2 weeks Ago
The Seattle Mariners bullpen has been one of the most-utilized units in the major leagues through the first month of the season. The Mariners have had to dip into the pitchers with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers to facilitate bullpen's usage. And Seattle made a move on Wednesday to help bolster the reliever depth at the minor league level.
The Mariners signed 2017 seventh-round draft pick and four-year major league veteran Zach Pop to a minor league contract. Pop was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers but made his major league debut with the Miami Marlins in 2022. He was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays on Aug.
2, 2022. Pop made 90 major league appearances for the Blue Jays in his two-and-a-half years with the organization. Pop made 58 of those outings last season.
He had a 5.59 ERA and struck out 33 batters in 48.1 innings pitched.
He was designated for assignment by Toronto on March 27. Pop generated a chase rate of 31.4%, which ranked in the 79th percentile of the league according to Baseball Savant .
His groundball rate of 55.5% ranked in the 93rd percentile in the league. Seattle recently selected the contract of 37 year-old reliever Casey Lawrence and optioned second-year reliever Troy Taylor back to Tacoma.
The Mariners will also get a big boost to the major league bullpen in the coming days when Matt Brash is activated off the injured list. Having an experienced reliever in Pop in the Rainiers could help Seattle if it gets in another pinch with the relievers. Related Minor League Baseball stories MARINERS SECOND ROUND PICK RYAN SLOAN IMPRESSES IN PRO DEBUT: The 19 year-old right-hander was dealing in his first outing at John Thurman Field for the Modesto Nuts.
CLICK HERE VETERAN MARINERS RELIEVER ELECTS FREE AGENCY: The 37 year-old reliever cleared waivers and was opted for free agency after the Seattle Mariners sent him to the Tacoma Rainiers outright. CLICK HERE MARINERS TOP 100 PROSPECT COLE YOUNG GETS HIT OFF FUTURE HALL OF FAMER: The former Mariners first-round pick was able to get the ball in play against Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw. CLICK HERE Follow Minor League Baseball On SI on social media You can also follow Teren Kowatsch on social media on Twitter @Teren_Kowatsch .
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