Mariners Claim Pat Light From Pirates, Outright Ryne Harper
The Mariners have announced they’ve claimed righty Pat Light from the Pirates and assigned him to Triple-A Tacoma. They’ve also outrighted righty Ryne Harper to Triple-A Tacoma.
The Pirates designated Light for assignment last Saturday. The reliever is a former first-round pick of the Red Sox and has tantalizing velocity, but he has long struggled with his control, as his 5.1 BB/9 this year for Triple-A Indianapolis suggests. The 26-year-old pitched briefly in the big leagues for the Red Sox and Twins last season and allowed 22 runs in 16 2/3 innings, though he did average 95 MPH with his fastball.
The Mariners selected the 28-year-old Harper’s contract late last month, then optioned him to Tacoma before he threw a pitch for them. He has pitched parts of seven seasons in the minors but has never appeared in a big-league game despite having been on a big-league roster and being part of a trade for a big-leaguer (the 2015 deal that sent Jose Ramirez to Atlanta). He has, however, fared well this season for Tacoma, posting a 3.00 ERA, 10.9 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 24 innings there.
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/28/17
Sunday’s minor moves from around baseball:
- The Red Sox have selected the contract of right-handed reliever Blaine Boyer from Triple-A and optioned left-hander Brian Johnson, per a team announcement. Boyer joined the Red Sox on a minor league contract in the latter half of April and has since thrown 14 1/3 innings with Pawtucket, where he has allowed five earned runs on 12 hits and seven walks (with 12 strikeouts). Boston is the eighth major league destination for the 35-year-old Boyer, who has recently generated quality results at baseball’s highest level despite having issues missing bats. As a member of the Padres, Twins and Brewers from 2014-16, the soft contact specialist logged a 3.31 ERA in 171 1/3 frames and helped offset a subpar K/9 (4.63) with an above-average BB/9 (2.31) and a respectable ground-ball percentage (47.1).
- The Mariners announced Sunday that they’ve selected righty reliever Ryne Harper‘s contract from Triple-A and optioned fellow righty Robert Whalen. The 28-year-old Harper could be in line to throw his first major league pitch after working in the minors since the Braves chose him in the 37th round of the 2011 draft. Atlanta sent Harper to Seattle in 2015 in exchange for reliever Jose Ramirez, and the former has been quite effective with the Mariners organization since the trade. Harper posted a 2.51 ERA, 12.57 K/9, 3.31 BB/9 and a 53.3 percent ground-ball rate in 68 Double-A innings last year. He has also been productive this year in his first taste of Triple-A action, having registered a 1.89 ERA, 11.37 K/9, 4.26 BB/9 and a 39.5 percent grounder rate in 19 frames.