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Matt Festa

Mariners Designate Matt Festa For Assignment

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The Mariners announced Monday that they’ve designated right-hander Matt Festa for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to outfielder Jose Siri, whose previously reported waiver claim out of the Reds organization has now been formally announced by Seattle.

Festa, 27 next month, has pitched 30 2/3 innings of relief with the Mariners over the past two seasons, logging a 4.70 ERA with a 25-to-14 K/BB ratio and a 36.5 percent ground-ball rate along the way. Seattle initially selected him in the seventh round of the 2016 draft.

Festa has enjoyed solid numbers in Double-A and Triple-A, albeit in limited samples of work. The East Stroudsberg University product pitched to a 2.76 ERA with 12.3 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9 in 49 innings in 2018 before logging a 2.64 ERA, 9.7 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 30 2/3 Triple-A frames in 2019. Festa doesn’t throw particularly hard (93 mph average four-seamer) and doesn’t have the type of gaudy spin rates that attract some clubs to pitchers who lack premium velocity. His success in the upper minors and the fact that he has a minor league option year remaining, however, could earn him a look with another club.

The Mariners will have a week to trade Festa, place him on outright waivers or release him.

Mariners Select Ryan Garton, Designate Zac Rosscup

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The Mariners announced a group of moves that will change up their bullpen mix. Righty Ryan Garton’s contract was selected; he’ll be joined by fellow righty Matt Festa, who was recalled.

To make 40-man space for Garton, the M’s have designated southpaw Zac Rosscup for assignment. Active roster space for Festa comes at the expense of Erik Swanson, who was optioned out.

The 29-year-old Garton earned his way back to the bigs for the first time since 2017 after showing well in a swingman capacity at Triple-A. In 26 innings over a dozen appearances, including one start (just the second of his professional career), Garton posted a 3.46 ERA with 9.7 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.

Rosscup, 30, had an outwardly appealing 3.21 ERA but had allowed 14 walks to go with twenty strikeouts in 14 innings. He was posting yawning platoon splits, dominating those left-handed hitters he didn’t walk (.087/.323/.087) while being tuned up by righties (.344/.447/.500).

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/14/18

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Keeping up with the latest minor moves…

  • The White Sox outrighted reliever Bruce Rondon to Triple-A on Friday, per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. Rondon could have rejected the assignment in favor of free agency, but it seems he’ll report to Charlotte. The 27-year-old flamethrower has amassed 40 strikeouts in 29 2/3 major league innings this season, but he has also registered a hideous walk rate (8.19 per nine) and an even higher ERA (8.49). As a result, the Sox designated Rondon on Wednesday and no one took a chance on him via waivers.
  • The Mariners have selected the contract of right-hander Matt Festa from Double-A and optioned fellow righty Christian Bergman to Triple-A, the team announced. Festa is now in position to make his M’s debut two years after they picked him in the seventh round of the 2016 draft. Now 25, Festa has been formidable in relief this year, having pitched to a 3.13 ERA with 12.51 K/9 against 1.99 BB/9 in 31 2/3 innings. He ranks as Seattle’s ninth-best prospect at MLB.com.
  • The Blue Jays selected right-hander Chris Rowley from Triple-A Buffalo and transferred righty Rhiner Cruz (groin) to the 60-day DL prior to Saturday’s game. Rowley’s season debut couldn’t have gone much worse – he surrendered three earned runs on two hits (including a walk-off grand slam to Boston’s Xander Bogaerts) and a walk in a third of an inning.

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