Mariners Sign Weston Wilson To Minor League Contract
Infielder/outfielder Weston Wilson has signed a minor league contract with the Mariners after electing free agency in lieu of an outright assignment from the Orioles late last week. The team never formally announced the signing, but Wilson made his organizational debut with the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma two days ago. He’s picked up a pair of three-hit games for the Rainiers already.
Wilson, 31, appeared in 21 games with the O’s and took 46 plate appearances prior to being designated for assignment. He hit .231/.348/.333 in that brief stretch, which marked his fourth season with some degree of major league experience. Wilson debuted with the 2023 Phillies and has totaled 291 plate appearances in the majors since. In that time, he’s slashed .240/.331/.413 — about 8% better than league-average production, by measure of wRC+.
Solid as that overall showing is, it came in frontloaded fashion. Wilson posted big numbers in brief auditions with the 2023-24 Phils before struggling to a .198/.282/.369 performance in a career-high 125 plate appearances with Philadelphia last year. He’s a right-handed hitter who’s batted .248/.351/.456 when facing lefties but just .229/.302/.352 against fellow righties.
Wilson has played first base, second base, third base and both outfield corners in the majors. He’s a career .248/.340/.462 hitter in parts of six minor league seasons. He gives the Mariners some righty-swinging depth at several positions and a generally productive Triple-A bat to round out the Tacoma roster. Seattle is currently without righty-swinging left fielder Randy Arozarena, lefty-hitting infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan and righty-hitting utilityman Will Wilson (the latter of whom is reportedly weighing season-ending surgery).
At the moment, the Mariners are carrying a pair of veteran infield/outfield options on the bench: Rob Refsnyder and Connor Joe. Refsnyder has struggled greatly in his first season with the M’s. He signed a one-year, $6.25MM deal in free agency after a nice four-year run in Boston but has hit only .143/.214/.242 in 104 plate appearances. Joe is batting .189/.302/.324 in 43 plate appearances as a Mariner. Should either (or both) continue to struggle, it’s possible the Mariners could view the newly signed Wilson as a right-handed alternative off the bench.
Royals Acquire Randy Dobnak
6:52pm: Kansas City officially acquired Dobnak for cash considerations and optioned him to Triple-A. They transferred Cole Ragans from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Ragans has been out since early May with an elbow issue and suffered a setback over the weekend.
5:50pm: The Royals are acquiring right-hander Randy Dobnak from the Mariners, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. Dobnak triggered an upward mobility clause in his minor league deal with the M’s a few days ago. Kansas City will need to open a 40-man roster spot but have several players who could be transferred to the 60-day injured list. Though Dobnak is getting a 40-man spot, he has options and Passan says Dobnak will be sent to Triple-A Omaha initially.
Dobnak, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Mariners in the offseason. It was recently reported that there was a June 15th upward mobility clause in that deal. The way such clauses usually work is that the player is offered up to the 29 other teams in the league. If any one of them wants to give him a roster spot, the signing team has to trade him or give him a roster spot themselves.
The righty triggered the clause after a pretty decent showing for Triple-A Tacoma. He logged 70 innings over 13 starts, allowing 4.24 earned runs per nine. Considering that the Rainiers play in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, that’s not too bad. His 12.8% strikeout rate was barely half of typical big league average but his 7.9% walk rate was good and his 59.9% ground ball rate was very strong.
The Mariners are perhaps the team with the least need for more rotation depth. They are already six deep at the major league level and struggling to juggle Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller, Emerson Hancock and Luis Castillo. They also have prospects Ryan Sloan and Kade Anderson dealing in the minors.
The Royals, meanwhile, have recently seen their starting group take a few notable hits. Each of Cole Ragans, Kris Bubic and Seth Lugo have landed on the IL in the past six weeks. That has left them with a patchwork rotation consisting of Michael Wacha, Luinder Avila, Noah Cameron and Stephen Kolek in four spots. Mitch Spence made a spot start this week but was immediately optioned back to the minors afterwards. Depth arms like Ben Kudrna and Ryan Bergert required season-ending surgeries earlier this year.
In short, they can use any fresh arms they can find, so Dobnak is a sensible pickup for them. If he gets called up at some point, he can add to his major league track record, which currently consists of 140 2/3 innings over multiple seasons with the Twins with a 4.86 ERA, 13.9% strikeout rate, 6.1% walk rate and 56.8% ground ball rate.
Photo courtesy of Frank Bowen IV, Imagn Images.
Mariners Place Randy Arozarena On Injured List
8:14pm: Seattle has officially announced all three moves: Arozarena’s retroactive IL placement, Washington’s selection, and Wilson’s transfer to the 60-day injured list. Wilson has been out since late April with a broken left thumb. According to the MLB.com injury tracker, he was recently pulled from a rehab assignment with continued pain and is weighing season-ending surgery.
7:51pm: The Mariners are placing Randy Arozarena on the 10-day injured list, reports Adam Jude of The Seattle Times. Seattle’s left fielder hasn’t played since Friday due to left hamstring tightness, so it’ll be a retroactive placement to June 13.
Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports that the Mariners expect it to be a minimal IL stay. Arozarena is dealing with a mild strain that would’ve left him unavailable for the next few days. A team can only backdate an IL placement by a maximum of three days, so Seattle opted for the IL stint tonight rather than waiting a few days and risk shelving Arozarena beyond the next week.
A roster quirk will lead to the first big league call for 26-year-old outfielder Curtis Washington Jr., Divish reports. He’ll be selected onto the MLB roster and be available for tonight’s game against the Orioles. Washington is playing with High-A Everett, which is about 30 miles outside Seattle. The team’s Triple-A affiliate, the Tacoma Rainiers, are on the road this week for a series in Salt Lake. Washington can make the quick drive to T-Mobile Park. The M’s will need to open a spot on the 40-man roster but can do so by transferring infielder Will Wilson to the 60-day injured list.
Washington, a Purdue product, is a former 19th round pick. He’s hitting .190 over 44 games in High-A this season. He’ll surely be designated for assignment or outrighted this week but will collect a major league salary for a day while joining an MLB clubhouse. If tonight’s game is a blowout in either direction, maybe Dan Wilson can get him in as a pinch-hitter or defensive substitute and etch his name into an MLB box score.
Jude notes that outfielder Connor Joe was pulled from Tacoma’s lineup and will head to Seattle for tomorrow’s game. Joe is already on the 40-man and has appeared in 18 big league games this season. He’ll fill in as a right-handed bench bat with Victor Robles likely to replace Arozarena in left field for the next week. Josh Naylor and Luke Raley are also day-to-day, which pushed Miles Mastrobuoni and Rob Refsnyder into tonight’s lineup against Baltimore righty Brandon Young. Dan Wilson will likely only have backup catcher Mitch Garver and Washington Jr. available off the bench today.
In one other lineup note, today’s game officially marks J.P. Crawford’s first appearance as Seattle’s third baseman. The longtime shortstop was activated from a minimal 10-day injured list stint due to a right hand injury. He’s leading off and manning the hot corner, his first action there since the 2018 season with Philadelphia.
The Mariners had telegraphed the position change, as Crawford has been working out at third base for the past month. It’s to the former Gold Glove winner’s credit that he’s not only on board but actively approached the team about the possibility. Rookie Colt Emerson is the franchise’s long-term shortstop, so Crawford sought to expand his versatility in advance of his first trip to free agency. That allows Emerson to stay at his natural position while potentially making a case for the front office to bring Crawford back on a multi-year deal in the offseason.
Mariners Outright Domingo González
The Mariners announced that right-hander Domingo González has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Tacoma. Seattle also optioned infielder Patrick Wisdom on tonight’s day off, opening an active roster spot with at least Cal Raleigh coming back from injury tomorrow. They’d need to clear another roster spot if J.P. Crawford is also activated off the injured list for the start of their series against the Orioles.
Seattle added González on a waiver claim from Atlanta last August. The 26-year-old reliever had previously spent time in the Pittsburgh farm system before securing a spot on the Braves’ 40-man roster. He never reached the big leagues in Atlanta and finished last season in Triple-A in the Mariners system. González made it to MLB last month and has pitched in five big league contests. He has allowed four runs through 7 2/3 innings, striking out and walking five batters apiece.
González was designated for assignment last week when Seattle brought up Michael Rucker as a fresh bullpen arm. He doesn’t have the previous career outright or three years of MLB service to decline an outright assignment. González will remain in the organization with Tacoma, where he has an excellent 1.66 ERA despite a middling 21.3% strikeout percentage across 21 2/3 innings.
Randy Dobnak Triggers Upward Mobility Clause In Mariners Deal
June 15: Alexander reports that Dobnak has triggered the assignment clause, as expected. The righty will now await word on whether any team is willing to add him to the 40-man roster.
June 8: Randy Dobnak signed a minor league deal with the Mariners last November, and he’s spent the first 10 weeks of the season with Triple-A Tacoma. However, Ari Alexander of 7News Boston reports that the right-hander has a June 15 upward mobility clause in his contract. Presuming Dobnak triggers the clause, Seattle will have to offer him to the league’s other 29 teams. If another club wants to put him on its 40-man roster, the Mariners must either add him to their 40-man or trade him to a team that’s willing to do so. If no other teams are interested in rostering Dobnak, he will remain in Seattle’s minor league system. It’s worth noting that Dobnak still has minor league options and less than five years of major league service time, so a team that adds him to its 40-man roster could still keep him stashed at Triple-A.
They say there’s no such thing as too much pitching depth, but the 2026 Mariners might be the closest thing you’ll find to an exception. They’re currently running a six-man rotation of Bryan Woo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Emerson Hancock, Bryce Miller, and Luis Castillo. They also have Cooper Criswell in their bullpen and veteran Casey Lawrence pitching alongside Dobnak in the Tacoma Rainiers rotation. While the M’s would surely like to keep Dobnak around as depth, the question is whether or not they’re willing to give up a 40-man spot to do so. They’re currently running a seven-man bullpen to accommodate their six-man rotation, and they have four players on the 10-day IL. That means space on their 40-man is at a premium.
Most teams aren’t as well-off as the Mariners in the starting pitching department, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see someone else trade for Dobnak. The 31-year-old has 39 games of MLB experience and perfectly respectable numbers at Triple-A this year. He has pitched into at least the fifth inning in all 12 of his starts, averaging 5 1/3 per outing. While his 4.50 ERA doesn’t jump off the page, it’s important to keep in mind that he’s playing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. His ERA- is 85, which is 15% better than the league average, and his 59.9% groundball rate is the highest among all qualified Triple-A pitchers.
Photo courtesy of Frank Bowen IV, Imagn Images
Cubs Acquire Yosver Zulueta
10:32 am: Both clubs have officially announced the deal. The Mariners received cash considerations from the Cubs. Chicago designated left-hander Doug Nikhazy for assignment in a corresponding move.
9:41 am: The Cubs are acquiring right-hander Yosver Zulueta from the Mariners, according to reporter Francys Romero. Seattle will reportedly receive a minor leaguer and cash considerations for Zulueta, who was designated for assignment earlier this week. Another transaction will need to be made to open up a spot for Zulueta on Chicago’s 40-man roster.
This is the third time Zulueta has changed teams following a DFA. Originally an international signing for the Blue Jays in 2019, he sent from Toronto to Cincinnati on a waiver claim in March 2024. This led to Zulueta making his MLB debut that year, and he posted a 5.32 ERA in 23 2/3 innings for the Reds over the 2024-25 seasons. When the Reds designated Zulueta this past January, the Mariners worked out a trade to bring the righty to the Pacific Northwest.
Zulueta’s entire stint in Seattle’s organization has been spent at Triple-A Tacoma, and the results haven’t been good — a 5.75 ERA and a 16.3% walk rate over 20 1/3 innings for Rainiers, as well as a modest 21.4% strikeout rate. Zulueta has been generating grounders at a 56.9% rate but he has a .339 BABIP, so some of the damage has come just from some misfortune.
That said, the inflated walk rate has continued the control problems that have followed Zulueta during his pro career. He has a 13.93BB% over 254 1/3 innings during his minor league career, as well as an unspectacular 10.9% walk rate during his brief time in the majors. Zulueta generates a ton of grounders and his high-90s fastball led to some bigger strikeout numbers earlier in his career, so it’s easy to see why teams keep showing interest in the 28-year-old.
Chicago becomes the latest club to see if a fix can be found for Zulueta’s control issues. There’s no real risk for the Cubs in using a 40-man spot as a flier on Zulueta, and he brings a live arm and some big league experience to a bullpen depth chart that has been stretched by injuries this season.
Mariners Notes: Raleigh, Crawford, Arozarena, Munoz, Naylor
The Mariners open up a six-game homestand on Tuesday, and two key names figure to be returning from the 10-day injured list. Manager Dan Wilson told the Seattle Times’ Adam Jude and other reporters that catcher Cal Raleigh should be activated depending on how Raleigh feels after playing today in the fifth game of his minor league rehab assignment. J.P. Crawford also expects to be activated after a minimal 10-day stint due to a bruised hand.
Assuming Raleigh is ready to go, it’ll mark almost exactly one month since an oblique strain sent the slugger to the IL back on May 14. Raleigh tried to play through the discomfort for a couple of weeks before going onto the injured list, which partially explains his dismal early numbers. After a 60-homer season in 2025 that almost won him AL MVP honors, Raleigh was hitting only .161/.243/.317 with seven home runs over his first 181 plate appearances of the 2026 campaign.
As Jude noted, the Mariners actually went on a hot streak with Raleigh sidelined, and the M’s are now up to a 37-36 record that puts them atop the inconsistent AL West. If the IL stint acts as a reset to Raleigh’s season, the Mariners will only benefit by having an in-form slugger back in the heart of their lineup.
Crawford rebounded from a slow start to become one of Seattle’s hottest bats in the month leading up to his hand injury, which was caused after he was hit by a Framber Valdez pitch on June 5. The IL stint also delayed plans to move Crawford to third base to accommodate Colt Emerson at the shortstop position, and Crawford has been working diligently at the hot corner during his rehab process. Jude wrote that Crawford played exclusively as a third baseman during pregame infield drills over the previous three days, so Tuesday could mark Crawford’s first MLB game at third base since 2018.
Randy Arozarena is another player to watch for Tuesday, as the outfielder hasn’t played since making an early exit from Friday’s game due to left hamstring tightness. The injury isn’t considered to be particularly serious, so between Arozarena’s weekend off and Seattle’s off-day on Monday, the hope is that he’ll be fully healed for the start of the Guardians series.
Amidst all of this good health news, however, were a couple more injury scares coming out of Sunday’s 10-1 loss to the Nationals. Josh Naylor left the game in the sixth inning after fouling a ball off his right shin, and reliever Andres Munoz left in the eighth inning due to back tightness.
Both injuries may be less serious than they appeared at first glance. Wilson told the media that x-rays were negative on Naylor’s shin, and the first baseman told Jude and company that he was “doing all right.” Likewise, Munoz told MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer and other reporters that his back issue is “nothing to worry about,” and Wilson described Munoz’s situation as day-to-day.
Munoz normally wouldn’t have been called upon for mop-up work in a blowout, but the closer hadn’t pitched since April 8 and today marked only Munoz’s fourth outing in June. The lack of usage has been more to do with game situations, though Munoz’s usually elite form has taken a dip. A huge increase in hard-contact numbers and a spike in homers has resulted in a 5.92 ERA over 24 1/3 innings for Munoz, though his strikeout rate is still superb and he is posting his lowest walk rate since 2022.
Mariners Designate Domingo González For Assignment, Select Michael Rucker
The Mariners announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Michael Rucker. Fellow righty Domingo González has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.
Last night, the Mariners went into the game with a pretty taxed bullpen. They are operating with a six-man rotation at the moment, giving them a seven-man bullpen while most other clubs have eight. Andrés Muñoz, Jose A. Ferrer, Eduard Bazardo and Gabe Speier all pitched two out of three days from Sunday to Tuesday. Alex Hoppe and Nick Davila both pitched on Tuesday.
George Kirby started last night’s game and was dealing for a while, keeping the Orioles scoreless through five. But he allowed three runs in the sixth, putting the M’s down 3-0. Seattle opted to have González enter at that point. He covered the seventh and eighth, allowing four earned runs and throwing 39 pitches as Baltimore took the game 7-2. While the other arms got a day of rest, the Mariners have decided to swap in a fresh arm for tonight.
González, 26, was claimed off waivers from Atlanta last year. He has made five appearances for the Mariners this year as they have shuttled him between Triple-A and the majors. In his 7 2/3 innings, he has allowed four earned runs, which all crossed the plate last night.
He now heads into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Mariners could take as long as five days to explore trade interest, though they could also put González on waivers sooner than that.
He is still optionable, which could give him some appeal to a club looking for more depth in the minors. He has thrown 107 Triple-A innings since getting promoted to that level in 2024. In that time, he has a 3.62 earned run average, 24.7% strikeout rate and 10.2% walk rate. His four-seamer and sinker both average around 93 miles per hour. He also throws a slider and a changeup.
Rucker, 32, gets back to the big leagues for the first time in a few years. From 2021 to 2023, pitched 123 1/3 innings for the Cubs with a 4.96 ERA. He was traded to the Phillies ahead of the 2024 season but he didn’t pitch for them in the big leagues. He spent the campaign either on the injured list or pitching on optional assignment. He was put on waivers in September and claimed by the Nationals, but that club also kept him on optional assignment and then outrighted him off the roster at season’s end. He elected free agency and didn’t sign with any club for 2025.
He signed a minor league deal with the Mariners coming into 2026 and has been with Triple-A Tacoma. He has thrown 22 2/3 innings over 22 appearances with a 1.59 ERA. He’s gotten a lot of help from an 87.1% strand rate. His 24.5% strikeout rate and 47.5% ground ball rate are a few ticks better than average but his 10.8% walk rate is on the high side. Rucker will try to put up some good numbers with the Mariners. If they need bring in more fresh arms in the near future, he is out of options.
Photo courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr., Imagn Images
Mariners Place Matt Brash On IL With Lat Strain
The Mariners announced a series of roster moves today. Infielder/outfielder Miles Mastrobuoni has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list and right-hander Domingo González has been recalled from Triple-A Tacoma. In corresponding active roster moves, infielder Ryan Bliss has been optioned to Tacoma while right-hander Matt Brash has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a lat strain, retroactive to June 9th. To open a 40-man spot for Mastrobuoni, righty Yosver Zulueta has been designated for assignment.
This is the second time this year that Brash has landed on the IL because of his lat. Inflammation in that muscle put him out of action for roughly the first three weeks of May. He came back for a few weeks but has evidently strained the muscle this time. The M’s haven’t yet provided any updates about his expected absence but it seems fair to expect an even longer absence than when he was just dealing with inflammation.
For however long he’s out, it’s an unfortunate blow for the Seattle bullpen. He has been a key setup arm for them throughout his career, with a 3.06 earned run average in 185 1/3 innings. That includes an ERA of 0.54 ERA in 16 2/3 innings around his injuries this year. He wasn’t going to maintain that kind of run prevention all year but his longer track record shows what he is capable of.
Seattle is working with a short bullpen since they are running a six-man rotation right now, leaving them with just seven relievers while most other clubs have eight. The one upside of Brash’s injury is that it allows the M’s to bring up a fresh arm at a time when the relief group is fairly taxed. Andrés Muñoz, Jose A. Ferrer, Eduard Bazardo and Gabe Speier have all pitched in two of the past three days.
Zulueta, 28, has never pitched for the Mariners in the big leagues. He was acquired from the Reds in January and has been on optional assignment this year. He has thrown 20 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 5.75 ERA. That has come in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League but Zulueta hasn’t helped himself by walking 16.3% of batters faced. His 21.4% strikeout rate isn’t awful and his 56.9% ground ball rate is quite good but that poor control is hard to work around in any setting.
That has generally been the issue with Zulueta throughout his career. He has big stuff, with his fastballs both averaging in the upper 90s, but he hasn’t been able to harness it. He now has 203 1/3 Triple-A innings under his belt with a 3.94 ERA and 26.9% strikeout rate but a big 14.3% walk rate. He has only walked 10.9% of batters faced in the majors but in a much smaller sample of 23 2/3 innings.
He is now in DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Mariners could take as long as five days to explore trade interest, but they could also put him on waivers sooner than that. He can still be optioned for the remainder of this year, so perhaps some club with an open roster spot will be intrigued enough to stash him and hope he reins things in a bit more.
He has never been outrighted in his career and has less than three years of service time, meaning he does not have the right to reject an outright assignment. If he is passed through waivers unclaimed in the coming days, the Mariners could keep him as non-roster depth.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry, Imagn Images
Mariners Acquire Carson Fulmer
The Pirates have traded right-hander Carson Fulmer to the Mariners, reports Alex Stumpf. Fulmer was not on Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster and won’t need a spot with Seattle, unless his minor league deal contained some kind of opt-out or upward mobility clause. It’s unclear what the Bucs are getting in return but it may be a cash deal.
Fulmer, 32, has appeared in nine major league seasons. He has thrown 256 2/3 innings, allowing 5.44 earned runs per nine. His 20% strikeout rate and 11.9% walk rate are both a bit worse than league average, while his 40.9% ground ball rate is right around par.
He finished last season with the Angels but was outrighted off the roster at the end of the campaign. He was able to elect free agency and later signed a minor league deal with the Pirates. He has been pitching for Triple-A Indianapolis this year, logging 34 frames over 16 appearances. His 6.35 ERA in that time certainly doesn’t look good, though it’s likely a bit misleading. His .330 batting average on balls in play and 63% strand rate are both to the unfortunate side. His 17.5% strikeout rate this year isn’t great but his 43.1% grounder rate is decent.
If the Mariners plan to add Fulmer to the 40-man roster, he is out of options and would therefore need to go on the active roster. If not, he’ll provide them with some extra depth capable of pitching multiple innings.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images