Veteran Seattle Mariners Minor Leaguer Helps Clinch Bronze Medal For Team USA
Most attention paid to the Seattle Mariners this offseason has been regarding how it the club plans to re-tool its major league roster for 2025, specifically the infield.
But while the Mariners figure out what the lineup will be for Opening Day on March 27, their minor league depth has also been in need for arms.
Over 30 minor league players have left the Seattle organization in the offseason due to free agency or retirement. Most of those players were pitchers.
The Mariners are working to rebuild some of the depth lost in its farm system and have already signed promising hurlers like Adonis Medina and Yunior Marte to deals with Spring Training invites.
The club has also brought back some veteran arms. One of those long-time professionals just helped earn the country a top-three finish in a prestigious international baseball tournament.
Casey Lawrence helped Team USA earn a bronze medal in the Premier12 baseball tournament with a 6-1 win over Venezuela on Friday at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.
🇺🇸🥉 USA win the Bronze Medal! #Premier12 pic.twitter.com/On7WO3A20c
— Premier12 presented by RAXUS (@Premier12) November 24, 2024
Lawrence, who's 37-years old and has been pitching professionally since 2010, started the game for Team USA. He threw six shutout innings and struck out seven batters en route to the bronze medal.
Casey Lawrence is absolutely dialed.
— USA Baseball (@USABaseball) November 24, 2024
Six strikeouts through five scoreless 🔥 pic.twitter.com/PdSRP9gZAx
Unlike the 2023 World Baseball Classic, which featured some of the elite players in the game such as Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Pete Alonso and Nolan Arenado, the Premier12 roster is comprised mainly of veterans and minor league prospects.
The Premier12 roster had top 100 prospect in Temarr Johnson and 44 year-old pitcher Rich Hill as an example.
Lawrence spent all of 2024 throwing for Seattle's Triple-A affiliate, the Tacoma Rainiers. He started 29 games and posted a 5.95 ERA with 108 strikeouts in 165 innings pitched.
The last time Lawrence threw in the majors was in 2023 with the St. Louis Cardinals. He made 15 appearances, all in relief, and had a 6.59 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 27.1 innings pitched.
Lawrence also threw out of the bullpen with the Mariners in 2018. That season he had 11 outings with a 7.33 ERA and fanned 14 batters in 23.1 innings pitched.
Despite not having a stellar major league-resume, Lawrence is the kind of veteran arm that is valuable for an organization.
He has the experience to be a pseudo-mentor for his younger teammates in the farm system, but also cane be used as a reliever and a starter in the majors in emergency situations for Seattle.
Lawrence will enter his 15th season as a professional ball player in 2025. If age is any indication, he's likely in the twilight of his career. And whether or not he pitches another major league game, he'll now have a shiny new medal to hang in his trophy case.
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