Mariners Rumors

Minor MLB Transactions: 3/30/21

By Mark Polishuk,Steve Adams and Connor Byrne | March 30, 2021 at 11:50am CDT

The latest minor moves from around baseball…

Shortly after the Mariners released righty reliever Matt Magill, the team brought him back on a two-year minors pact, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com tweets. Magill has appeared in the majors in parts of five seasons (including with the Mariners in 2020), and put up a 4.63 ERA in 149 2/3 innings with strikeout, walk and groundball rates that have rated below average. His season came to a premature end last September when he underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery.
Nationals first baseman Jake Noll and right-hander Dakota Bacus went unclaimed on the waiver wire and have been reassigned to minor league camp, as per a team announcement. The duo were both recently designated for assignment. The 27-year-old Noll has received 30 MLB plate appearances with Washington and batted .276/.300/.345 in that tiny sample, while also hitting .285/.327/.410 over 489 PA at the Triple-A level. Bacus, meanwhile, yielded 10 runs through 11 1/3 innings in his MLB debut last year. The 2012 ninth-rounder has had a respectable ERA and strong ground-ball rate at virtually every minor league stop but has never missed bats at a high rate or limited walks all that effectively. Both players will stick with the Nats as depth options.
Right-hander Kevin McCarthy will remain in the Red Sox organization, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo tweets. The former Royal’s minor league contract with the Sox included an upward mobility clause that would have enabled him to leave the organization had he not earned a 40-man roster spot, but McCarthy will now report to Triple-A. McCarthy appeared in only five games in 2020 but the groundball specialist was a steady member of the Royals pen from 2017-19, posting a 3.65 ERA and 59.5% grounder rate over 177 1/3 innings (154 games) in that three-season stretch.

Mariners To Select Taylor Trammell’s Contract

By Mark Polishuk | March 27, 2021 at 11:35pm CDT

The Mariners will include outfield prospect Taylor Trammell on their Opening Day roster, manager Scott Servais told Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (all Twitter links) and other reporters. Trammell hasn’t only just made the roster, but Servais that Trammell will be the starter in either left field or center field depending on the health of Kyle Lewis. Another notable Seattle prospect in Justin Dunn has won the sixth starter job, Servais said, while Rule 5 Draft pick Will Vest has also made the team and will work out of the Mariners’ bullpen.

The 35th overall pick of the 2016 draft, Trammell is set to make his Major League debut after having already been part of two huge trades in his young professional career. Trammell was originally drafted by the Reds, who sent him to the Padres as the only piece San Diego received in their end of the three-team blockbuster in July 2019 that saw Trevor Bauer go from Cleveland to Cincinnati, while such notables as Franmil Reyes, Logan Allen, and Yasiel Puig were part of the five-player package acquired by the Indians. After a little more than a year in San Diego’s farm system, Trammell was on the move again, dealt with Ty France, Luis Torrens, and Andres Munoz to the Mariners for Austin Nola, Austin Adams, and Dan Altavilla.

It’s naturally unusual to see a top-100 prospect dealt twice in as many years before he even begins his MLB career, and it could speak to why Trammell has fallen closer to the back-end of minor league talent rankings over the last four years (he topped out at #11 for Baseball America and #16th for MLB.com, both prior to the 2019 season). Trammell has hit a solid but unspectacular .270/.363/.406 over 1799 plate appearances in the minors, but only a .234/.340/.349 slash over 514 PA at Double-A. According to MLB Pipeline’s scouting report, Trammell “got a little pull-happy in 2019, which led to more swing and miss, but he still drew a ton of walks and showed off premium bat speed.”

Trammell put in work to correct his swing at the Padres’ and Mariners’ alternate training sites in 2020, and clearly Seattle was impressed enough to allow Trammell to bypass Triple-A and directly suit up in the big leagues. While Lewis’ injury was surely a factor in the Mariners’ decision, Trammell was already gaining a lot of buzz to make the team even prior to Lewis’ collision with the wall, and was seen as a potential starter in left field. While scouts are mixed as to whether or not Trammell could be a long-term center field option, he can surely handle the position on a short-term basis while Lewis recovers.

The other interesting wrinkle to the Mariners’ decision is that if Trammell sticks on the active roster, he’ll gain enough service time to reach free agency after the 2026 season, whereas holding Trammell back for a few extra weeks would allow the M’s to get a seventh year of team control over his services. Naturally, service time is a particularly contentious issue in Seattle in the wake of comments made by former president/CEO Kevin Mather during a rotary club speech, as he openly spoke about keeping such youngsters as Jarred Kelenic and Logan Gilbert in the minors long enough this year to delay their service clocks. Trammell was indirectly referenced by Mather as well, when he noted that though the Mariners had several of their top prospects working out at the alternate training site last season, “there was no chance you were going to see these young players at T-Mobile Park. We weren’t going to put them on the 40-man roster, we weren’t going to start the service time clock.”

Dunn already has a year and 20 days of service time accumulated over two seasons and 52 1/3 innings for the Mariners, and the righty will now enter Seattle’s rotation for the second straight year. A highly-touted prospect in his own right, Dunn and Kelenic were the prizes of the trade package received from the Mets in the Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz trade. Dunn has a 4.13 ERA as a Major Leaguer, though with almost as many walks (31) as strikeouts (38), Dunn’s advanced metrics indicate that some good fortune went into that respectable ERA.

Vest was a 12th-round pick for the Tigers in the 2017 draft, and the left-hander has a 3.88 ERA and 25.6% strikeout rate over 132 1/3 innings in Detroit’s farm system, working exclusively as a reliever. As per the provisions of the Rule 5 Draft, Vest must remain on the Mariners’ big league roster for the entire season in order for Seattle to permanently retain his rights; otherwise, the M’s must offer him back to the Tigers for $50K.

Mariners Reassign Jarred Kelenic

By Connor Byrne | March 26, 2021 at 10:57pm CDT

The Mariners announced several roster moves Friday, including reassigning star outfield prospect Jarred Kelenic to minor league camp. The decision means he won’t make the Mariners’ Opening Day roster. The team also reassigned fellow outfielder Julio Rodriguez and righties Brady Lail and Paul Sewald. Additionally, righty Ljay Newsome, lefty Aaron Fletcher and outfielder Braden Bishop were optioned.

This move is particularly notable in the wake of comments made by former Mariners CEO Kevin Mather, who resigned in February after suggesting the team would manipulate Kelenic’s service time. Mather made it clear that the Mariners would keep him out of the majors for the first month of the season in order to gain an extra year of team control.

“Probably Triple-A Tacoma for a month, and then he will likely be in left field at T-Mobile Park for the next six or seven years,” he said.

Kelenic went on to miss some time this spring with a Grade 2 knee strain, but he looked worthy of a major league roster spot upon his return. The 21-year-old came back to slash.333/.478/.778 with two home runs, albeit over just 18 at-bats. Kelenic has also been highly productive in the minors, where he most recently batted .253/.315/.542 with six homers during a 21-game, 92-PA Double-A debut in 2019. The former sixth overall pick – whom the Mariners acquired in the Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz blockbuster with the Mets in December 2018 – currently ranks as a consensus top prospect, with MLB.com placing him fourth overall. Rodriguez ranks fifth, though he’s not quite as close to the bigs as Kelenic.

With Kelenic out of the Opening Day picture, the Mariners could begin with Taylor Trammell as the starting left fielder alongside center fielder and reigning AL Rookie of the Kyle Lewis and right fielder Mitch Haniger. Jake Fraley and Jose Marmolejos are also outfield options on the 40-man roster.

Mariners Release Gerson Bautista

By Steve Adams | March 23, 2021 at 8:24am CDT

The Mariners announced a slate of roster moves last night, reducing their spring roster to 48 players. Among the most notable cuts: right-hander Gerson Bautista was released from the organization.

This marks the second time that the Mariners organization has parted ways with Bautista, although the circumstances are different. Seattle outrighted Bautista off its 40-man roster at the end of the 2020 season after he missed the year due to a flexor strain in his pitching arm, and he was able to elect free agency thereafter. He quickly returned on a new minor league deal, signing back with the Mariners just two weeks later.

That’s not the case this time around, as Bautista wasn’t on the 40-man roster and has been able to pitch this spring — but has not done so effectively. The hard-throwing 25-year-old served up three runs in 5 1/3 innings, which isn’t necessarily alarming on its own, but he did so on the strength of seven hits and six walks without recording a strikeout. Small sample or not, six walks against no strikeouts through 26 batters faced isn’t an encouraging omen for any pitcher — particularly one who punched out 27.5 percent of his opponents at the Triple-A level. Bautista came to the Mariners alongside Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn in the Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz blockbuster with the Mets, and it seems he may now be destined for a new organization.

The Mariners also optioned righty Yohan Ramirez to Triple-A to begin the season after the righty accrued a full year of service in their bullpen last year. Ramirez posted a strong 2.61 ERA and whiffed 26 batters in 20 2/3 frames, so some may be a bit surprised by his demotion. However, in spite of that impressive ERA, he also issued 20 walks, plunked four hitters and tossed a pair of wild pitches. His control could clearly use some refinement, and Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets that he’s also been behind after spending time away from the club due to Covid-19 protocols. Ramirez tossed just one inning in an official game this spring and, despite not yielding a hit, allowed a pair of runs on a walk, two hit batters and two wild pitches.

It’s also notable that top pitching prospect Logan Gilbert was reassigned to a minor league camp. The former first-rounder only made one Cactus League start, and given his lack of pro experience — just one full season, in 2019 — that wouldn’t have registered as much of a surprise. However, former CEO Kevin Mather suggested during the interview that led to his resignation that Gilbert wouldn’t make the Opening Day roster but would be in the Majors “by mid-April.” As such, the right-hander’s timeline to the big leagues will be interesting to monitor. He’s yet to pitch above Double-A, where he started nine games in 2019. In a total of 135 frames between Class-A, Class-A Advanced and Double-A that year, Gilbert worked to a combined 2.13 ERA with a gaudy 31.7 percent strikeout rate and a tiny 6.3 percent walk rate.

Quick Hits: Bruce, Garrett, Mets, Mariners

By Connor Byrne | March 18, 2021 at 10:00pm CDT

Thanks in part to his ability to play both the corner outfield and first base, Jay Bruce has put himself in the running to make the Yankees’ roster, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News writes. The Yankees may have to decide in the next week whether to give a spot to Bruce, who can opt out of the minor league contract he signed on March 25. Bruce isn’t on the Yankees’ 40-man roster, which is full, so they will have to make a corresponding move if they do add him. That could spell bad news for another outfielder, the out-of-options Mike Tauchman. While Tauchman unexpectedly thrived as both a hitter and defender in his first year as a Yankee in 2019, his production dipped on both ends last season. Tauchman did post a .342 on-base percentage in 111 plate appearances, but it came with a .242 batting average and almost no power (.305 slugging percentage, .063 ISO and zero home runs). Then again, Bruce didn’t exactly hold his own as a Phillie last year, when the veteran power hitter slashed .192/.252/.469 with six HRs over 103 PA.

Good news for the Reds’ bullpen: Left-hander Amir Garrett will pitch in his first spring training game of the year Saturday, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic tweets. Forearm soreness has slowed Garrett, perhaps the favorite to close for the Reds if he’s healthy. The 28-year-old notched a 2.45 ERA/2.82 SIERA and fanned hitters at a massive 37.7 percent rate across 18 1/3 innings in 2020.
With Carlos Carrasco reportedly to miss six to eight weeks because of a torn hamstring, the Mets are stretching lefty Mike Montgomery out and considering him as a swingman, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com relays. Montgomery, whom the Mets signed to a minors pact, has racked up 183 appearances and 70 starts since he debuted in 2013. The former Mariner, Cub and Royal has combined for a respectable 3.84 ERA during his 541-inning career, though his ERA hovered around the 5.00 mark in each of the previous two seasons.
Mariners reliever Andres Munoz suffered a “little setback” in his recovery from Tommy John surgery a few weeks ago and hasn’t taken the mound since, manager Scott Servais told Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times and other reporters. Munoz underwent the procedure almost exactly one year ago (March 20, 2020), and the Padres then dealt him to the Mariners in a seven-player trade last August. Considering how long it takes to return from TJ surgery, Munoz wasn’t likely to debut with the Mariners until sometime this summer, but now it appears they may have to wait a bit longer. Still just 22, Munoz impressed in his first season, 2019, when he pitched to a 3.91 ERA/3.72 SIERA in 23 innings, struck out 30.9 percent of batters and averaged 99.9 mph on his fastball.

Roenis Elias To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

By Anthony Franco | March 16, 2021 at 10:27pm CDT

MARCH 16,10:27pm: Elias has a torn ulnar collateral ligament and will undergo Tommy John surgery, per Divish, who adds that the Mariners have offered him a two-year minor league contract to keep him in the organization as he recovers.

4:06pm:: Elias will undergo surgery, Divish tweets. Further details aren’t yet available.

MARCH 14: Mariners left-hander Roenis Elías suffered a serious injury to his throwing forearm/elbow, manager Scott Servais told reporters (including Corey Brock of the Athletic and Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). He’s slated to undergo further evaluation.

With any serious injury to a pitcher’s forearm and/or elbow, one tends to fear a potential Tommy John surgery. There’s no specific indication that procedure (or any other) is yet on the table in Elías’ case. Nevertheless, it’s clear he won’t be an option to start the season and could seemingly be out an extended period of time.

Elías most recently pitched for Seattle between 2018-19, even serving as the team’s closer for part of the latter season. He was traded to the Nationals at the 2019 deadline but was limited to three innings with Washington by injuries. The 32-year-old then missed the entire 2020 season with a flexor strain in his elbow. Elías returned to the Mariners on a minor league deal in January after demonstrating improved health in an offseason showcase. Unfortunately, it seems he’s now in for another injury-related absence.

West Notes: Mariners, Giants, Padres, Angels

By Connor Byrne | March 15, 2021 at 10:04pm CDT

The Mariners aren’t favorites to push for a playoff spot in 2021, but if they’re in contention during the season, making a deal for a controllable starting pitcher is “definitely” something they would consider, general manager Jerry Dipoto told MLB Network Radio on Monday. Dipoto, who’s never shy about making trades, said Seattle would “jump at” the chance to better its rotation if the opportunity presents itself. The Mariners are slated to begin the season with Marco Gonzales, James Paxton, Yusei Kikuchi and Justus Sheffield as locks in a southpaw-heavy group of six, while righty Chris Flexen will take up a spot and Nick Margevicius and Justin Dunn are competing for the last position.

Giants left-hander Alex Wood is dealing with a stiff back and will visit a spine specialist, Kerry Crowley of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. It’s troubling news for Wood, whom injuries have slowed in the past, including during the previous two seasons. Wood threw just 35 2/3 innings as a Red in 2019 while battling back problems and then totaled only 12 2/3 frames last year as a Dodger on account of shoulder issues. The Giants nonetheless signed Wood to a $3MM guarantee, and if he’s healthy, he’s expected to occupy a spot in their rotation. For now, though, it looks as if the Giants’ season-opening starting staff will consist of Kevin Gausman, Johnny Cueto, Anthony DeSclafani, Aaron Sanchez and Logan Webb.
More unwelcome news for the Giants’ pitching staff, per Crowley, who reports that right-hander Dedniel Nunez sprained the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow and will go for a second opinion. San Francisco took the 24-year-old from the Mets in last December’s Rule 5 Draft, but the Giants could elect to cut ties with Nunez in the event of a serious injury.
Outfielder/infielder Jorge Mateo is in good position to earn a roster spot with the Padres, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com writes. Mateo, who’s competing against Brian O’Grady and Jorge Ona for a bench role, joined the Padres in a trade with the Athletics last June and went on to make his major league debut. The former top 100 prospect hit a weak .154/.185/.269 without a home run during that stretch, however, and with no minor league options remaining, it could be a make-or-break spring training if he’s going to stick with the Padres.
The Angels announced that righty Felix Pena departed their game Monday with right hamstring irritation. There haven’t been further updates on Pena’s status. Since his first year with the Angels in 2018, Pena has eaten up plenty of innings (215 2/3) and pitched to a 4.34 ERA. He finished third among Angels relievers with 26 2/3 frames last year.

AL West Notes: Mariners, Fiers, Adell, Whitley, Astros

By Mark Polishuk | March 15, 2021 at 12:22pm CDT

The December 2018 trade that sent Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz to the Mets was a transformational moment in Mariners history, as it allowed Seattle to both escape a major salary commitment to Cano and also re-stock its farm system with some prime minor league talent in Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn. Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto recently discussed the trade with The Athletic’s Corey Brock, looking back at how talks with the Mets developed, and how concurrent discussions with the Phillies about a Diaz trade helped make the Mets even more aggressive about swinging a deal to one-up their NL East rival.

MLBTR Poll: Who Will Win The AL West?

By Mark Polishuk | March 14, 2021 at 9:24pm CDT

George Springer, Marcus Semien, Liam Hendriks, Lance Lynn….it seemed that for much of the offseason, the news out of the AL West focused on what stars were leaving the division, rather than joining. It has made for an intriguing divisional race as we approach Opening Day, so let’s run down the contenders as per Fangraphs’ projected standings.

The Astros are judged to be the best of the bunch, projected for an 89-73 record despite losing Springer, potentially losing other still-unsigned free agents (i.e. Josh Reddick, Roberto Osuna), and losing Justin Verlander last season to Tommy John surgery. On the plus side, the Astros brought a couple of key offensive players back into the mix by re-signing Michael Brantley and Yuli Gurriel, and they added Jake Odorizzi to a bolster an injury-hampered rotation. There are certainly some question marks on Houston’s roster, but the core group of talent might be enough to capture the division.

Clocking in with an 84-78 projection, matching this record would give the Angels their fourth-highest win total since 2012 — Mike Trout’s first full season in the big leagues. The Halos’ inability to build a winner around their superstar has been a sore point for both Orange County fans and perhaps the baseball world at large, but comparatively speaking, the Angels also didn’t suffer as many major personnel losses this winter as their division rivals did. While the Angels didn’t make any blockbuster acquisitions, they did aim to get better, adding such second-tier veterans as Raisel Iglesias, Jose Quintana, Alex Cobb, Jose Iglesias, Dexter Fowler, and Kurt Suzuki. With Trout and Anthony Rendon anchoring the lineup and Shohei Ohtani perhaps healthy again, do the Angels have enough to finally get back to the postseason?

The reigning AL West champion Athletics are projected for a modest 83-79 mark, as Oakland lost some significant veteran talent in Semien, Hendriks, Robbie Grossman, Joakim Soria, and Tommy La Stella. Of course, the A’s have made a habit of overachieving in the Billy Beane era, and they do have a lot of promising young arms. If the pitching staff can healthy and even a couple of hurlers make the proverbial leap, the A’s might have one of the sport’s better rotations. On the offensive side, Oakland is hoping Elvis Andrus thrives with a change of scenery, and that Matt Chapman and Matt Olson hit a bit more like their usual selves.

If the three front-runners all have their weak spots, is there an opportunity for an underdog to emerge? Fangraphs doesn’t thinks so, as both the Mariners (74-88) and Rangers (72-90) are projected to fall well back of the pack, yet it isn’t as if either team is bereft of talent. Seattle has a lot of promising young players that could possibly break out early and help Marco Gonzales, Kyle Seager, and bounce-back candidate James Paxton steal some wins. The Rangers made some interesting additions in Dane Dunning, Nate Lowe, and David Dahl, plus you figure Texas is due for some better offensive luck considering virtually the entire team (even star Joey Gallo) had down years at the plate in 2020.

So, the question remains, who will end up as AL West champions? (Poll link for app users)

Who will win the AL West?

Athletics 32.00% (3,980 votes)

Astros 28.28% (3,517 votes)

Angels 27.02% (3,361 votes)

Mariners 9.33% (1,160 votes)

Rangers 3.38% (420 votes)

Total Votes: 12,438

AL West Notes: Adell, Marsh, Flexen, Kozma

By Mark Polishuk | March 13, 2021 at 7:02pm CDT

Jo Adell was removed during the second inning today’s game after the Angels outfielder collided with the wall in search of a fly ball. The move was made for precautionary reasons, as Adell said he “felt something” after the crash, manager Joe Maddon told the Los Angeles Times’ Jack Harris and other reporters. Team trainers didn’t find anything in the way of a hyper-extension after examining Adell, so the youngster may have escaped any real harm.

Considered one of the game’s top prospects prior to his MLB debut last season, Adell is a big part of the Halos’ future outfield plans, along with fellow up-and-comer Brandon Marsh. A lingering shoulder injury from last season has kept Marsh from any outfield action this spring, though he is expected to be back on the grass next week and Marsh tells MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger that he believes he’ll be ready for the start of the season. Adell and Marsh will both likely begin the season at the Angels’ alternate training site and then with their Triple-A team, before factoring into the Major League roster at some point during the year.

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