The Seattle Mariners announced an array of roster moves Saturday. Ace lefty James Paxton is back off the 10 day disabled list and will be in uniform and available to start against Oakland. Paxton had been on the DL since suffering a forearm contusion in a game against Oakland two weeks ago.
Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto also called up several players from AAA Tacoma. Chasen Bradford, RHP, Ryan Cook, RHP, David Freitas, C, James Pazos, LHP, Justin Grimm, RHP, and Kristopher Negrón, OF, have joined the major league club for the end of the season stretch.
Paxton (#65), Bradford (#60), Cook (#46), Freitas (#36), Pazos (#47), Grimm (#57) and Negrón (#45) will be in uniform and available for Saturday’s game against the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum.
The Mariners now have 7 days to trade, release or outright to the minors the contract of Whalen.
Paxton, 29, was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a left forearm contusion on Aug. 15 after being struck on the left forearm by a line drive off the bat of Jed Lowrie in the 1st inning on Aug. 14 at Oakland. In 24 starts with the Mariners this season, he is 10-5 with a 3.68 ERA (57 ER, 139.1 IP) with 176 strikeouts and 37 walks. Among American League leaders, he ranks 8th in strikeouts and 5th in strikeouts per 9.0 innings (11.37/176 K, 139.1 IP). The 6-4, 235-pound left-hander has struck out 10-or-more batters in 7 starts this season, T4th-most in the AL. Paxton pitched the 6th no-hitter in Mariners history on May 8 at Toronto. He became the first American League pitcher to record a 16-strikeout game (5/2 vs. OAK) and a no-hitter in the same season since Nolan Ryan in 1991.
The Ladner, British Columbia, Canada, native is 40-25 with a 3.38 ERA (211 ER, 561.1 IP) with 585 strikeouts and 163 walks in 98 career starts. Paxton was selected by Seattle in the 4th round of the 2010 MLB Draft and has spent 8 years in the Mariners organization, including parts of 6 Major League seasons.
Bradford, 29, is appearing in his 4th stint with Seattle this season (also: 4/9-7/31, 8/3-9 & 8/19-8/21). In 38 relief appearances with the Mariners this season, he is 5-0 with a 3.23 ERA (17 ER, 47.1 IP) with 38 strikeouts and 11 walks. His 47.1 innings pitched are 2nd-most among Mariners relievers (Edwin Díaz, 64.0 IP). Since being optioned to AAA Tacoma on Aug. 21, the 6-foot-1, 230-pound right-hander is 1-for-1 in save opportunities and has struck out 3 in 2.2 scoreless innings across 3 relief appearances. Overall, he has 1 save in 7 games with the Rainiers this season, striking out 4 in 6.2 scoreless innings.
Bradford was claimed off waivers by Seattle from the Mets on Jan. 19, 2018. In parts of 2 big league seasons with the Mets (2017) and Mariners (2018-c), he is 7-0 with a 3.44 ERA (31 ER, 81.0 IP) with 60 strikeouts and 24 walks. The native of Las Vegas, NV, was originally selected by the Mets in the 35th round of the 2011 MLB Draft out of the University of Central Florida.
Cook, 30, is appearing in his 2nd stint with Seattle this season (also: 5/17-6/22). In 11 games with the Mariners this season, he is 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA (7 ER, 9.1 IP) with 14 strikeouts and 6 walks. Since being optioned to AAA Tacoma on June 22, he is 0-1 with 1 save and a 2.25 ERA (5 ER, 20.0 IP) with 20 strikeouts and 14 walks in 21 appearances. Overall, he is 0-2 with 3 saves and a 2.16 ERA (8 ER, 33.1 IP) with 37 strikeouts and 17 walks in 34 outings with the Rainiers this season.
Cook has appeared in parts of 6 Major League seasons with Arizona (2011), Oakland (2012-15), Boston (2015) and Seattle (2018-c), compiling a record of 14-13 with 17 saves and a 3.58 ERA (86 ER, 216.1 IP) while striking out 224 and walking 95. The native of Clovis, CA, signed a 2-year minor league contract with the Mariners on Nov. 14, 2016. He missed the entire 2017 season after undergoing “Tommy John” surgery on Oct. 20, 2016. He was originally selected by the Diamondbacks in the 27th round of the 2008 MLB Draft out of the University of Southern California.
Freitas, 29, is appearing in his 4th stint with Seattle this season (also: 3/30-5/27, 5/30-6/18 and 7/5-22). The 6-foot-2, 240-pound catcher is batting .192 (15×78) with 8 runs, 4 doubles, 1 home run, 4 RBI and 8 walks in 29 games with the Mariners this season. He belted his first career Major League home run on July 11 at Los Angeles-AL. Since being optioned to AAA Tacoma on July 22, he is batting .330 (34×103) with 12 runs, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 4 home runs, 18 RBI and 12 walks in 27 games. Overall, in 39 games with the Rainiers, he is batting .349 (51×146) with 15 runs, 12 doubles, 1 triple, 4 home runs, 23 RBI and 17 walks.
Freitas was claimed off waivers by Seattle from Atlanta on October 27, 2017. In parts of 2 Major League seasons with the Braves (2017) and Mariners (2018-c), he is batting .200 (19×95) with 10 runs, 6 doubles, 1 home run and 6 RBI in 35 games. He was originally selected by Washington in the 15th round of the 2010 MLB Draft out of the University of Hawaii – Manoa.
Pazos, 27, is appearing in his 2nd stint (also: Opening Day-8/18) with the Mariners this season after spending the first 4-and-a-half months of the season with the club. He is 3-1 with 17 holds and a 2.68 ERA (12 ER, 40.1 IP) with 35 strikeouts and 10 walks in 49 relief appearances with the Mariners this season. His 17 holds are tied for 12th-most in the American League. Earlier this season, the southpaw equaled the club record for consecutive relief appearances without a walk, set by Charlie Furbush in 2014. Pazos did not issue a walk in 26 straight outings, April 7 – June 12, a span of 22.1 innings pitched. Since being optioned to AAA Tacoma on Aug. 18, he has made 3 relief appearances, striking out 2 and walking 1 in 3.1 scoreless innings.
Pazos was acquired by the Mariners from New York-AL in exchange for Zack Littell (rhp) on Nov. 18, 2016. The native of Gilbert, AZ, made his Major League debut with the Yankees in 2015. In parts of 4 Major League seasons with the Yankees (2015-16) and Mariners (2017-c), he is 8-6 with 27 holds and a 3.52 ERA (40 ER, 102.1 IP) with 106 strikeouts and 38 walks in 126 career relief appearances. Pazos was originally selected by Tampa Bay in the 40th round of the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft but did not sign. He was selected and signed by the Yankees out of the 13th round of the 2012 Draft.
Grimm, 30, has made 10 relief appearances with AAA Tacoma this season, posting a record of 1-0 with a 1.64 ERA (2 ER, 11.0 IP) with 17 strikeouts and 2 walks. He has not allowed a run in 7 of his last 8 outings (10.0 IP), holding opponents to a .200 (7×35) average against while recording 16 strikeouts and 2 walks. Prior to joining the Rainiers, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound right-hander appeared in 2 games with short-A Everett, allowing 1 run in 2.0 innings (4.50 ERA) while striking out 3 and walking 2. He began the season on the Kansas City Royals Opening Day roster and went 1-3 with a 13.50 ERA (19 ER, 12.2 IP) with 8 strikeouts and 14 walks in 16 relief appearances. In 9 games with AAA Omaha (Kansas City), he was 1-1 with an 8.68 ERA (9 ER, 9.1 IP) with 13 strikeouts and 6 walks.
Grimm signed with the Mariners as a minor league free agent on July 19. He was originally drafted by Boston in the 13th round of the 2007 MLB First-Year Player Draft, but did not sign. He was selected and signed by Texas in the 5th round of the 2010 MLB Draft out of the University of Georgia. He made his Major League debut with the Rangers in 2012. In parts of 7 Major League seasons with Texas (2012-13), Chicago-NL (2013-17) and Kansas City (2018), he is 20-23 with a 5.02 ERA (196 ER, 351.1 IP) with 358 strikeouts and 154 walks in 301 games, including 19 starts.
Negrón, 32, was acquired by the Mariners from Arizona in exchange for cash considerations Thursday (8/30). He appeared in 2 games this season with the Arizona Diamondbacks and was 1-for-3 with an RBI. He spent most of the year with AAA Reno, appearing in 118 games and batting .283 (105×371) with 17 doubles, 5 triples, 15 home runs and 45 RBI.
Negrón has appeared in parts of 5 Major League seasons with Cincinnati (2012, 2014-15) and Arizona (2017-18), combining to appear in 112 games with a .216 (58×269) average with 13 doubles, 1 triple, 6 home runs and 21 RBI.
He has appeared in the Majors at every position except pitcher and catcher, making starts at the other 7 positions on the field. In his career he’s appeared at: first base (4 games, 3 starts); second base (24 games, 17 starts); third base (27 games, 23 starts); shortstop (17 games, 11 starts); left field (16 games, 4 starts); center field (6 games, 3 starts) and right field (3 games, 2 starts).
Bergman, 30, appeared in 3 stints with the Mariners this season (5/16-17, 7/13 and 8/15-18), going 0-1 with a 5.79 ERA (9 ER, 14.0 IP) with 7 strikeouts and 3 walks in 3 games (2 starts). In 25 games (24 starts) with AAA Tacoma this season, he is 8-10 with a 5.00 ERA (76 ER, 136.2 IP) with 111 strikeouts and 38 walks.
Bergman has appeared in parts of 5 Major League seasons with Colorado (2014-16) and Seattle (2017-c), compiling a record of 11-15 with a 5.59 ERA (134 ER, 215.2 IP) with 130 strikeouts and 49 walks in 71 games (25 starts). The native of Glendale, CA, was originally selected by Colorado in the 24th round of the 2010 MLB Draft out of UC Irvine. He made his Major League debut with the Rockies on June 9, 2014 vs. Atlanta.
Whalen, 24, appeared in 1 stint with the Mariners this season (6/14-17). He made 1 relief appearance with Seattle, working 4.0 scoreless innings in the Mariners 7-6 comeback win on June 15 vs. Boston, retiring 12 of the 14 batters he faced (1 H, 1 BB). He has made stops with 3 of the Mariners minor league affiliates this season. In 20 starts with AAA Tacoma, he was 7-7 with a 5.16 ERA (57 ER, 99.1 IP) with 92 strikeouts and 37 walks. He made 2 starts with AA Arkansas, where he was 0-2 with a 7.50 ERA (5 ER, 6.0 IP) with 8 strikeouts and 3 walks. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound right-hander also made 2 start with short-A Everett, going 0-1 with a 9.64 ERA (5 ER, 4.2 IP) with 5 strikeouts.
Whalen was acquired by the Mariners from Atlanta along with Max Povse (rhp) in exchange for Alex Jackson (of) and Tyler Pike (lhp) on Nov. 28, 2016. He made his Major League debut with the Braves in 2016. In parts of 3 Major League seasons with the Braves (2016) and Mariners (2017-18), he is 1-3 with a 5.75 ERA (23 ER, 36.0 IP) with 27 strikeouts and 15 walks in 8 games (6 starts). The native of Stroudsburg, PA, was originally selected by the New York Mets in the 12th round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of Haines City High School (Haines City, FL.).
