Fien, 33, had been on the 60-day disabled list due to an impingement in his right shoulder and would’ve required a 40-man roster spot in the month of September upon his activation from the DL. Instead, the Phils will cut him loose and use that slot to look at other options in the season’s final month.

Philadelphia acquired Fien from Seattle back in early May, but Fien didn’t log much time in the Majors for either the Phillies or the Mariners this year. In a total of 12 innings, he was tattooed for 17 runs on 23 hits and six walks with 10 strikeouts.

Fien had a nice run with the Twins from 2012-15, pitching to a 3.54 ERA with 7.9 K/9 against 1.6 BB/9 in 223 2/3 innings, but he’s now struggled to a 7.19 ERA with the Twins, Dodgers, Mariners and Phillies over the past two seasons. If he’s healthy, though, he’ll likely find some minor league offers this winter, which would afford him the opportunity to break camp with a big league club in Spring Training next year.

Philadelphia acquired the 33-year-old Fien in a cash trade with Seattle last month, which came after the Mariners outrighted him. The right-hander signed a $1MM deal with the Mariners over the winter and then posted disastrous results in six innings with the club, allowing 10 earned runs on nine hits and four walks, with six strikeouts. Fien also struggled in the majors last year across 39 1/3 innings with the Twins and Dodgers, combining for a 5.49 ERA despite logging 8.0 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9.

Unlike 2012-15, when he pitched to a 3.54 ERA over 223 2/3 innings with the Twins, home runs have been problematic lately for Fien. He gave up homers on 24.5 percent of fly balls last year and has yielded them at a 50 percent rate during his small sample of big league work this season. That could be an issue in the Phillies’ hitter-friendly confines, but there’s little harm in giving Fien an opportunity to reestablish himself in the majors. The 21-36 Phillies are already out of the playoff race, after all, and their bullpen has produced the majors’ seventh-worst ERA (4.74). Fien, for his part, fared well with their Triple-A affiliate before his promotion, throwing nine homer-less innings of two-run ball and adding 11 strikeouts against two walks.

Fien, 33, has been designated for assignment and outrighted off the 40-man roster by the Mariners twice this season. He’s struggled immensely through six big league innings this year, surrendering 10 earned runs on nine hits (three homers) and four walks with six strikeouts. That marks a continuation of the difficulties that Fien had with the Dodgers and Twins in 2016, when he posted a 5.49 ERA through 39 1/3 innings. (Notably, Fien did improve considerably upon moving from Minnesota to Los Angeles, recording a 4.21 ERA with 8.1 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 in 25 2/3 innings.)

Though he’s struggled since the onset of the 2016 season, Fien was a reliable middle relief/setup option for the Twins from 2012-15, logging 223 2/3 innings with a 3.54 ERA, 7.9 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9. Fien’s velocity is down a bit this season, but he’s also registered an impressive 17.8 percent swinging-strike rate and is subsequently sporting a career-best 66.7 percent contact rate. The long ball has plagued Fien since early in 2016, and while a move to the homer-happy Citizens Bank Park (in the event that he is promoted to the Majors at some point) may not help in that regard, it could also do Fien some good to get out of the America League.

TUESDAY: The Mariners have designated righty Casey Fien for assignment, per a team announcement. Seattle has also placed infielder Shawn O’Malley on the 60-day DL to clear another 40-man spot.

These moves were designed to open the door to two new members of the big league bullpen. The M’s purchased the contracts of righties Jean Machi and Emilio Pagan. First baseman Dan Vogelbach was optioned to open another active roster spot.

Fien was already outrighted off of the 40-man roster earlier in the year, accepting an assignment at Triple-A (in part, perhaps, in order to keep his salary under the MLB deal he signed over the winter). Unfortunately, he had another poor outing upon returning to the majors and now carries a 15.00 ERA through six innings on the year.

The 35-year-old Machi has not pitched in the majors since 2015. But he has thrown eight spotless innings thus far at Tacoma. Pagan, 25, is set for his MLB debut. The former tenth rounder has worked to a 3.27 ERA over his 11 frames at Triple-A this year, allowing just five hits while racking up 18 strikeouts against seven walks.

• The Rangers signed right-hander Walker Weickel to a minor league contract, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). The 23-year-old has spent his entire career prior to this point with the Padres, who selected him 55th overall back in the 2012 draft. Weickel’s career has been slowed by injuries, including Tommy John surgery, and he’s been limited to 22 1/3 innings over the past two seasons combined. Texas has assigned Weickel to extended Spring Training, per Grant.
• Right-hander Casey Fien’s contract was selected by the Mariners prior to tonight’s game, the team announced. He’ll rejoin the club after previously being outrighted earlier this season. The 33-year-old Fien was slammed for seven runs on seven hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings in his first stint with the Mariners. Though he’s struggled since the onset of the 2016 season, Fien was a reliable middle relief/setup option for the Twins from 2012-15, logging 223 2/3 innings with a 3.54 ERA, 7.9 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9. Seattle’s 40-man roster is once again full with Fien’s addition.

2:13pm: Both righty Felix Hernandez and outfielder Mitch Haniger are going on the 10-day DL after suffering injuries last night, as the team announced and Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reported on Twitter.

Seattle made a variety of other roster moves, too. Righties Chase De Jong and Casey Fien, lefty Dillon Overton, and outfielder Ben Gamel are all headed onto the MLB roster. Meanwhile, righties Chris Heston and Evan Marshall have each been optioned back to Triple-A.

[RELATED: Updated Mariners Depth Chart]

In Hernandez’s case, he has been diagnosed with shoulder inflammation, as Dutton tweets. But it’s still not entirely clear whether that’s just an isolated issue or if there’s an underlying injury of greater concern causing the problem. The 31-year-old has been knocked around in his first five starts, allowing 14 earned runs on 39 hits.

As for Haniger, he has been a revelation. But an oblique issue will sideline him after 95 plate appearances of .338/.442/.600 hitting. It’s still not known how severe Haniger’s injury is or what kind of timeline he’ll be facing.

Needless to say, these DL placements constitute significant losses for a struggling Seattle club, though perhaps the hope remains that neither player will be out for an extended stretch. The M’s are already staring at a 6.5 game deficit in the AL West.

• Righty Casey Fien has accepted a Triple-A assignment with the Mariners after clearing outright waivers, as Bob Dutton and TJ Cotterill of the Tacoma News Tribune report (Twitter links). Fien, who said it was an easy call to remain in the organization, was designated after a few rough outings. But the 33-year-old still has plenty of life to his fastball and was registering swings and misses, and he figures to be one of the first players up if a need rises.
• The Angels have selected the contract of righty Deolis Guerra, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. Clearing a 40-man spot wasn’t difficult, as the club was able to shift rehabbing lefty Andrew Heaney to the 60-day DL. Soon to turn 28, Guerra pitched to a 3.21 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 1.2 BB/9 last year, but nevertheless lost his 40-man spot over the winter. He is out of options, so he’ll have to stick on the active roster or face a DFA.
• The Rays have selected the contract of outfielder Shane Peterson, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Peterson will take the place of Mallex Smith, who is headed to the 10-day DL with a hamstring injury. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, right-hander Brad Boxberger has been transferred from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL. The 29-year-old Peterson saw MLB time with Oakland in 2013 and with Milwaukee in 2015, hitting a combined .225/.322/.346 over the life of 234 plate appearances. Peterson has plenty of action at all three outfield slots and has a very strong .298/.383/.470 batting line in 418 Triple-A games (1808 plate appearances). His stay with the Rays could be a brief one, though, as Colby Rasmus will soon resume his minor league rehab assignment. As for Boxberger, he’s dealing with a flexor strain, Topkin reported last week, and now won’t be eligible to return to the big league roster until June.

While the move also opens a 40-man spot, that’ll be accounted for, too. Minor league outfielder Boog Powell has been reinstate from the restricted list after serving an 80-game suspension for a failed PED test.

The 33-year-old Fien had a fairly solid bounceback run last year with the Dodgers, leading to a MLB deal with Seattle over the winter. It’s not immediately clear whether that contract includes language allowing the team to escape the full $1.1MM salary that it carried; per the reporting at the time, it came with a minor-league split salary.

Things didn’t go quite as hoped for Fien in the early going. In five outings, he was tagged for seven earned runs on seven hits (two of them long balls) and three walks, while logging five strikeouts. He was still showing a 93 mph average fastball, though, and was missing bats (16.9% swinging-strike rate) in his brief stint, so it wouldn’t be too surprising to see him back up — whether or not it’s with the M’s — at some point this year.

Marshall, who’l soon turn 27, was claimed recently off waivers. GM Jerry Dipoto is a long-time fan of the sinkerballer, who’s looking to return to the success he showed as a rookie back in 2014. Marshall hasn’t yet regained traction in the majors since suffering a scary skull fracture, but it seems he’ll get a shot at locking down a role in Seattle.

[RELATED: Updated Mariners Roster]

Fien became eligible for free agency shortly after the Dodgers outrighted him off their 40-man roster in mid-September. In a combined 39 1/3 innings with them and the Twins last season, Fien recorded a 5.49 ERA, 8.01 K/9, 2.29 BB/9 and 33.9 percent ground-ball rate. Fien was much more successful at preventing runs over the previous four years, as he logged a 3.54 ERA, 7.93 K/9, 1.57 BB/9 and 33.6 grounder rate in 223 2/3 frames with the Twins from 2012-15. Home runs weren’t a serious problem then for Fien, but the 33-year-old allowed 13 this past season en route to a bloated ERA.

Fien has a minor league option remaining, but if he earns a place on the Mariners’ roster, he’ll make $1.1MM, according to Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune (Twitter link). He’ll vie to join a relief group that, at least for now, also includes righty setup men in the injured Steve Cishek, Nick Vincent, Evan Scribner, Dan Altavilla and Arquimedes Caminero.

Kiekhefer originally joined the Mariners less than a month ago as a waiver claim from the Cardinals. A 38th-round pick in the 2010 draft, Kiekhefer cracked the major leagues for the first time in 2016 and registered a 5.32 ERA, 5.73 K/9, 2.86 BB/9 and 47.3 percent ground-ball mark in 22 innings with St. Louis.

Lee, a former high-end prospect with the Dodgers, became a Mariner when they acquired him for infielder Chris Taylor last June. The 25-year-old Lee, who went in the first round of the 2010 draft, debuted in the big leagues with 4 2/3 frames as a member of the Dodgers in 2015. He spent last season at the Triple-A level and combined for 148 innings – 74 1/3 of which came with the Mariners’ affiliate in Tacoma. Lee struggled to a 7.39 ERA with the Rainiers, though his strikeout and walk rates per nine (6.05 and 2.91) weren’t nearly as ugly.

The Dodgers claimed Fien and the remainder of his $2.275MM salary from the Twins back in early May and ultimately received 25 1/3 innings of 4.21 ERA ball out of the 32-year-old. Fien never established himself with the Tigers, who originally drafted him in 2006, but he broke out as a solid setup piece for the Twins in 2012. Fien went on to post a 3.54 ERA in 223 2/3 innings for the Twins from 2012-15, but his strikeout rate plummeted in 2015 and he struggled greatly this season before Minnesota designated him. While his ERA improved with the Dodgers, Fien allowed a stunning eight homers in his short time with L.A., plus another five in his 13 1/3 innings with the Twins. All told, he’s served up 13 long balls in just 39 1/3 innings of work this season en route to a collective 5.49 ERA, although his 8.0 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 are at least somewhat encouraging.

Oklahoma City’s season is still alive in the Pacific Coast League playoffs, so Fien can continue pitching in the Triple-A postseason. However, if he’s not added back to the 40-man roster, he’ll be eligible to elect free agency at season’s end.

[Related: Updated Los Angeles Dodgers Depth Chart]

The Dodgers claimed Fien from the Twins in May after four-plus years in Minnesota. He pitched 25 2/3 innings for his new team, posting a 4.21 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 while showing a slight increase in his velocity from previous seasons. His season was marred somewhat by a late-summer DL stint due to elbow tendonitis, however, and he allowed eight home runs. He’s making $2.28MM this season, and is eligible for arbitration again this winter. The Dodgers have evidently decided they can risk exposing him to waivers.

The 34-year-old Ethier has missed the entire season to this point after a foul ball broke his leg in March. He’s coming off a strong .294/.366/.486 season in 2015. News of his return broke earlier this week, with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts saying (via Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times) that the team would initially use him primarily as a pinch-hitter and spot-starter. As McCullough notes, the Dodgers currently have plenty of outfielders, with Joc Pederson, Howie Kendrick, Josh Reddick, Yasiel Puig, Andrew Toles and Rob Segedin also on hand.

[Related: Updated Dodgers Depth Chart]

Ryu had only just returned from a lengthy absence caused by shoulder troubles. Now, it seems, he has a new area of concern. The team is labeling it tendinitis, though the DL placement suggests that Ryu could require a reasonably lengthy rest. On the other hand, it’s retroactive to July 9th, so Ryu will be eligible to return in short order.

It’s obviously far too soon to know how long Ryu will be out, but there are some positive signs. An MRI showed “no notable changes” from prior looks at the joint, per Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).

Regardless of the near-term prognosis, though, it’s yet another troubling sign for a pitcher who has struggled to return to health. It also wasn’t promising to see Ryu scuffle through 4 2/3 innings in his lone outing of the year earlier this month, allowing six earned runs on eight hits.

Whether there’s any impact on L.A.’s deadline plans remains to be seen, but there are other options already on hand and filtering back to the major league mix. If anything, the move on Fien could be just as notable in regard to trade plans. The pen will now be without a pitcher who had contributed 22 innings of 4.09 ERA pitching (with 7.8 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9) since being claimed earlier this year.

Ramsey, whom the Dodgers acquired for cash considerations from the Indians last month, has never seen major league action despite going 23rd overall in the 2012 draft. The 26-year-old has slashed just .222/.285/.429 with five home runs in 138 minor league plate appearances this season. All told, Ramsey owns a .257/.350/.421 line in 1,792 minor league trips to the plate.

Urias, meanwhile, made only one start for the Dodgers after his highly touted promotion. The 19-year-old superprospect tossed 2 2/3 innings of three-run ball and allowed nine base runners (five hits, four walks) against three strikeouts in a loss to the Mets on Friday. He previously threw 41 dominant innings with Oklahoma City and has gone 27 consecutive frames in the minors without surrendering a run.

Fien, claimed off waivers from the Twins earlier this month, has racked up 251 1/3 big league innings of 4.05 ERA pitching. The 32-year-old has limited walks (1.82 BB/9) throughout his career, and he exceeded the 60-inning plateau in each season from 2013-15. Fien got off to a forgettable start for the Twins this year, however, and then yielded five earned runs in 7 2/3 innings with Oklahoma City.

The veteran righty obviously passed through the second time around, suggesting that Los Angeles was the only organization interested in taking on the rest of his $2.275MM salary. Though Fien could have refused the assignment, that would have meant giving up the cash as well.

It seems that the Dodgers were drawn to Fien because of a rising swinging strike rate and steady fastball velocity. Of course, he’s also been hurt badly by the long ball and owns a 7.90 ERA, though that’s due in part to some misfortune — such as a 22.7% HR/FB rate that stands at over twice his career average and a somewhat elevated .372 BABIP-against.

Those peripherals reflect performance and skill as well as luck, of course, but the Dodgers evidently saw enough cause for optimism to put in a claim. Certainly, it’s hard to find arms at this stage of the season with Fien’s solid track record, and it doesn’t hurt that the club can now stash him in Triple-A without occupying a 40-man spot. It’s worth noting, too, that Fien can also be controlled for two more years via arbitration if he makes good on his chance

1:45pm: The Dodgers have claimed righty reliever Casey Fien from the Twins, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Minnesota placed Fien on waivers earlier this week along with Tommy Milone. The Twins also outrighted Milone today, as Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press tweets.

Fien allowed 12 runs and five homers in 13 2/3 innings with the Twins this season. He had been significantly more effective in the previous several seasons, however (even as his strikeout rate has progressively declined), and last year he posted a 3.55 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and an excellent 1.1 BB/9 over 63 1/3 frames. He also hasn’t shown a significant loss of velocity in 2016 as compared to last season. Fien clearly seems able to throw strikes, but that tendency might sometimes get him into trouble, as he’s an extreme fly-ball pitcher.

The Dodgers’ immediate plans for Fien aren’t yet clear. They’re looking for reliable bullpen help to complement Kenley Jansen (and are reportedly considering adding top prospect Julio Urias to their bullpen). Fien is optionable, however. Fien will make $2.275MM this season (a salary that the Dodgers will assume as a result of the claim), and the Dodgers can take him through the arbitration process for two more seasons beyond this one if they choose.