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Mariners Designate Daniel Robertson For Assignment

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The Mariners announced today that they have designated outfielder Daniel Robertson for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster for right-hander Joe Wieland, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Tacoma. Wieland will start tonight’s game for Seattle.

[Related: Updated Seattle Mariners Depth Chart]

The 30-year-old Robertson made 21 plate appearances for the Mariners this season and batted .263/.300/316. He’s had limited experience across the past three seasons between Seattle, Anaheim and Texas, compiling a .273/.322/.325 batting line in 298 trips to the plate. The Mariners claimed Robertson off waivers from the Angels this past winter — the second time that GM Jerry Dipoto has claimed Robertson (he also did so when he was the Angels’ GM). Robertson, who is capable of playing all three outfield positions, batted .281/.341/.418 with 14 doubles, seven triples, six homers and 10 steals with Triple-A Tacoma this season.

Wieland, also acquired this offseason (from the Dodgers), started the season terribly and found himself outrighted off the 40-man roster. However, after posting a 17.31 ERA through his first 13 innings, he’s rebounded with a 3.67 ERA and an 83-to-23 K/BB ratio in 90 2/3 innings across his past 17 starts. Wieland looked like a potential rotation option for the Padres when he came up as a 22-year-old back in 2012 but underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2013 season. Since that time he’s been traded from San Diego to Los Angeles (in the Matt Kemp blockbuster) and struggled to stick in the big leagues. Now 26 years of age, Wieland has a 5.85 ERA in 47 2/3 Major League innings, though his recent work in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League is certainly more encouraging.

Dipoto On Mariners' Deadline Moves

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  • The Mariners’ trade deadline tightrope walk has paid off thus far, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. GM Jerry Dipoto ultimately settled on a few relatively modest moves to tweak the club’s roster and set of contractual obligations, but the M’s have responded by pushing to seven games over .500 — putting them right in the thick of the Wild Card hunt. The veteran executive suggested that the team looked at more significant transactions. “I’m a big fan of trying to pounce on opportunity,” he said. “We talked with a variety of clubs about acquisitions that maybe would have been more notable — I don’t want to say star quality, but more household-type names. We also talked about the possibility of moving players out who were more household names. … In the end, the best moves we could make were holding steady.”
  • Meanwhile, tough-luck Mariners lefty Danny Hultzen isn’t yet ready to give up pitching, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reports. He has undergone another shoulder procedure in hopes of making it back to the hill. The former second overall pick, now 26, threw 124 innings back in 2012 but hasn’t even cracked fifty total in the four seasons since.

Charlie Furbush To Miss 12-18 Months

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  • Mariners southpaw reliever Charlie Furbush will undergo surgery on the partially torn rotator cuff in his left arm Tuesday, writes Maddie Lee of MLB.com. Recovery time is expected to range from 12 to 18 months for Furbush, who told Lee, “Right now, I think, for me, a realistic goal would be Spring Training of 2018. But anything earlier than that and I’m on board.” Furbush, 30, was diagnosed with the injury last August and hasn’t taken a major league mound since last July. He was a dependable bullpen weapon for the Mariners until then, logging a 3.23 ERA, 10.32 K/9 and 3.03 BB/9 in 175 1/3 innings since 2012. Furbush also held left-handed hitters to a woeful .172/.243/.228 batting line during that span.

Mariners Designate Luis Sardinas For Assignment

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The Mariners have designated infielder Luis Sardinas for assignment, according to Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune (Twitter link).

Sardinas, whom the Mariners acquired from the Brewers for outfielder Ramon Flores in November, collected 77 plate appearances with Seattle prior to his designation and hit just .181/.203/.264. The 23-year-old added to his struggles by striking out in nearly a third of PAs (25) while walking only once. Notably, Sardinas has lined up at six different positions – including pitcher – this year. During his one-inning mound stint on July 29, Sardinas retired the vaunted Cubs in order on a mere eight pitches. Unfortunately, that has been the highlight in an otherwise disappointing season for Sardinas, who previously garnered a combined 230 trips to the plate with the Rangers and Brewers from 2014-15. In total, Sardinas has batted an ugly .218/.257/.268 with two homers in 307 big league PAs.

Tigers Claim Donn Roach, Designate Jeff Ferrell

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The Tigers announced today that they’ve claimed right-hander Donn Roach off waivers from the Mariners and designated fellow right-hander Jeff Ferrell for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Roach, who was designated for assignment by the Mariners on Aug. 4, has been optioned to Triple-A, per the Tigers’ announcement.

In 39 career innings at the Major League level, Roach has a 5.77 ERA with 20 strikeouts against 18 walks. While those numbers aren’t especially enticing, Roach intrigues a great many teams, as he’s been on the 40-man roster of the Padres, Cubs, Blue Jays, Reds, Mariners and now Tigers in the past two years. He’s never missed many bats, but Roach is a ground-ball specialist (67.1 percent in the Majors) and did see an intriguing spike in his average fastball velocity in his brief eight-inning sample with Seattle this year; after averaging 88-89 mph in prior seasons, Roach’s heater averaged 92.6 mph in 2016.

Baseball America rated Ferrell, 25, as the Tigers’ No. 21 prospect this past offseason on the heels of a 2.58 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 38 1/3 innings. However, injuries have limited him to just 7 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level this year and 11 1/3 innings overall. He hasn’t pitched in a game since mid-May.

Yankees Claim Blake Parker From Mariners

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The Yankees have announced that they’ve claimed righty Blake Parker from the Mariners. In addition, to clear space for new lefty reliever Tommy Layne, they’ve optioned lefty Richard Bleier to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Another move will be required to make space on the team’s active roster when Parker reports.

The Mariners designated Parker for assignment when they acquired Arquimedes Caminero from the Pirates over the weekend. Parker has only pitched one inning in the big leagues this season, but he’s had a very impressive campaign in Triple-A, posting a 2.72 ERA, 12.7 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 39 2/3 innings for Tacoma.

Parker signed a minor league deal with the Mariners last offseason. He missed most of the 2015 season after being released by the Cubs in May, but pitched parts of three seasons in the big leagues with Chicago before that, posting a 3.63 ERA, 10.3 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 74 1/3 innings. Both his Major and minor league numbers — and particularly his outstanding strikeout rate — suggest there’s potential for him to contribute once again, so it’s hardly surprising to see a team take a chance on him.

Mariners Notes: Paxton, Walker

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  • Mariners lefty James Paxton was two outs away from a complete game victory yesterday when he was hit on his throwing elbow by an Andrelton Simmons line drive.  Fortunately for Paxton and the M’s, x-rays were negative and manager Scott Servais told reporters (including Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune) that he’s hoping Paxton may not even miss a start, thanks to an off-day this week in Seattle’s schedule.  The injury has been diagnosed as a deep bruise, and Paxton will be able to pitch if the swelling subsides.  Paxton has been a big part of the Mariners rotation, posting a 3.53 ERA, 4.06 K/BB rate and 8.04 K/9 over 81 2/3 IP this season, and any missed time for Paxton would undoubtedly be a blow to Seattle’s wild card hopes.
  • In other Mariners pitching news, Taijuan Walker was optioned to Triple-A to create a 25-man roster spot for the newly-acquired Arquimedes Caminero.  Ariel Miranda will continue in the Mariners’ rotation filling Walker’s spot.  [Updated Mariners depth chart at Roster Resource.]  Walker got off to a strong start this season that fueled his solid year-long stats (4.10 ERA, 8.0 K/9, 4.0 K/BB rate), though he has had trouble pitching deep into games.  Walker has also struggled in his last two outings, sandwiched around a month-long DL stint due to right foot tendinitis, and the M’s couldn’t allow for Walker time to regain his form with the team in a playoff race.  “His last 13 starts, he’s had three quality starts.  It may be different if we were 10 or 15 games below .500.  We’re not,” Servais told Dutton and other reporters.
  • Despite the demotion, the Mariners haven’t given up on Walker and aren’t looking to trade him, Dutton tweets in response to a reader question.  Walker received a lot of attention from other teams prior to the trade deadline but GM Jerry Dipoto said the young hurler wasn’t available.

Dipoto On Trades For Caminero, Venditte

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  • Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto spoke to Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune about his weekend acquisitions of relievers Arquimedes Caminero and Pat Venditte, praising Caminero for rebounding from a poor start to the 2016 and pitching well since June 1. (Indeed, Caminero has a 2.28 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 47.8 percent ground-ball rate in 23 2/3 innings since early June.) “He also provides another controllable and experienced arm for our pen,” said Dipoto. “Additionally, he’s among the hardest throwers in the game.” Speaking about Venditte, he said the Mariners were drawn to the ambidextrous hurler’s proficiency versus left-handed hitters as well as the fact that he has minor league options remaining.

Mariners Aren't Giving Up On Ketel Marte

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  • The Mariners’ failed attempt to acquire shortstop Zack Cozart from Cincinnati isn’t a sign that they’ve given up on soon-to-be 23-year-old Ketel Marte, who has slashed just .273/.299/.358 in 300 plate appearances this season. Rather, acquiring the well-rounded Cozart and his one and a half years of team control would’ve enabled Marte to receive further seasoning in the minors. Notably, judging by their respective performances in Seattle this year, both southpaw James Paxton and catcher Mike Zunino have seemingly benefited from extra time at Triple-A Tacoma.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Mariners Acquire Pat Venditte From Blue Jays

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The Mariners have announced that they’ve acquired switch-pitcher Pat Venditte from the Blue Jays for a player to be named. To clear space for him, they’ve designated righty Donn Roach for assignment. Venditte has been assigned to Triple-A Tacoma.

The 31-year-old Venditte had appeared in eight games with the Jays this season. He’d spent the bulk of the year with Triple-A Buffalo, where he posted a 4.37 ERA and 3.3 BB/9, but with a very high 13.4 K/9. He has a 4.58 ERA, 7.2 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 37 1/3 career big-league innings, suggesting his highly unusual ability to pitch with either hand is more than a curiosity. He has, however, been much better as a left-handed pitcher in his brief big-league career, and that trend also existed in the minors this year. The trade for Venditte was the Mariners’ second acquisition of a reliever today, with the first being their trade for Arquimedes Caminero of the Pirates. Whereas that move seemed designed to immediately improve the big-league roster, though, it appears they’ll use Venditte primarily as depth for now.

The 26-year-old Roach has appeared in four games with Seattle in 2016, but he’s spent most of the year with Tacoma, posting a 4.75 ERA, 5.2 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 while pitching 108 innings, mostly as a starter. He has a career 5.77 ERA, 4.6 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in parts of three seasons in the big leagues, during which he’s also appeared with the Padres and Cubs.

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