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Mariners Select Drew Steckenrider

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7:06 pm: The Mariners officially selected Steckenrider’s contract (via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). Right-hander Ken Giles was placed on the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move. The veteran reliever will miss most or all of the 2021 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last fall.

4:10 pm: Right-hander Drew Steckenrider has earned a spot in the Mariners’ season-opening bullpen, per Corey Brock of The Athletic. Steckenrider is not on the Mariners’ 40-man roster, which is at capacity, so they’ll need to make a corresponding move in order to add him.

An eighth-round pick of the Marlins in 2012, Steckenrider made his debut with the team in 2017 and thrived. He threw 34 2/3 innings of 2.34 ERA/3.04 SIERA ball that year, struck out just under 36 percent of batters and averaged 95.3 mph on his fastball. Steckenrider continued to put up useful numbers the next season – 3.90 ERA/3.55 SIERA with a 27.2 percent K rate and a 94.7 mph mean fastball in 64 2/3 frames – but he barely took the mound over the previous two years.

In his most recent action, the 2019 season, Steckenrider yielded 10 earned runs on nine hits (six of which were home runs) and issued 14 strikeouts against five walks in 14 1/3 innings. His season ended that May on account of a flexor strain, and he hasn’t pitched in the bigs since then. The Marlins went on to outright Steckenrider, who elected free agency last fall and then signed a minor league contract with the Mariners. He earned a roster spot with the M’s after throwing seven innings of two-run, seven-hit ball with nine strikeouts and four walks in the spring.

Kyle Lewis To Begin Season On Injured List

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MARCH 31: Lewis will indeed begin 2021 on the injured list, Corey Brock of The Athletic tweets.

MARCH 27: Reigning AL Rookie Of The Year Kyle Lewis is suffering from a deep bone bruise on the outside of his right knee, Mariners manager Scott Servais told Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter links) and other reporters.  Lewis hasn’t played since Monday, when he suffered the injury colliding with the outfield wall in pursuit of a fly ball.

It isn’t yet clear if Lewis will be able to return to the field for any more Cactus League action, or even be available for the Mariners’ opener on Thursday.  An injured list placement could be inevitable, as the M’s are naturally going to be as careful as possible with the health of their young star.

Between the shortened 2020 season and his brief call-up during the 2019 campaign, Lewis has made only 317 plate appearances in 76 Major League games, yet he has already made a big impact.  Lewis has hit .264/.347/.477 with 17 homers as a big leaguer, and established himself as a key piece for the rebuilding Mariners.

If Lewis isn’t available at the start of the season, Taylor Trammell, Jake Fraley, or Braden Bishop could play center field, or Lewis’ replacement might not yet be on the roster.  Divish reports that the Mariners have been checking out other teams’ roster for any intriguing late-spring cuts, and Servais said that GM Jerry Dipoto will look at adding an external option depending on Lewis’ recovery timeline.  Of course, Seattle fans would love to see star prospect Jarred Kelenic as soon as possible, but Kelenic has already been optioned to Triple-A and likely won’t be making his big league debut until a bit later in the season (i.e. when the Mariners can ensure another year of team control).

Minor MLB Transactions: 3/30/21

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • Shortly after the Mariners released righty reliever Matt Magill, the team brought him back on a two-year minors pact, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com tweets.  Magill has appeared in the majors in parts of five seasons (including with the Mariners in 2020), and put up a 4.63 ERA in 149 2/3 innings with strikeout, walk and groundball rates that have rated below average.  His season came to a premature end last September when he underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery.
  • Nationals first baseman Jake Noll and right-hander Dakota Bacus went unclaimed on the waiver wire and have been reassigned to minor league camp, as per a team announcement.  The duo were both recently designated for assignment.  The 27-year-old Noll has received 30 MLB plate appearances with Washington and batted .276/.300/.345 in that tiny sample, while also hitting .285/.327/.410 over 489 PA at the Triple-A level.  Bacus, meanwhile, yielded 10 runs through 11 1/3 innings in his MLB debut last year. The 2012 ninth-rounder has had a respectable ERA and strong ground-ball rate at virtually every minor league stop but has never missed bats at a high rate or limited walks all that effectively.  Both players will stick with the Nats as depth options.
  • Right-hander Kevin McCarthy will remain in the Red Sox organization, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo tweets.  The former Royal’s minor league contract with the Sox included an upward mobility clause that would have enabled him to leave the organization had he not earned a 40-man roster spot, but McCarthy will now report to Triple-A.  McCarthy appeared in only five games in 2020 but the groundball specialist was a steady member of the Royals pen from 2017-19, posting a 3.65 ERA and 59.5% grounder rate over 177 1/3 innings (154 games) in that three-season stretch.

Mariners To Select Taylor Trammell’s Contract

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The Mariners will include outfield prospect Taylor Trammell on their Opening Day roster, manager Scott Servais told Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (all Twitter links) and other reporters.  Trammell hasn’t only just made the roster, but Servais that Trammell will be the starter in either left field or center field depending on the health of Kyle Lewis.  Another notable Seattle prospect in Justin Dunn has won the sixth starter job, Servais said, while Rule 5 Draft pick Will Vest has also made the team and will work out of the Mariners’ bullpen.

The 35th overall pick of the 2016 draft, Trammell is set to make his Major League debut after having already been part of two huge trades in his young professional career.  Trammell was originally drafted by the Reds, who sent him to the Padres as the only piece San Diego received in their end of the three-team blockbuster in July 2019 that saw Trevor Bauer go from Cleveland to Cincinnati, while such notables as Franmil Reyes, Logan Allen, and Yasiel Puig were part of the five-player package acquired by the Indians.  After a little more than a year in San Diego’s farm system, Trammell was on the move again, dealt with Ty France, Luis Torrens, and Andres Munoz to the Mariners for Austin Nola, Austin Adams, and Dan Altavilla.

It’s naturally unusual to see a top-100 prospect dealt twice in as many years before he even begins his MLB career, and it could speak to why Trammell has fallen closer to the back-end of minor league talent rankings over the last four years (he topped out at #11 for Baseball America and #16th for MLB.com, both prior to the 2019 season).  Trammell has hit a solid but unspectacular .270/.363/.406 over 1799 plate appearances in the minors, but only a .234/.340/.349 slash over 514 PA at Double-A.  According to MLB Pipeline’s scouting report, Trammell “got a little pull-happy in 2019, which led to more swing and miss, but he still drew a ton of walks and showed off premium bat speed.”

Trammell put in work to correct his swing at the Padres’ and Mariners’ alternate training sites in 2020, and clearly Seattle was impressed enough to allow Trammell to bypass Triple-A and directly suit up in the big leagues.  While Lewis’ injury was surely a factor in the Mariners’ decision, Trammell was already gaining a lot of buzz to make the team even prior to Lewis’ collision with the wall, and was seen as a potential starter in left field.  While scouts are mixed as to whether or not Trammell could be a long-term center field option, he can surely handle the position on a short-term basis while Lewis recovers.

The other interesting wrinkle to the Mariners’ decision is that if Trammell sticks on the active roster, he’ll gain enough service time to reach free agency after the 2026 season, whereas holding Trammell back for a few extra weeks would allow the M’s to get a seventh year of team control over his services.  Naturally, service time is a particularly contentious issue in Seattle in the wake of comments made by former president/CEO Kevin Mather during a rotary club speech, as he openly spoke about keeping such youngsters as Jarred Kelenic and Logan Gilbert in the minors long enough this year to delay their service clocks.  Trammell was indirectly referenced by Mather as well, when he noted that though the Mariners had several of their top prospects working out at the alternate training site last season, “there was no chance you were going to see these young players at T-Mobile Park.  We weren’t going to put them on the 40-man roster, we weren’t going to start the service time clock.”

Dunn already has a year and 20 days of service time accumulated over two seasons and 52 1/3 innings for the Mariners, and the righty will now enter Seattle’s rotation for the second straight year.  A highly-touted prospect in his own right, Dunn and Kelenic were the prizes of the trade package received from the Mets in the Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz trade.  Dunn has a 4.13 ERA as a Major Leaguer, though with almost as many walks (31) as strikeouts (38), Dunn’s advanced metrics indicate that some good fortune went into that respectable ERA.

Vest was a 12th-round pick for the Tigers in the 2017 draft, and the left-hander has a 3.88 ERA and 25.6% strikeout rate over 132 1/3 innings in Detroit’s farm system, working exclusively as a reliever.  As per the provisions of the Rule 5 Draft, Vest must remain on the Mariners’ big league roster for the entire season in order for Seattle to permanently retain his rights; otherwise, the M’s must offer him back to the Tigers for $50K.

Mariners Reassign Jarred Kelenic

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The Mariners announced several roster moves Friday, including reassigning star outfield prospect Jarred Kelenic to minor league camp. The decision means he won’t make the Mariners’ Opening Day roster. The team also reassigned fellow outfielder Julio Rodriguez and righties Brady Lail and Paul Sewald. Additionally, righty Ljay Newsome, lefty Aaron Fletcher and outfielder Braden Bishop were optioned.

This move is particularly notable in the wake of comments made by former Mariners CEO Kevin Mather, who resigned in February after suggesting the team would manipulate Kelenic’s service time. Mather made it clear that the Mariners would keep him out of the majors for the first month of the season in order to gain an extra year of team control.

“Probably Triple-A Tacoma for a month, and then he will likely be in left field at T-Mobile Park for the next six or seven years,” he said.

Kelenic went on to miss some time this spring with a Grade 2 knee strain, but he looked worthy of a major league roster spot upon his return. The 21-year-old came back to slash.333/.478/.778 with two home runs, albeit over just 18 at-bats. Kelenic has also been highly productive in the minors, where he most recently batted .253/.315/.542 with six homers during a 21-game, 92-PA Double-A debut in 2019. The former sixth overall pick – whom the Mariners acquired in the Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz blockbuster with the Mets in December 2018 – currently ranks as a consensus top prospect, with MLB.com placing him fourth overall. Rodriguez ranks fifth, though he’s not quite as close to the bigs as Kelenic.

With Kelenic out of the Opening Day picture, the Mariners could begin with Taylor Trammell as the starting left fielder alongside center fielder and reigning AL Rookie of the Kyle Lewis and right fielder Mitch Haniger. Jake Fraley and Jose Marmolejos are also outfield options on the 40-man roster.

Mariners Release Gerson Bautista

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The Mariners announced a slate of roster moves last night, reducing their spring roster to 48 players. Among the most notable cuts: right-hander Gerson Bautista was released from the organization.

This marks the second time that the Mariners organization has parted ways with Bautista, although the circumstances are different. Seattle outrighted Bautista off its 40-man roster at the end of the 2020 season after he missed the year due to a flexor strain in his pitching arm, and he was able to elect free agency thereafter. He quickly returned on a new minor league deal, signing back with the Mariners just two weeks later.

That’s not the case this time around, as Bautista wasn’t on the 40-man roster and has been able to pitch this spring — but has not done so effectively. The hard-throwing 25-year-old served up three runs in 5 1/3 innings, which isn’t necessarily alarming on its own, but he did so on the strength of seven hits and six walks without recording a strikeout. Small sample or not, six walks against no strikeouts through 26 batters faced isn’t an encouraging omen for any pitcher — particularly one who punched out 27.5 percent of his opponents at the Triple-A level. Bautista came to the Mariners alongside Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn in the Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz blockbuster with the Mets, and it seems he may now be destined for a new organization.

The Mariners also optioned righty Yohan Ramirez to Triple-A to begin the season after the righty accrued a full year of service in their bullpen last year. Ramirez posted a strong 2.61 ERA and whiffed 26 batters in 20 2/3 frames, so some may be a bit surprised by his demotion. However, in spite of that impressive ERA, he also issued 20 walks, plunked four hitters and tossed a pair of wild pitches. His control could clearly use some refinement, and Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets that he’s also been behind after spending time away from the club due to Covid-19 protocols. Ramirez tossed just one inning in an official game this spring and, despite not yielding a hit, allowed a pair of runs on a walk, two hit batters and two wild pitches.

It’s also notable that top pitching prospect Logan Gilbert was reassigned to a minor league camp. The former first-rounder only made one Cactus League start, and given his lack of pro experience — just one full season, in 2019 — that wouldn’t have registered as much of a surprise. However, former CEO Kevin Mather suggested during the interview that led to his resignation that Gilbert wouldn’t make the Opening Day roster but would be in the Majors “by mid-April.” As such, the right-hander’s timeline to the big leagues will be interesting to monitor. He’s yet to pitch above Double-A, where he started nine games in 2019. In a total of 135 frames between Class-A, Class-A Advanced and Double-A that year, Gilbert worked to a combined 2.13 ERA with a gaudy 31.7 percent strikeout rate and a tiny 6.3 percent walk rate.

Andres Munoz Recently Suffered Setback

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  • Mariners reliever Andres Munoz suffered a “little setback” in his recovery from Tommy John surgery a few weeks ago and hasn’t taken the mound since, manager Scott Servais told Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times and other reporters. Munoz underwent the procedure almost exactly one year ago (March 20, 2020), and the Padres then dealt him to the Mariners in a seven-player trade last August. Considering how long it takes to return from TJ surgery, Munoz wasn’t likely to debut with the Mariners until sometime this summer, but now it appears they may have to wait a bit longer. Still just 22, Munoz impressed in his first season, 2019, when he pitched to a 3.91 ERA/3.72 SIERA in 23 innings, struck out 30.9 percent of batters and averaged 99.9 mph on his fastball.

Roenis Elias To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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MARCH 16,10:27pm: Elias has a torn ulnar collateral ligament and will undergo Tommy John surgery, per Divish, who adds that the Mariners have offered him a two-year minor league contract to keep him in the organization as he recovers.

4:06pm:: Elias will undergo surgery, Divish tweets. Further details aren’t yet available.

MARCH 14: Mariners left-hander Roenis Elías suffered a serious injury to his throwing forearm/elbow, manager Scott Servais told reporters (including Corey Brock of the Athletic and Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). He’s slated to undergo further evaluation.

With any serious injury to a pitcher’s forearm and/or elbow, one tends to fear a potential Tommy John surgery. There’s no specific indication that procedure (or any other) is yet on the table in Elías’ case. Nevertheless, it’s clear he won’t be an option to start the season and could seemingly be out an extended period of time.

Elías most recently pitched for Seattle between 2018-19, even serving as the team’s closer for part of the latter season. He was traded to the Nationals at the 2019 deadline but was limited to three innings with Washington by injuries. The 32-year-old then missed the entire 2020 season with a flexor strain in his elbow. Elías returned to the Mariners on a minor league deal in January after demonstrating improved health in an offseason showcase. Unfortunately, it seems he’s now in for another injury-related absence.

Jerry Dipoto On Potential Rotation Additions

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The Mariners aren’t favorites to push for a playoff spot in 2021, but if they’re in contention during the season, making a deal for a controllable starting pitcher is “definitely” something they would consider, general manager Jerry Dipoto told MLB Network Radio on Monday. Dipoto, who’s never shy about making trades, said Seattle would “jump at” the chance to better its rotation if the opportunity presents itself. The Mariners are slated to begin the season with Marco Gonzales, James Paxton, Yusei Kikuchi and Justus Sheffield as locks in a southpaw-heavy group of six, while righty Chris Flexen will take up a spot and Nick Margevicius and Justin Dunn are competing for the last position.

Looking Back At The Robinson Cano Trade

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The December 2018 trade that sent Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz to the Mets was a transformational moment in Mariners history, as it allowed Seattle to both escape a major salary commitment to Cano and also re-stock its farm system with some prime minor league talent in Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn.  Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto recently discussed the trade with The Athletic’s Corey Brock, looking back at how talks with the Mets developed, and how concurrent discussions with the Phillies about a Diaz trade helped make the Mets even more aggressive about swinging a deal to one-up their NL East rival.

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