Seattle Mariners Bring up Two Pitchers as Roster Expands From 26 to 28
The MLB rosters have expanded from 26 active players to 28 and many teams still in playoff contention are looking to bolster their squad with the final month of the season underway.
The Seattle Mariners took advantage of the expanded roster and took it as a chance to add some depth to their bullpen.
The Mariners recalled left-handed reliever Jhonathan Diaz and right-handed reliever Eduard Bazardo from the organization's Triple-A affiliate Tacoma Rainiers to fill out the active roster at 28 on Sunday.
Diaz offers Seattle some needed left-handed depth. The only other lefty on the staff is Tayler Saucedo after Gabe Speier was optioned back to Tacoma on Saturday in a transaction that brought up third baseman Luis Urias.
This is the fifth time the Mariners have brought Diaz up to the big leagues this season. The fourth-year reliever has made a grand total of three appearances this year, including one start on a rare bullpen day for Seattle.
He has a 7.11 ERA and five strikeouts in 6.1 innings pitched.
Bazardo has also been up-and-down between Triple-A and the majors this season.
He began the year on the 15-day injured list with a right rotator cuff strain and was activated off the IL on May 8. He's been optioned and recalled three times since.
Bazardo has a 6.62 ERA this season in 13 appearances with 21 strikeouts in 17.2 innings pitched.
It's interesting that the Mariners went with two up-and-down pitchers instead of calling up top pitching prospects Brandyn Garcia or Logan Evans. The fact that there's no position players such as Ryan Bliss or Tyler Locklear is interesting, too.
It's possible that Seattle refrained from bringing up a prospect in favor of keeping the expanded active roster to people who were postseason-eligible (players who were on the 40-man roster before Sept. 1).
The Mariners are also two-to-three deep in every infield position and have Dylan Moore, Luke Raley and Mitch Haniger available to sub in the outfield in emergency situations.
Regardless of the reasoning — it looks like Diaz and Bazardo will get at least a couple opportunities to try and finish out the season on a strong note.
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