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Mariners Outright Drew Steckenrider

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The Mariners announced Tuesday that righty Drew Steckenrider, who’d been designated for assignment last week, has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Tacoma. He’ll remain with the club but will not hold a spot on the 40-man roster.

Steckenrider has enough service time to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, but doing so would require forfeiting the remainder of this year’s $3.1MM salary. Players gain the right to reject outright assignments beginning with three years of service time, but they can only reject an outright and retain the remainder of their salary once they have five-plus years of service. Steckenrider, 31, entered the season with four years and 94 days of service, meaning he needed another 78 days of service to reach five years. He’s still 10 days shy of reaching that five-year service milestone, so Steckenrider figures to accept the assignment so he can retain the $1.935MM yet to be paid out on his deal.

A minor league signee with the Mariners in Dec. 2020, Steckenrider was a revelation for Seattle’s bullpen in 2021 when he pitched to an even 2.00 ERA with a 21.7% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate over the life of a team-leading 67 2/3 bullpen innings. Steckenrider tallied seven holds and eventually got the nod as one of manager Scott Servais’ preferred ninth-inning option, going 14-for-17 in save opportunities. With that showing, Steckenrider looked to have shaken off an injury-marred 2019-20 stretch that saw him pitch to a 6.28 ERA in 14 1/3 innings with the Marlins, for whom he’d previously been a quality setup man.

However, the 2021 season has again been a struggle for the former eighth-rounder. Steckenrider appeared in 16 games with the Mariners this season, pitching to a 5.95 ERA with a dramatically reduced 14.7% strikeout rate against a slightly elevated (but still solid) 7.4% walk rate. His average fastball velocity hasn’t dropped (94.4 mph in 2022, 94.2 mph in 2021), but hitters have teed off on the pitch so far in 2022 after floundering against it a year ago. Opponents batted just .216/.275/.346 last year in plate appearances ending in a heater, whereas they hit .333/.415/.528 in 2022.

Steckenrider had already been optioned to Triple-A Tacoma and made four appearances, allowing three runs on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts. He’ll continue working to get back to his 2021 form with the Rainiers in hopes of an eventual return to the MLB roster. If he does make it back to the big leagues, he’d be arbitration-eligible for the final time this winter. If not, he’ll be able to become a free agent at season’s end (as is the right at the end of the season for any player with three-plus years of service who’s been outrighted and not added back to the 40-man roster).

Braves Claim Mike Ford, Designate Joe Dunand

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June 12: Dunand cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett, per David O’Brien of The Athletic.

June 10: The Braves announced they’ve claimed first baseman Mike Ford off waivers from the Mariners and optioned him to Triple-A Gwinnett. Infielder Joe Dunand has been designated for assignment to clear 40-man roster space.

It has been a roller-coaster of a season for Ford, who’s now on his third different organization of the year. He signed a minor league deal with Seattle, then was selected onto the big league roster in April. Seattle designated him for assignment and traded him to the Giants fairly quickly, then acquired him back from San Francisco two weeks later once the Giants DFA him themselves. Ford held his second 40-man roster spot in Seattle for a few weeks, but the M’s again took him off the roster this past weekend.

Through it all, Ford has appeared in 17 MLB games. He’s compiled a rather bizarre .182/.357/.212 slash line, the product of eight walks but 12 strikeouts in only 42 plate appearances. It’s the fourth consecutive year in which he’s logged some big league time, with all of his pre-2022 MLB work coming in a Yankees uniform. The left-handed hitter broke in with an excellent .259/.350/.559 showing with 12 home runs in 50 games as a rookie, but he owns a .144/.273/.263 line in just shy of 200 plate appearances since the start of the 2020 camapign.

The 29-year-old adds a left-handed hitting depth option to the organization. Matt Olson obviously has first base accounted for, but the Braves have gotten subpar work (.252/.328/.360) out of their designated hitters. Ford is in his final minor league option year, meaning the Braves can keep him in Gwinnett for the rest of the season if they’re willing to carry him on the 40-man roster. He’s hit .271/.417/.417 in 14 Triple-A games this year.

Dunand was a recent waiver claim himself, coming over from the division-rival Marlins last week. His time in the organization may now be coming to close without a big league game, as the 26-year-old has just appeared in five games with Gwinnett. He did make a brief cameo in Miami earlier in the year, logging three appearances.

A former second-round pick, the right-handed hitting Dunand has a .209/.295/.376 line in 328 Triple-A plate appearances. He’s struggled with strikeouts throughout his minor league tenure, but the 6’2″ infielder has drawn praise in the past for his raw power potential. Dunand has played mostly on the left side of the infield in the minors, with a bit more work at shortstop than at third base. The Braves will have a week to trade him or look to run through waivers themselves.

Mariners Claim Kevin Padlo Off Waivers From Giants

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The Mariners have claimed third baseman Kevin Padlo off waivers from the Giants, per the team. In a corresponding move, right-hander Drew Steckenrider was designated for assignment.

Padlo, 25, is primarily a third baseman, now on his way to a second stint in Seattle. Originally drafted in the fifth round of the 2014 draft by the Rockies, Padlo only made it as high as Single-A with the Rockies before being traded with Corey Dickerson to the Rays for German Marquez and Jake McGee. That deal, obviously, turned into a fruitful transaction for Colorado, who turned Marquez into an All-Star.

Padlo would rise the ranks of the minors in Tampa’s system, making his Major League debut in 2021. The Mariners claimed him off waivers in August. He had exactly one plate appearance with the Mariners, spending the rest of the year in Triple-A with Tacoma. The Giants claimed him off waivers in April, but he returns now to Tacoma for a second time this season. He has hit for power this season, but not enough to earn a regular stint in the Majors. Padlo takes a .235/.327/.492 line in Triple-A combined from his time with Seattle and San Francisco.

Steckenrider, 31, made 16 appearances with the Mariners this season. Over the past couple of years, he has at times even been a high-leverage option for Seattle. This year, however, he picked up a 5.65 ERA/4.60 FIP over 14 1/3 innings. Just last season, Steckenrider saved 14 games while making 62 appearances covering 67 2/3 innings with a 2.00 ERA/3.35 FIP.

MLB Suspends Hector Neris, Dusty Baker

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Major League Baseball announced this evening that Astros reliever Héctor Neris has been suspended four games “for intentionally throwing at Eugenio Suárez of the Mariners in the area of the head while warnings were in place.” He was also fined an undisclosed amount. Neris is appealing the ban, reports Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). He’ll remain on the active roster while the appeal runs its course.

Houston skipper Dusty Baker was suspended for one game and fined an undisclosed amount on account of Neris’ actions. That’s standard procedure in these situations, and Baker will miss tonight’s game as a result. (Managers are not afforded any appellate rights). Bench coach Joe Espada will be the acting manager in his stead, tweets Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Espada himself was hit with a fine, as were fellow Houston staff members Omar López and Troy Snitker and Seattle manager Scott Servais.

The discipline comes out of last night’s contest, when benches cleared after Neris hit Mariners infielder Ty France in the top of the ninth inning. While France didn’t seem to take umbrage with the pitch itself, the benches began jawing after a dispute about whether the pitch actually struck him. Servais and López were ejected and the sides were warned.

Julio Rodríguez followed the France hit-by-pitch with a two-run homer. Two batters later, Neris sailed a fastball behind Suárez’s head, and home plate umpire Chris Guccione ejected both Neris and Baker. MLB has judged the offering to Suárez to be intentional, leading to the suspensions. Last night’s contest was the opener of a three-game set between the AL West rivals.

Mariners Release Asher Wojciechowski, Ian McKinney

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The Mariners have released right-hander Asher Wojciechowski and left-hander Ian McKinney from their minor league contracts, according to Triple-A Tacoma director of media relations Paul Braverman (Twitter link).  Both Wojciechowski and McKinney initially re-signed with Seattle in February.

Wojciechowski has pitched in parts of five MLB seasons since 2015, including a single game with the Yankees during the 2021 campaign.  After being released by New York last summer, Wojciechowski signed on with the Mariners on a minors contract but didn’t receive a call to the big leagues, and he elected free agency once the offseason began.

The righty has a 5.93 ERA over 202 career innings, in large part due to a whopping 45 home runs allowed.  A first-round pick for the Blue Jays back in 2010, the 33-year-old Wojciechowski has become a journeyman, pitching with nine different organizations at the major and minor league levels across 13 pro seasons.

McKinney is only 27 years old, but has nine seasons in the minors on his resume, pitching in the Cardinals system from 2013-18 and then joining the Mariners in 2019 following a brief stint in independent ball.  The southpaw didn’t reach the Triple-A level until 2021 but the results haven’t been good — McKinney has a 7.22 ERA, 15.86% strikeout rate, and 12.75% walk rate over 76 innings in Tacoma in 2021-22.

While neither pitcher was performing well for the Rainiers, the releases do remove two swingman/long relief options from the Mariners’ depth chart.  The M’s have gotten a lot of stability out of their rotation this year, with Marco Gonzalez, Robbie Ray, Logan Gilbert, and Chris Flexen all making their starts, and star prospect George Kirby stepping with some quality work after Matt Brash struggled over five outings.

Mariners Acquire Ryan Borucki, Designate Mike Ford

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The Mariners have announced a trade with the Blue Jays that will see left-hander Ryan Borucki head to Seattle in exchange for corner infielder Tyler Keenan.  The M’s have also designated infielder Mike Ford for assignment to create 40-man roster space for Borucki.

The Jays designated Borucki for assignment on Tuesday, and today’s trade officially ends the southpaw’s lengthy stay in the Toronto organization.  Borucki was a 15th-round pick for the Blue Jays back in 2012, and made an impressive debut by posting a 3.87 ERA over 97 2/3 innings and 17 starts in his 2018 rookie season.  However, elbow problems (which required a bone spur surgery) hampered him for much of the next two years, and the Jays turned Borucki into a reliever for the 2020 campaign.

This transition seemed promising, as Borucki had a 2.70 ERA and 28.8% strikeout rate in 16 2/3 frames in the shortened season, though a 16.4% walk rate was a big red flag.  Beyond the injuries, walks and home runs were Borucki’s biggest problems over his last 53 1/3 Major League innings, which saw him post a 5.57 ERA since the start of the 2019 season.

Since Borucki is out of minor league options, the Blue Jays had to pursue the DFA route in order to remove him from their 40-man roster, and the Mariners jumped in to arrange a trade.  Roenis Elias and Anthony Misiewicz are the only left-handers in the Seattle bullpen and neither southpaw is having a particularly strong year, so while Borucki himself hasn’t done well (9.95 ERA in 6 1/3 IP) over limited action in 2022, the M’s are hoping that a change of scenery could help the 28-year-old get on track.

Ford has appeared in 15 games with the Mariners this season, hitting .179./378/.214 over 37 plate appearances and working mostly as a DH and pinch-hitter.  The M’s signed Ford to a minor league deal in March, and this is already the third time that Ford has been designated in less than six weeks’ time.  After Seattle initially DFA’ed him in late April, the Giants acquired Ford in a trade, only for the Mariners to re-acquire Ford a couple of weeks later when San Francisco themselves sent Ford to the DFA wire.

Keenan was a fourth-round pick for the Mariners out of the University of Mississippi during the 2020 draft.  The 23-year-old has spent both of his pro seasons at the high-A level, hitting .212/.317/.367 with nine home runs over 376 total plate appearances.  Keenan has played both corner infield spots, with the bulk of his time coming as a third baseman.

Outrights: Mayers, O’Brien

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We’ll kick off the morning here with a pair of recently DFA’ed players who’ve cleared waivers and remained with their prior clubs…

  • Right-hander Mike Mayers went unclaimed on outright waivers and was assigned to Triple-A Salt Lake by the Angels. While he has enough service time to reject that assignment in favor of free agency, Sam Blum of The Athletic tweets that Mayers has accepted the assignment. That’s entirely unsurprising, because although Mayers has sufficient service time to reject the outright, he does not have the requisite five years of service time needed to also retain the remainder of his salary upon rejection. In other words, rejecting the assignment would’ve meant forfeiting the remainder of this year’s $2.15MM salary. Mayers, 30, posted a 3.34 ERA, a 30.5% strikeout rate and an 8.0% walk rate in 105 innings with the Angels from 2020-21, leading to that $2.15MM payday in arbitration. The 2022 season has been a struggle, however. In 16 2/3 frames, he’s allowed four home runs and seen his strikeout rate plummet to 18.7% — all en route to a 5.40 ERA. The Angels designated him for assignment last week.
  • The Mariners announced that right-hander Riley O’Brien cleared waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Tacoma. Seattle picked O’Brien up in an April trade that promised a PTBNL to the Reds, and the two parties completed that swap this week when Seattle sent 20-year-old Rookie-ball infielder Luis Chevalier to Cincinnati. O’Brien, 27, threw one scoreless inning for the Mariners and has a 2.70 ERA with 14 punchouts in 10 Triple-A frames so far, but he’s also walked 11 hitters in that time. Seattle moved him to the bullpen after he’d spent the bulk of his pro career as a starter in the Rays’ and Reds’ systems. He’ll continue to work on his adjustment to a relief role in Tacoma but will no longer occupy a spot on the Mariners’ 40-man roster.

Mariners, Scott Heineman Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Mariners have agreed to a minor league deal with outfielder Scott Heineman and assigned him to Triple-A Tacoma, reports the affiliate’s broadcaster Mike Curto (Twitter link). He’s expected to make his team debut tonight.

Heineman hasn’t played with an affiliated club this season, but he’s seen big league action in each of the prior three years. The right-handed hitter suited up with the Rangers from 2019-20 and played for the Reds last year. Altogether, he’s tallied 173 plate appearances and hit .172/.249/.325 with five home runs and four stolen bases.

The 29-year-old has obviously yet to find much MLB success, but he’s a .304/.369/.458 hitter in parts of three Triple-A seasons. That includes a .279/.353/.410 slash in 17 games for the Reds’ top affiliate in 2021, but Cincinnati granted him his release midseason. Heineman made the jump to Japan, signing with the Yomiuri Giants, but he only played in ten NPB games.

Heineman has experience at all three outfield spots, although he’s better suited for work in the corners. The M’s have Jesse Winker, Julio Rodríguez and Taylor Trammell as their primary outfield, with utilityman Dylan Moore seeing occasional work as well. Mitch Haniger and Kyle Lewis are both on the injured list, and Jarred Kelenic was optioned to Tacoma a few weeks ago. Seattle is awaiting the arrival of Justin Upton as he works his way into game shape, and Heineman will an experienced non-roster depth player to the upper minors.

Health Notes: Kershaw, Lewis, Barnes

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Clayton Kershaw threw a 30-35 pitch bullpen session this afternoon, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). It marked the star southpaw’s second bullpen work of the week, as he also tossed 35 pitches on Memorial Day. The team will monitor how Kershaw feels over the coming days, but it’s possible he heads out on a minor league rehab assignment as soon as this weekend.

Kershaw has been on the injured list since May 13 after experiencing some inflammation in the SI joint of his right hip area. The team initially expressed hope he’d be back after a minimal 15-day stint, although that proved untenable once the three-time Cy Young award winner experienced continued soreness. Now that he’s back on a mound and potentially nearing a rehab assignment, however, it seems as if he could be back at Dodger Stadium by the middle of the month. Before the injury, Kershaw had been characteristically excellent, posting a 1.80 ERA through five starts.

Some more health situations of note:

  • The Mariners placed outfielder Kyle Lewis on the seven-day concussion injured list, retroactive to May 29, before tonight’s game against the Orioles. There’s no indication the 26-year-old is in for a long-term absence, but it’s another health setback for a player who has dealt with more than his fair share of injuries. Lewis’ previous issues have typically been related to his right knee, and he only made his season debut on May 24 after he missed the final few months of last season due to a meniscus tear and a bone bruise in the joint. To take Lewis’ spot on the active roster, infielder Abraham Toro is back from the 10-day IL. The switch-hitting Toro is off to a disappointing .179/.237/.366 start through 135 plate appearances. He missed the minimal amount of time on the shelf recovering from a left shoulder sprain.
  • The Red Sox placed reliever Matt Barnes on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 31, before this evening’s contest with the Reds. He’s dealing with inflammation in his throwing shoulder. It’ll be a reset opportunity for Barnes, whose struggles down the stretch last season have carried over into this year. Through 20 games, the right-hander has a 7.94 ERA with nearly as many walks as strikeouts. That’s on the heels of a 6.48 ERA in the second half of 2021, an out-of-the-blue downturn for a pitcher who earned a deserved All-Star nod during a dominant first-half performance. Barnes signed a two-year, $18.75MM extension last July — a deal that looked team-friendly at the time but has gone immediately haywire. To take Barnes’ spot on the roster, fellow reliever Matt Strahm has been reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list following a two-day absence.

Reds Acquire Luis Chevalier From Mariners

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The Mariners announced Wednesday that they’ve traded minor league infielder Luis Chevalier to the Reds as the player to be named later in the April 16 swap that sent right-hander Riley O’Brien from Cincinnati to Seattle.

Chevalier, 20, has been assigned to the Reds’ affiliate in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League — the same level at which he spent the 2021 season. The 5’11”, 160-pound switch-hitter batted .221/.345/.329 with three homers, four doubles, a triple, two steals, a 20.8% strikeout rate and a 14.9% walk rate in 168 trips to the plate with the Mariners’ ACL affiliate last summer and will start there again before the Reds consider moving him up a level. Chevalier split his time in 2021 between second base (198 innings), shortstop (79 innings) and left field (48 innings). He wasn’t ranked among the Mariners’ top prospects, though that’s to be expected in a swap for a 27-year-old righty who’d been designated for assignment.

As for O’Brien, he’s tossed one scoreless inning with the M’s since the trade but has otherwise spent his time with the team’s Triple-A club in Tacoma. He’s turned in a strong 2.70 ERA through 10 frames there and fanned 14 hitters, but O’Brien has also demonstrated some worrying command issues (11 walks and a one batter thus far). O’Brien spent the bulk of his pro career with the Rays and Reds as a starting pitcher, but Seattle has opted to move him to the bullpen for now.

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