and 20 innings, with almost as many walks (17) as strikeouts (19).  Yesterday’s start against the Astros saw Brash allow four runs over three innings, walking four batters and striking out three.

With Brash heading to Triple-A for more seasoning, Seattle has a hole to fill in the rotation.  The M’s have a few days remaining to figure out their plans, whether they’ll go with a bullpen game for Brash’s next scheduled start or whether another Triple-A call-up could be in the works.  Asher Wojciechowski, Daniel Ponce de Leon, and Darren McCaughan are all getting starts for the Rainiers but none have pitched particularly well, and Margevicius is now headed to the DFA wire.

Margevicius has also struggled, posting a 12.75 ERA over four starts and 12 innings at the Triple-A level.  A veteran of three MLB seasons, Margevicius is trying to work his way back from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, and it isn’t surprising that the southpaw is still getting on track following that major procedure.  With this recent surgery in mind, teams might not claim Margevicius, allowing Seattle to slip him through waivers and outright him off the 40-man roster.

Festa is also no stranger to health issues, as he missed all of the 2020 season and most of 2021 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.  With this past procedure in mind, any sort of elbow problem is especially concerning, though tendinitis is usually a relatively minor problem.  After tossing 30 2/3 innings for the M’s in 2018-19, Festa made it all the way back to the Show this season, but had only a 5.25 ERA over 12 relief innings.

Though O’Brien has only worked as a reliever over six Triple-A appearances this season, he might also factor into the Mariners’ rotation picture given his track record as a minor league starter.  Acquired from the Reds back on April 17, O’Brien has a 3.36 ERA over 353 1/3 innings in the minors, mostly in the Rays organization from 2017-19.  O’Brien made his big league debut in cup-of-coffee fashion last season, tossing 1 1/3 innings in a single game for Cincinnati.

Now in his seventh pro season, Young is lined up to make his first MLB appearance.  Young was an eighth-round pick for the Blue Jays in the 2015 draft, and has worked almost exclusively as a reliever over his 280 1/3 innings in the Toronto, Cleveland, and Seattle farm systems.  While mostly a grounder specialist during his career, Young has boosted his strikeout numbers since the canceled 2020 minor league seasons, and has a 26.1% strikeout rate over 70 Triple-A frames (though also with a 5.14 ERA in Triple-A ball).  Anthony Misiewicz is the only other left-hander in the Mariners’ bullpen, so Young should get some looks against lefty batters.

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Seattle Mariners Transactions Danny Young Matt Brash Matt Festa Matt Koch Nick Margevicius Riley O'Brien

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Mariners Select Matt Festa

By Anthony Franco | April 7, 2022 at 6:37pm CDT

The Mariners announced their Opening Day roster this afternoon, and reliever Matt Festa made the big league club. Seattle had a vacancy on the 40-man roster, so no additional move was necessary.

Festa is in line for his first MLB work in three years. He suited up with Seattle from 2018-19, tossing 30 2/3 innings of 4.70 ERA ball. The former 7th-round pick only punched out 17.7% of opponents on a below-average 9.2% swinging strike rate. Seattle outrighted Festa off their 40-man roster during the 2019-20 offseason, and he underwent Tommy John surgery not long after.

The 29-year-old returned from the surgery midway through last season, working 21 1/3 innings over 19 outings with Triple-A Tacoma. Festa posted a 2.95 ERA while striking out an excellent 36% of batters faced and only issuing walks at a 3.5% clip. After also impressing the organization in Spring Training, he’ll return to the big league club.

Seattle lost Casey Sadler for the season and will be without Ken Giles to start the year. Paul Sewald, Drew Steckenrider and Diego Castillo look as if they’ll assume the highest-leverage innings, while Festa will step into the middle innings mix. He still has a minor league option year remaining, so the M’s can bounce him between Seattle and Tacoma this season even though he’s back on the 40-man roster.

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Seattle Mariners Transactions Matt Festa

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Mariners Notes: Festa, Cruz, Cameron

By Anthony Franco | February 26, 2022 at 9:23am CDT

Mariners reliever Matt Festa underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2020, just a few weeks after Seattle outrighted him off their 40-man roster. As is typically the case for TJS patients, he lost around a year and a half rehabbing and didn’t return to minor league games action until last July. The righty had an excellent second half with Triple-A affiliate Tacoma, working to a 2.95 ERA over 21 1/3 innings. He punched out a whopping 36% of batters faced while walking a minuscule 3.5% of opponents, but that wasn’t enough to earn another look in a Seattle bullpen that was among the league’s best.

Because he’s no longer on the 40-man roster, Festa is not subject to the ongoing lockout. Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times writes that he’s been participating in Seattle’s minor league camp and flashed mid-90s fastball velocity in workouts this week. If he maintains that form throughout camp, he could be an option for Seattle in the event of injuries or underperformance among the big league relievers. Festa, 29 next month, posted a 4.70 ERA/4.97 SIERA over 30 2/3 big league innings between 2018-19. He’ll need to recapture a spot on the 40-man roster to get back to the MLB level.

More from Seattle:

  • Former Mariners designated hitter Nelson Cruz hit free agency at the end of the year. Some Seattle fans have pined for a reunion, no surprise given Cruz’s success in the Pacific Northwest. He hit .284/.362/.546 over four seasons with the Mariners. Cruz wasn’t quite that productive last year in his age-40 campaign, but he still combined for an above-average .265/.334/.497 showing in 584 plate appearances with the Twins and Rays. That kind of production would be a notable upgrade to a Seattle lineup that ranked just 21st in wRC+ (pitchers excluded) last season. Nevertheless, Corey Brock of the Athletic opines as part of a reader mailbag that the Mariners seem unlikely to pursue a full-time designated hitter like Cruz. Seattle has an abundance of outfield options, in particular, and 2020 Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis will be coming off a season cut short by injuries to a right knee that has proven problematic for the bulk of his professional career. Signing a full-time DH would necessitate playing Lewis more or less every day in the outfield, where Mitch Haniger, Jarred Kelenic, Taylor Trammell and Jake Fraley could also compete for reps. Brock feels the front office and manager Scott Servais are likelier to use the DH spot as an opportunity to rotate regulars through quasi-rest days, a fairly common practice around the league at this point.
  • The Mariners have hired former Padres analyst Dave Cameron in a consulting role, as Divish first reported (on Twitter). Cameron, a Washington state native, began his career as a Mariners’ blogger before being hired as a writer and editor at FanGraphs. He joined the San Diego front office over the 2017-18 offseason but departed the organization after four seasons last fall. He will now have the chance to apply his analytical skills for the team that first ignited his baseball fandom and set him on his journey.
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Notes Seattle Mariners Matt Festa Nelson Cruz

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Mariners’ Matt Festa To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

By Steve Adams | March 2, 2020 at 10:07am CDT

Mariners right-hander Matt Festa is slated to undergo Tommy John surgery and will miss the 2020 season, tweets Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Festa was outrighted off the 40-man roster this winter but had been in camp as a non-roster invitee to Spring Training.

The 26-year-old Festa has pitched a total of 30 2/3 innings of relief over the past two seasons. To this point in his relatively young career, Festa has managed a 4.70 ERA with a 25-to-14 K/BB ratio and a 36.5 percent ground-ball rate in the Majors. He’ll now have to wait at least a year to for the opportunity to add to that resume.

Although Festa lost his roster spot over the winter, his absence still depletes the Mariners’ depth a bit. Based solely on his minor league results, Festa would’ve had a decent shot at eventually reemerging in the Majors in 2020. The overall sample is pretty small — Festa was drafted in 2016 and made his MLB debut in 2018 — but the right-hander has a sub-3.00 ERA in both Double-A and Triple-A and has generally posted sharp strikeout-to-walk ratios throughout his minor league tenure. In total, Festa has tossed 209 2/3 frames in the minors and compiled a 3.18 ERA with 11.0 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9.

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Seattle Mariners Matt Festa

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Mariners Outright Matt Festa

By Steve Adams | February 10, 2020 at 1:20pm CDT

The Mariners announced that right-hander Matt Festa went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Nashville. He’s been invited to Major League Spring Training as a non-roster player.

The 26-year-old Festa made his MLB debut with the Mariners in 2018 and has pitched a total of 30 2/3 innings of relief since that time. To this point in his relatively young career, Festa has managed a 4.70 ERA with a 25-to-14 K/BB ratio and a 36.5 percent ground-ball rate in the Majors.

Festa, a seventh-round pick back in 2016, has averaged about 93 mph on his four-seamer — rather pedestrian among relievers in today’s game — but the righty’s success in both Double-A and Triple-A could earn him another look with the Mariners in the future. The Seattle bullpen is short on proven assets and could feature a Rule 5 pick (Yohan Ramirez) as well as several out-of-options hurlers to begin the season (Matt Magill, Sam Tuivailala, Dan Altavilla and offseason pickup Carl Edwards Jr.). That could be a recipe for a fair bit of in-season turnover, so it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to Festa back in Seattle at some point this summer, particularly if he’s able to continue his strong upper-minors production.

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Seattle Mariners Transactions Matt Festa

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Mariners Designate Matt Festa For Assignment

By Steve Adams | February 3, 2020 at 2:04pm CDT

The Mariners announced Monday that they’ve designated right-hander Matt Festa for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to outfielder Jose Siri, whose previously reported waiver claim out of the Reds organization has now been formally announced by Seattle.

Festa, 27 next month, has pitched 30 2/3 innings of relief with the Mariners over the past two seasons, logging a 4.70 ERA with a 25-to-14 K/BB ratio and a 36.5 percent ground-ball rate along the way. Seattle initially selected him in the seventh round of the 2016 draft.

Festa has enjoyed solid numbers in Double-A and Triple-A, albeit in limited samples of work. The East Stroudsberg University product pitched to a 2.76 ERA with 12.3 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9 in 49 innings in 2018 before logging a 2.64 ERA, 9.7 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 30 2/3 Triple-A frames in 2019. Festa doesn’t throw particularly hard (93 mph average four-seamer) and doesn’t have the type of gaudy spin rates that attract some clubs to pitchers who lack premium velocity. His success in the upper minors and the fact that he has a minor league option year remaining, however, could earn him a look with another club.

The Mariners will have a week to trade Festa, place him on outright waivers or release him.

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Seattle Mariners Transactions Matt Festa

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Mariners Select Ryan Garton, Designate Zac Rosscup

By Jeff Todd | May 17, 2019 at 5:05pm CDT

The Mariners announced a group of moves that will change up their bullpen mix. Righty Ryan Garton’s contract was selected; he’ll be joined by fellow righty Matt Festa, who was recalled.

To make 40-man space for Garton, the M’s have designated southpaw Zac Rosscup for assignment. Active roster space for Festa comes at the expense of Erik Swanson, who was optioned out.

The 29-year-old Garton earned his way back to the bigs for the first time since 2017 after showing well in a swingman capacity at Triple-A. In 26 innings over a dozen appearances, including one start (just the second of his professional career), Garton posted a 3.46 ERA with 9.7 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.

Rosscup, 30, had an outwardly appealing 3.21 ERA but had allowed 14 walks to go with twenty strikeouts in 14 innings. He was posting yawning platoon splits, dominating those left-handed hitters he didn’t walk (.087/.323/.087) while being tuned up by righties (.344/.447/.500).

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Seattle Mariners Transactions Erik Swanson Matt Festa Ryan Garton Zac Rosscup

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