Mariners Activate Kyle Lewis, Release Steven Souza
TODAY: Sampson declined his outright assignment and elected to become a free agent, the team announced.
MAY 24: The Mariners have reinstated Kyle Lewis from the injured list. He’s in the starting lineup this evening as the designated hitter, batting seventh against A’s starter James Kaprielian. Seattle also announced they’ve released veteran outfielder Steven Souza Jr. and outrighted right-hander Adrian Sampson to Triple-A Tacoma.
It’ll be Lewis’ first big league appearance since last May 31. The former first-round pick suffered a meniscus tear in his right knee at the time. That marked the latest in a series of knee injuries for Lewis, who also tore his ACL as a minor leaguer and suffered a bone bruise in the joint in Spring Training. Lewis was shut down for a few months, and his attempt at a late-season rehab was scrapped after he suffered another bone bruise in September.
With that injury history in mind, the Mariners proceeded extremely cautiously with Lewis this spring. The club announced that he wouldn’t be available for the start of the season in March, and he continued to make slow progress over the season’s first few weeks. He headed out on a rehab assignment in early May, and his allotted 20-day window wrapped up yesterday. He’s now back and hoping to approximate the .262/.364/.437 showing he managed in 2020 to claim the American League’s Rookie of the Year award.
Seattle has gotten very little from their corner outfielders thus far, a big reason for the team’s disappointing 18-25 start. Nevertheless, they’re not about to thrust the 26-year-old Lewis back into an everyday role on the grass. Manager Scott Servais told reporters (including Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times) the plan is to use Lewis exclusively as a DH for now as they ease him back to action. They’ll presumably mix in a heavy dose of off days as well, leaving the outfield to Jesse Winker, Julio Rodríguez and Taylor Trammell as the club awaits the arrival of the newly-signed Justin Upton.
Souza briefly factored into that mix, heading to the majors when the M’s optioned Jarred Kelenic. The veteran had earned the call with a monster .267/.417/.533 showing in 96 plate appearances in Tacoma, but Seattle didn’t give him much leash at the big league level. After Souza collected just three hits (all singles) and punched out eight times in his first six games, the M’s designated him for assignment over the weekend. Presuming he clears release waivers, the 33-year-old will hit free agency and likely search for another minor league opportunity elsewhere.
Sampson has the right to do the same, having previously been outrighted in his career. The team didn’t specify whether he’s elected free agency, however, and Sampson does have Pacific Northwest roots as a Washington native.
Seattle grabbed the 30-year-old righty off waivers from the Cubs earlier this month, but he was designated for assignment before making an appearance. Sampson has pitched in 11 MLB games with Chicago over the past two seasons, tossing 36 1/3 innings of 2.72 ERA ball. His modest 18.7% strikeout rate hasn’t supported that excellent run prevention mark, though, and he’s now passed through waivers unclaimed.
Mariners Sign Andrew Knapp To Minors Contract
The Mariners signed catcher Andrew Knapp to a minor league deal yesterday, Tacoma Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto reports (Twitter link). Knapp made his debut with the Triple-A Rainiers today, hitting a home run.
After spending his first nine pro seasons in the Phillies organization, Knapp is now on his third new team since December. Knapp signed a minors deal with the Reds in the offseason but was released at the end of Spring Training, and the veteran backstop then caught on with the Pirates. This resulted in 11 games for Pittsburgh before the Bucs designated Knapp for assignment last week, which led Knapp to opt for free agency rather than an outright assignment to the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate.
Tom Murphy recently suffered a setback in his recovery from a separated shoulder, so with Murphy’s timeline unclear, it isn’t surprising that the Mariners have now added another catcher. Cal Raleigh and Luis Torrens are the two catchers on the big league roster, and Knapp will provide some veteran depth at Triple-A should another injury arise.
Knapp has hit only .210/.310/.315 over 862 MLB plate appearances, spending much of his career in a part-time or backup capacity with the Phillies. With Raleigh and Torrens both struggling badly at the plate, it probably isn’t likely that Knapp will be seen as a replacement unless the Mariners decide that Raleigh needs more time in the minors. (Torrens is out of minor league options.)
Mariners Sign Justin Upton
TODAY: Upton’s deal contains a 10-team no-trade clause, Bob Nightengale reports. Upton has had partial or full no-trade protection in all three of his major multi-year contracts (with the D’Backs, Tigers, and Angels), and he’ll retain some measure of control over his future should the Mariners look to flip him before the trade deadline.
MAY 21: The Mariners have signed outfielder Justin Upton to a one-year, Major League contract. The club has officially announced the move, and in a corresponding transaction designated righty Adrian Sampson for assignment to clear roster space. Upton will report to the Mariners’ extended Spring Training camp in order to ramp up for his eventual debut with the team.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (Twitter link) was the first to announce the Upton signing, and noted that Upton will earn around $550K on the deal, or the prorated portion of the MLB minimum salary. The M’s will cover the $550K, while the Angels will still owe Upton the remainder of his original $28MM salary for the 2022 season.
The Angels released Upton just before the season began, ending the outfielder’s four-plus year run in Los Angeles. Originally acquired from the Tigers in August 2017, Upton was already under contract through the 2021 season but held an opt-out clause, and agreed to forego that clause when the Halos tacked another year onto his deal. The extension added $17.5MM in new money to Upton’s contract and locked up through the 2022 campaign.
Unfortunately, it was a deal the Angels came to regret, after Upton struggled during the 2019-21 seasons. Due to both injuries and a simple lack of production, Upton has hit .211/.299/.414 with 38 home runs over 784 plate appearances in the last three seasons. Between this lack of hitting and declining glovework in left field, Upton has been almost exactly a replacement-level player, generating only 0.1 fWAR since the start of the 2019 season.
In his prime, of course, Upton was an outstanding player, with a resume that includes four All-Star appearances, 324 career homers, and a .262/.343/.471 slash line over 7592 PA with five different organizations. Selected by the Diamondbacks with the first overall pick of the 2005 draft, Upton is a very familiar face to Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto, who worked in Arizona’s front office during Upton’s time with the club.
For the minimal cost, there isn’t much risk for Dipoto and the Mariners in seeing if Upton still has anything left at age 34. With Mitch Haniger on the injured list until around July, Jarred Kelenic demoted to the minors, and Kyle Lewis still working his way back from injury, the M’s have a need for outfield depth. Jesse Winker and rookie phenom Julio Rodriguez have two of the spots spoken for, with Adam Frazier, Dylan Moore, and Steven Souza Jr. all recently seeing starts on the grass since Haniger was lost to the IL.
Sampson was only claimed off waivers from the Cubs earlier this week, and now might be moving on from Seattle without a single appearance in either the minors or majors. The swingman’s 2022 resume thus far consists of a single MLB inning with the Cubs and 19 2/3 innings with Triple-A Iowa. The Washington native did break into the majors with his home state Mariners back in 2016, marking the first of Sampson’s five Major League seasons — the righty has a 5.13 ERA over 189 1/3 innings, with 125 1/3 of those frames coming with the Rangers in 2019.
Mariners Designate Steven Souza Jr., Select Sam Haggerty
The Mariners are making a series of roster moves today, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Infielder Abraham Toro is heading to the 10-day injured list. He had hurt himself in a collision with Adam Frazier during last night’s game. The club’s announcement of the moves describes his injury as a left shoulder sprain. Also leaving the roster is outfield Steven Souza Jr., who has been designated for assignment. To fill those two holes on the active roster, the club has recalled utility player Sam Haggerty and outfielder Taylor Trammell.
With the recent demotion of Jarred Kelenic and injury of Mitch Haniger, the Mariners turned to the veteran Souza as another outfield option. He had been off to a great start to the year in Triple-A, hitting .267/.417/.533 for a wRC+ of 140. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to carry that production into the big leagues, as he’s hit .158/.158/.158 over six games since his promotion. The club will now have a week to trade the 33-year-old or put him on waivers.
Taking his spot on the 40-man roster is the 27-year-old Haggerty. Over 59 career games between the Mets and Mariners, he has a batting line of .207/.265/.321, wRC+ of 66. Last year, he went on the IL in May with a shoulder injury and never returned. He was outrighted by the M’s at the end of the season after clearing waivers. He seems to have recuperated and gotten things back on track this year, as he’s hitting .304/.378/.512, 123 wRC+ through 32 Triple-A games so far. The club will now see if he can sustain that in the big leagues. He’s played exclusively at second base so far this year, though he’s previously spent time at third base, shortstop and all three outfield positions. He’ll likely fill the utility role that was previously filled by Toro, who had spent time at first, second and third base this year.
As for Trammell, he will be the club’s latest attempt to get some kind of production out of its corner outfielders. Julio Rodriguez has played well in center but hasn’t gotten much help from those on his flanks. Kelenic and Souza struggled enough to get demoted and designated for assignment, respectively, with Haniger only able to play nine games on the year so far. Jesse Winker has slumped to a line of .216/.310/.304, 89 wRC+ on the campaign. Dylan Moore has technically been above average with a wRC+ of 104, though in a very uneven fashion. He’s popped a couple homers and walked in 14.6% of his plate appearances, though he’s also struck out 27.1% of the time and is hitting .154.
Trammell suffered a hamstring strain in April and has been gradually working his way back to health, though he hasn’t even begun a rehab assignment before today’s recall, having been in extended Spring Training until now. He played 51 games last year and hit just .160/.256/.359, 73 wRC+, though his Triple-A numbers were much better.
Injury Notes: Wade, E-Rod, Skubal, Murphy
The Giants placed LaMonte Wade Jr. back on the injured list with continued inflammation in his left knee, per a team announcement. Outfielder Luis Gonzalez, who was optioned earlier int he week after a hot start to his Giants tenure, is back up to take his place on the roster. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports that Wade had an MRI and is slated to see a third-party doctor this coming Monday to get a second opinion. The 28-year-old already missed nearly four weeks of the season due to left knee troubles and has appeared in just 10 games with San Francisco on the year. He’s hitting .240/.375/.360 in a small sample of 32 plate appearances, which is solid thanks to five walks and a hit-by-pitch but a ways off from last year’s pace in the power department. Wade smacked 18 homers, 17 doubles and three triples in just 381 plate appearances with the Giants last season.
While there’s surely concern throughout the Giants organization regarding Wade’s knee, his return to the injured list paves the way for the 26-year-old Gonzalez to try to prove that his .349/.397/.492 start to the season (73 plate appearances) has some legitimacy. No one should expect Gonzalez to maintain a .370 average on the balls he puts into play, but his 8.2% walk rate is solid and his 13.7% strikeout rate is downright tiny by today’s standards. While there’s surely some regression in store, Gonzalez was a prospect of some note in the White Sox system before landing in San Francisco, but he only ever received 13 big league plate appearances with the South Siders.
Some more injury notes worth monitoring around the league…
- A recent MRI performed on Tigers lefty Eduardo Rodriguez didn’t reveal any major damage to his oblique or intercostal muscles, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic writes. On the one hand, that’s good news, but on the other, it leaves some mystery as to what is ailing the southpaw. Rodriguez left his start against the Rays this week in the first inning, having allowed six of the seven batters he faced to reach base. His fastball velocity was noticeably down, sitting at just 89.8 mph after averaging a bit better than 92 mph through his first seven outings. He’s likely IL-bound, and it seems the Tigers will continue to evaluate him as they search for the root of the issue.
- As if the Tigers’ injury woes weren’t bad enough — Rodriguez is likely IL-bound, where he’ll join Casey Mize, Matt Manning, Tyler Alexander, Michael Pineda and Spencer Turnbull — breakout starter Tarik Skubal exited tonight’s game after taking a 100.4 mph comeback liner off his leg at the end of the fifth inning. The 25-year-old Skubal blanked Cleveland over five frames prior to exiting, dropping his ERA to 2.22 through 42 2/3 frames. He’s fanned 28.4% of his opponents against just a 4.5% walk rate on the season. The Tigers announced that Skubal has been initially diagnosed with only a contusion, but MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets that he’ll undergo additional testing tomorrow. Skubal tells reporters that he’s optimistic of making his next start, but there’s enough swelling that doctors have yet to perform imaging (hence the additional evaluation tomorrow).
- Mariners catcher Tom Murphy, out since dislocating his shoulder on a tag play at home plate back on May 6, had a setback in his recovery and isn’t expected to come off the injured list anytime soon, tweets Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Further specifics haven’t been announced by the team just yet, but it’s a notable blow given that Murphy was out to a .303/.439/.455 start to his season, albeit through a small sample of 42 plate appearances. He’s been a .240/.321/.440 hitter overall in 687 plate appearances since joining the Mariners in 2020, and his absence will leave the team reliant on young backstops Cal Raleigh and Luis Torrens, both of whom have struggled immensely at the plate this year.
Mariners Return Roenis Elias To Triple-A
May 19: The Mariners announced that Elias has been returned to Triple-A Tacoma. That he wasn’t passed through waivers indicates that he was indeed treated as a Covid substitute player, despite the fact that the team did not originally specify him as one. He’ll remain with the organization but won’t occupy a spot on the 40-man roster. Steckenrider, meanwhile, has been reinstated from the restricted list.
May 16: The Mariners have selected the contract of left-hander Roenis Elias from Triple-A Tacoma, per a team announcement. Right-hander Drew Steckenrider, meanwhile, has been placed on the restricted list in advance of their forthcoming three-game series against the Blue Jays in Toronto. Steckenrider is temporarily removed from the 40-man roster while on the restricted list, so the Mariners didn’t need to make an additional move to accommodate the return of Elias, who pitched with Seattle from 2014-15 and 2018-19.
Elias, 33, returned to the Mariners in hopes of a third stint when he signed a minor league deal prior to the 2021 season. He tore his left elbow’s ulnar collateral ligament during Spring Training 2021, however, and missed the entire season after the subsequent Tommy John surgery. He’s healthy again, having pitched 14 2/3 innings of 4.30 ERA ball with an 11-to-4 K/BB ratio in Triple-A Tacoma so far in 2022.
Elias has spent parts of four previous seasons with the Mariners, and while he’s also pitched with the Red Sox and Nationals, he’s never found much success outside Seattle. In 377 career innings as a Mariner, the Cuban-born southpaw has a 3.75 ERA, 14 saves and a shutout (during his 2014 run as a starter). He’s logged a combined 11 innings between Boston and Washington, surrendering 15 runs in those brief stints.
It could be a short stay on the roster for Elias, although it’s worth noting that the Mariners did not classify him as a Covid-related “substitute” player. Rather, Seattle made formal announcement of his selection to the 40-man roster. Team-by-team terminology tends to vary with respect to Covid substitutes, but the implication in this instance certainly seems to be that there’s some degree of permanence to this move. If that’s indeed the case, Elias can’t be sent back to Triple-A unless he first passes through outright waivers unclaimed. Even then, he’d have the requisite service time to reject an outright assignment to a minor league affiliate, should he choose.
As for Steckenrider, he’ll be away from the team for this three-game set and presumably rejoin them Thursday when they continue the current road trip in Boston. Travel regulations in Canada prevent unvaccinated athletes from entering the country to compete against Canadian-based teams.
Steckenrider, 31, was a revelation for the Mariners last year after signing a minor league deal. In 67 innings, he pitched to a flat 2.00 ERA with 14 saves, seven holds, a 21.7% strikeout rate and a 6.4% walk rate. It looked to be the start of an impressive rebound for Steckenrider, who shined as a setup man with the Marlins early in his career before injuries derailed his 2019-20 seasons. However, he’s stumbled again in 2022, limping to a 4.85 ERA with diminished strikeout and walk rates (15% and 8.3%, respectively). To Steckenrider’s credit, he’s been dogged by a bloated .356 average on balls in play, but even if one were to chalk some of his struggles up to that woeful BABIP, the sharp downturn in his K-BB% is nevertheless a concern. He’s being paid a $3.1MM salary this season and can be controlled through 2023 via arbitration.
Guardians Acquire Yohan Ramirez From Mariners
The Guardians have acquired reliever Yohan Ramirez from the Mariners in exchange for cash, according to announcements from both teams. Cleveland placed James Karinchak on the 60-day injured list in a corresponding 40-man roster move.
Seattle designated Ramirez for assignment last week. Rather than wait for the 27-year-old to land on waivers, the Guardians jumped the line by sending cash to the M’s. Ramirez still has a pair of minor league option years remaining, so he’ll add a bullpen depth option with some roster flexibility to the organization.
Originally an Astros’ farmhand, Ramirez landed in Seattle via the 2019 Rule 5 draft. He stuck on the active roster for the shortened 2020 season, tossing 20 2/3 innings of primarily low-leverage work. The right-hander posted a 2.61 ERA as a rookie, but he walked an untenable 21.3% of batters faced. Ramirez averaged nearly 96 MPH on his fastball and struck out 27.7% of batters faced, though, and the M’s were impressed enough to keep him around in hopes he could emerge as a long-term middle innings option.
That didn’t wind up coming to fruition, even as Ramirez made marginal improvements from a control perspective. Home runs became a particular problem, as he was tagged for nearly two homers per nine innings over 25 appearances in 2021. He’s allowed another trio of longballs in 8 1/3 innings early this season, and the M’s decided to reallocate his spot on the 40-man roster.
That Ramirez can bounce between Cleveland and Triple-A Columbus is no doubt of some appeal to the Guardians front office. His career 13.6% swinging strike percentage is above-average, and he’s induced infield fly balls at a rate nearly double the league mark. That was enough promise for Cleveland to add him to the bullpen depth chart.
Karinchak hasn’t pitched this season. He opened the year on the IL due to a lower back strain, and today’s transfer means he won’t return until the first week of June at the earliest. A specific timetable for his recovery isn’t clear, although it’s not likely Karinchak would’ve been in position to return by the end of this month anyhow given that he’s yet to embark on a minor league rehab assignment.
The 26-year-old made his MLB debut at the end of the 2019 season and looked like a late-game stopper the following year. The righty struck out a laughable 48.6% of opponents in 27 innings that year en route to a 2.67 ERA. He did show some strike-throwing issues, though, and his walk concerns became more pronounced when his strikeout rate fell to a mortal (although still excellent) 33.2% last season. Karinchak pitched to a 4.07 ERA in 55 1/3 frames in 2021.
Giants, Mariners Trade Alex Blandino For Stuart Fairchild
The Giants and Mariners have agreed to a trade that will send infielder Alex Blandino and cash considerations to the M’s, according to Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times (Twitter link). San Francisco will acquire outfielder Stuart Fairchild, who was designated for assignment yesterday.
Fairchild is joining his third different organization in less than a month, as the Mariners obtained him from the Diamondbacks back on April 23. A Seattle native, Fairchild’s brief tenure with his hometown team did see him play in three games and receive three plate appearances as a late-game sub. This makes it 15 MLB appearances for Fairchild over the last two seasons, after he made his big league debut with the D’Backs in 2021.
The Reds took Fairchild in the second round in the 2017 draft, and has posted some good numbers in the minors, including a .282/.382/.536 slash line over 246 PA at the Triple-A level. As a right-handed hitting outfielder who can play all three outfield spots, Fairchild represents an interesting depth option for the Giants, who are forever looking for more pieces to mix and match. Since the Giants’ first-choice outfield group of Mike Yastrzemski, LaMonte Wade Jr., Joc Pederson, and Luis Gonzalez are all left-handed hitters, Fairchild joins Austin Slater and Darin Ruf as the top complements from the right side.
It could be argued that Seattle had a similar need for outfield depth with Mitch Haniger on the injured list and Jarred Kelenic optioned to Triple-A, but the M’s clearly felt Fairchild was an expendable part. Instead, the Mariners will now add to their infield depth chart with Blandino, a veteran of 135 games with the Reds over parts of the last three seasons. Blandino was another high draft pick for Cincinnati, selected with the 29th overall pick of the 2014 draft.
Blandino has hit only .226/.339/.291 over his 279 PA in the majors, but brings plenty of versatility. The 29-year-old has lined up at all four infield positions, and played a handful of games as a corner outfielder at the MLB level (plus five mop-up appearances as a pitcher). Abraham Toro and Dylan Moore are currently acting in similar super-utility capacities on the Mariners’ active roster, so Blandino provides some extra cover in the event of an injury.
Blandino was born in Palo Alto, California and played college ball at Stanford, so the trade represents a rather unusual case of two teams swapping local products. Then again, the frequency of trades between the Giants and Mariners is an oddity unto itself — this is the fourth deal between the two clubs in less than a month.
Mariners Option Jarred Kelenic, Claim Adrian Sampson
The Mariners announced this afternoon they’ve claimed right-hander Adrian Sampson off waivers from the Cubs. They’ve also selected outfielder Steven Souza Jr. to the big leagues in place of Jarred Kelenic, who was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma. Seattle also reinstated Sergio Romo from the 10-day injured list, optioned Danny Young and designated Stuart Fairchild and Yohan Ramirez for assignment to clear 40-man roster space for Sampson and Souza.
Kelenic’s demotion is the most notable of Seattle’s spate of moves. A former sixth overall pick and top prospect, Kelenic has yet to produce against big league pitching. He struggled to a .181/.265/.350 line over his first 377 MLB plate appearances last season, striking out in 28.1% of his trips while hitting only .216 on balls in play. The M’s surely hoped to see more from the left-handed hitting outfielder in the early going this season, but that hasn’t yet been the case.
Through 30 games, Kelenic owns just a .140/.219/.291 mark. The youngster has gone down on strikes 36 times while making contact on only 67.8% of his swings. That’s the 12th-lowest contact rate among 192 batters with at least 90 plate appearances, and the M’s have decided it’s time for a reset against Triple-A arms. It’s the second time in as many years that Kelenic has been optioned after scuffling against MLB pitching, but he responded well during a month-long stint in the minors last summer.
The timing of Kelenic’s latest option comes rather ironically as the M’s are headed to Queens for a weekend series with the Mets. New York, of course, originally drafted him and included him in the controversial Robinson Canó/Edwin Díaz swap. That looked to be a coup for Seattle given Kelenic’s prospect pedigree, but he’ll obviously need to perform better whenever the M’s bring him back to the big leagues. There’s plenty of time to do so, as he won’t turn 23 years old until July. Because of the canceled minor league season in 2020, the Wisconsin native has still only played 51 games between Double-A and Triple-A.
Barring an exceptionally lengthy stint, the demotion doesn’t seem likely to affect his path to free agency after the 2027 season. Kelenic entered the year with 105 days of big league service; players are credited with a full service year for spending 172 days on an MLB roster or injured list. He’s accrued approximately 36 more days this year, meaning he needs to be in the majors for around a month more to surpass the one-year threshold in 2022. How long this stay in Tacoma lasts will no doubt be determined in large part by Kelenic’s performance there, but it’s hard to imagine the M’s keeping him down until September barring some major struggles against Triple-A pitching.
In the meantime, Seattle will turn to the veteran Souza with Julio Rodríguez, Jesse Winker and Dylan Moore as outfield options. The 33-year-old has gotten sporadic MLB time with the Cubs and Dodgers over the past couple years, but he hasn’t played a full season in the majors since 2017. Signed to a minor league deal in Spring Training, Souza has gotten off to an excellent start with the Rainiers. He’s hitting .267/.417/.533 with five homers and a massive 19.8% walk rate in 22 games. The 14-18 M’s will see if he can carry over that production against big league arms to inject some life into an outfield that has underwhelmed.
Fairchild was part of that outfield mix very briefly. The 26-year-old was acquired from the Diamondbacks for cash in late April and appeared in three games, going hitless in a trio of plate appearances. A Seattle native, Fairchild was a second-round pick of the Reds in 2017 and has been traded twice in his young career. The M’s will have a week to deal him again or try to run him through outright waivers.
That’s also true of Ramirez, who has pitched in the bigs over the past three seasons. The right-hander owns a 3.97 ERA in 56 2/3 career innings, striking out a strong 28.6% of opponents. He’s also walked 15.2% of batters faced, however, and he’d been tagged for three homers in his first seven outings this year. The Mariners elected to move on, but he works in the mid-90s and has a pair of minor league option years remaining, so it’s possible another club takes a chance on him.
In his place, they’ll bring aboard a multi-inning option from the Cubs. Sampson started five of his ten appearances for Chicago last season, tossing 35 1/3 frames of 2.80 ERA ball. That came with an underwhelming 19.3% strikeout rate and an alarming 2.04 homers allowed per nine innings, but he pounded the strike zone and induced a fair amount of ground-balls. Chicago re-signed the righty to a minor league deal over the winter. He was selected to the big leagues on Sunday, pitched in one game, then was designated for assignment.
Mariners Acquire Mike Ford From Giants
The Mariners announced they’ve acquired first baseman Mike Ford from the Giants in exchange for cash considerations. It’s a reversal of the teams’ deal from two weeks ago that sent Ford from Seattle to San Francisco for cash.
Ford has pinballed between the two clubs as virtually the 41st player on both rosters. Seattle signed him to a minor league deal 0ver the offseason, then selected him to the big leagues while Luis Torrens was on the COVID-19 list. Once Torrens was healthy enough to return, the M’s designated Ford for assignment.
San Francisco jumped the waiver order by acquiring him, but the 29-year-old only appeared in one MLB game. The big left-handed hitter lost his 40-man roster spot yesterday when the Giants and M’s swung another trade, with San Francisco picking up utility infielder Donovan Walton for a pitching prospect.
The M’s now had a vacancy on the 40-man roster, and they’ll bring Ford back to the organization. The Princeton University product had acquitted himself well during his first run, hitting .317/.404/.488 through 11 games with Triple-A Tacoma. If the M’s are prepared to keep Ford on the 40-man this time around, he could serve as a left-handed bench bat for skipper Scott Servais or head back to the Rainiers as a depth player. He’s in his final minor league option year.