The Phillies announced that they’ve designated right-hander Michael Mariot for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Joaquin Benoit, whose one-year deal is now official.
Mariot, 28, pitched 21 2/3 innings with the Phils last year but limped to a 5.82 ERA with a 23-to-14 K/BB ratio and a 31 percent ground-ball rate in that time. Mariot has an ERA just shy of 6.00 in 49 2/3 big league innings over parts of three seasons, but he has a flat 3.00 ERA with 9.3 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 in parts of five Triple-A seasons over a total of 183 innings. That minor league track record should get Mariot some interest as a depth option elsewhere, but he’s out of minor league options so he’d have to break camp with a team next year or be exposed to waivers before he could be sent to the minors.