The Mariners announced some roster moves in between games of today’s doubleheader. They have selected the contract of left-hander Tommy Milone, with right-hander Matt Festa being optioned to create room on the active roster. In order to make space on the 40-man roster, righty Joey Gerber has been designated for assignment.
Milone, 35, is a veteran who appeared in each season from 2011 to 2021. As soon as he gets into a game here in 2022, it’ll mark his 12th straight MLB season. He’s appeared for many teams in that time, including a previous stint with the Mariners in 2019, as well as spells with the Nationals, Athletics, Twins, Mets, Orioles, Braves and Blue Jays. One of the softest throwers in the league, Milone is able to survive by limiting free passes. His 17.7% career strikeout rate is certainly low, given that this year’s league average is around 22%. However, his 5.6% walk rate is a few ticks below this year’s 8.3% league average.
Signed to a minor league deal in the offseason, Milone has made seven starts for Triple-A Tacoma this year. In 32 innings, he has a 1.13 ERA, with a 24.8% strikeout rate and 6.8% walk rate. That tiny ERA is certainly nice, but is likely being depressed by a .208 BABIP and 100% strand rate, neither of which are sustainable. Nevertheless, the Mariners will give him a shot to see if he can replicate those kinds of results at the big league level.
As for Gerber, 25, he was an eighth round selection of the Mariners in the 2018 draft. A pure reliever, he’s never made a start in his professional career. He pitched well in the lower levels of the minors and earned his way up to Double-A in 2019. In 22 2/3 innings there that year, he put up a 1.59 ERA with a whopping 31.3% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate and 37.5% ground ball rate. In 2020, the minor leagues were wiped out by the pandemic, but he was able to reach the majors, throwing 15 2/3 innings for the Mariners that year. Despite always racking up Ks in the minors, he only struck out 9.7% of hitters he faced in the bigs, though in a small sample size.
Despite those promising minor league numbers and making his MLB debut at the age of 23, he has since hit a wall due to injuries. Back surgery prevented him from pitching at all in 2021, either in the majors or minors. This year, a forearm strain has kept him out of action, except for a single-inning appearance in the Complex League on June 11. His current health situation isn’t publicly known, but will certainly have a bearing on next steps. Since injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers, it’s possible that Gerber ends up on release waivers in the coming days.
Wow. Milone’s still around? He’s one of those guys who feels like he’s been around for 20yrs..
It’s hard to dislike TOMMY Milone. The guy is a survivor, clubs will be calling Tommy up from AAA to spot start for the next 10 years. Reminds me of Jamie Moyer in a way, soft tossing lefty with good control.
Moyer had talent, tho…
Any player who spends over a decade in the majors has talent.
Except Moyer was actually good for a long time. Moyer is an outlier and his career might not even be possible now.
Moyer got cy young votes multiple times. Would have won at least one if Pedro Martinez did not exist. Tommy’s never ever sniffed a vote.
Joey Gerber seems like a fine prospect for someone to pick up
Yes. Like Walmart. They could probably use him for something.
Hes young enough and has had a enough track record in the minors its possible someone takes a flyer on him and ends up with a decent reliever. That doesn’t mean it’s wrong for them to release him. Releivers are too finicky to guess when that happens, especially pure relief prospects like him.
Already had back surgery to repair a herniated disk and is fighting through a forearm strain that could easily turn into Tommy John surgery on a dime if he’s unlucky. It is all dependent on his health. When healthy he can throw low-mid 90s with an extremely funky delivery.
Gerber has been puréed!
Sad to see the Gerber Baby go, but those major injuries are piling up fast.
Oh no. Already memorialized in a beer can.
Gerber baby buggy bumpers.
What M’s need to do is to “designate” Servais out the gate. If he can’t recognize Mike Trout as a M’s killer after many years as a skipper, then he doesn’t belong there.
Seattle is not a contender. At least not until they can use a lineup where more than three or four guys can be counted on to hit, and until the bullpen can be consistently better. The rotation isn’t bad, but the team is missing too many pieces. I’m not sure Servais is entirely to blame; he could do better, but I believe he does the best he can with the roster he has. As for Jerry Dipoto, I’m not ready to call for the proverbial head on a platter yet, but I’m getting closer. As a Mariners fan since the team’s inception, it just feels like Seattle fans are being sold a bill of goods given the way the team is playing.
I agree with Slothcliff on many points. In spite of all the “Magic” that Trader Jerry has worked in the last 5+ years, all he’s really done is trade talented-but-aging Stars for tons of Can’t Miss prospects most of whom DID miss eventually. I realize that this is the nature of baseball… nobody can predict these things. But it’s just frustrating year after year, decade after decade, to the point where it feels like we’ve been suckered again. Soon another GM and his or her anointed new skipper will arrive in Seattle to take on The Mariner Challenge. And they will be hailed as our NEWEST Mariner Messiahs… just like Bavasi and Zduriencek and Dipoto all were. And we, again, will BELIEVE…
Chrisjaybecker, right on. I’m old enough to remember the days of Dick Balderson, and maybe his predecessors if I think hard enough. Hard to tell whether it’s worth it to fire Dipoto and hire a new GM who would 1) jump-start the team by acquiring a few more high-performance players, or 2) continue the current rebuild and hope for more from your minor league hitters… OR to just stick with Jerry and hope the stars align! Ugh…