Mariners acquire former SF Giants reliever off waivers from Angels

The Seattle Mariners claimed former SF Giants and New York Mets reliever Dominic Leone off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels.

There were a slew of notable acquisitions on Thursday after the Los Angeles Angels placed several significant pieces on waivers. Amidst the flurry of moves, former SF Giants and New York Mets right-handed reliever Dominic Leone was claimed off waivers by the Seattle Mariners, per a report by Seattle Times beat writer Ryan Divish. Leone has a 4.74 ERA (5.37 FIP) in 43.2 innings pitched (42 appearances) with 44 strikeouts and 20 walks this season.

SF Giants reliever Dominic Leone throws a pitch against the Diamondbacks. (2022) / D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

The Mariners are currently tied with the Houston Astros atop the American League West and are looking to find their way back to the postseason. Ironically, Seattle traded a different former Giants reliever, Trevor Gott, earlier this season in a salary dump with the Mets. In hindsight, they probably should have just held onto Gott. Nevertheless, Leone will look to solidify Mariners' manager Scott Servais' bullpen.

The Giants released Leone late last season and went on to sign a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Mets during the offseason. Leone was a perfectly passable middle reliever for New York and was traded to the Angels at the MLB trade deadline for infielder prospect Jeremiah Jackson. Leone had struggled since arriving in Los Angeles, posting a 5.54 ERA with 11 strikeouts and nine walks in 13 innings pitched (11 games).

The Giants originally signed Leone as a minor-league free agent prior to the 2021 season. He emerged as a standout during spring training and quickly earned a spot on the big-league roster after seven Triple-A appearances.

He was fantastic in 2021, during the Giants 107-win campaign. In 57 appearances out of the Giants' bullpen, Leone recorded a 1.51 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 53.2 innings pitched. ERA estimators were more skeptical of Leone's overall performance but still viewed him as a solid bullpen option (3.39 xERA, 3.08 FIP, 4.37 xFIP).

In 2022, however, Leone's overall numbers were far closer to his ERA estimators. In 55 appearances, Leone had a 4.01 ERA (3.71 xERA, 4.04 FIP, and 4.11 xFIP) with 52 strikeouts across 49.1 innings. While those numbers were fine for a middle reliever, he was significantly worse late in the season. After July 21st, Leone posted a 5.40 ERA in 17 appearances with an alarming 12 walks in 16.2 innings pitched. Opponents crushed him over that span for a .303/.405/.546 triple-slash.

Over his 10-year MLB career, Leone has been a solid but erratic middle reliever. He has a career 3.81 ERA in 395 appearances with 417 strikeouts and 170 walks in 399.2 innings pitched between stints with the Angels, Mets, SF Giants, Guardians, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, and Mariners.