Seattle, WA
Seattle Mariners claim ex-Astros reliever, place RHP on IL
The Seattle Mariners added a former division rival and placed a candidate for their big league bullpen on the injured list Sunday.
The Mariners claimed right-handed pitcher Seth Martinez off waivers from the Miami Marlins. Meanwhile, right-hander Jackson Kowar was placed on the 60-day IL as he continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery.
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The moves keep Seattle’s 40-man roster full.
Martinez, a 30-year-old reliever, spent the past four seasons with the Houston Astros. In 44 appearances last season, he posted a 3-2 record, 3.59 ERA and 1.27 WHIP with 36 strikeouts and 18 walks over 52 2/3 innings pitched.
The Arizona State product’s best season came in 2022 when had 2.09 ERA over 38 2/3 innings in 29 games. Martinez is 6-6 with a 3.93 ERA over 137 1/3 career innings in the big leagues.
This is the third time Martinez has been claimed off waivers this offseason. He was claimed by the Arizona Diamondbacks in November and the Marlins in February.
Kowar, a former first-round pick, pitched in two spring training games last year before undergoing Tommy John surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He was acquired last offseason alongside right-hander Cole Phillips in a deal that sent outfielder Jarred Kelenic, left-hander Marco Gonzales and first baseman Evan White to the Atlanta Braves.
Kowar threw bullpen sessions early this spring, but isn’t expected to be ready until at least late May, Seattle Sports’ Mariners insider Shannon Drayer reported on social media.
In 39 career games (eight starts) over three seasons, Kowar is 2-6 with a 9.12 ERA.
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Thanks to Carrie Brown for the westward view of our Saturday night sunset. The high today hit 68 at the airport – eight degrees above normal – but nowhere near the record for this date, which was 89 degrees back in 2016. The forecast suggests two more days of partly sunny, almost-70-degree weather, before the chance of rain returns.
CHICAGO (AP) — The struggling New York Mets placed former Seattle Mariners second baseman/designated hitter Jorge Polanco on the 10-day injured list on Saturday with a right wrist contusion.
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The move was made retroactive to Wednesday, a day after Polanco went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in a 2-1 loss at the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 32-year-old Polanco is batting .179 (10 for 56) with a homer and two RBIs in his first season with New York, which has lost nine straight.
“When doctors first took a look at him, it looked like he got hit by a pitch when he didn’t,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “In talking to him, it was just a couple of swings that he took that night. … He didn’t think much of it, but just got worse the following day.
“So you just got to let it calm down a little bit and then we’ll go from there. But we don’t have a timetable for how long this is going to last.”
Polanco, who signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the Mets in December, also has been dealing with an ankle issue.
“He was trending in the right direction,” Mendoza said of the ankle injury. “It’s definitely going to help, obviously now with him being shut down. But the biggest thing now is that we’ve got to take care of that wrist.”
Polanco spent the previous two seasons with the Mariners, who acquired him in a February 2024 trade with the Minnesota Twins.
Polanco struggled during his first season with Seattle in 2024, hitting just .213 with 16 homers in 118 games while playing through a knee injury that didn’t become public knowledge until after the season.
But after the Mariners somewhat surprisingly brought him back for a one-year contract in 2025, Polanco rebounded to hit .265 with 26 homers and an .821 OPS in 138 games last season. He then added three homers during Seattle’s playoff run, along with a 15th-inning walkoff single in Game 5 of the American League Division Series that sent the Mariners to their first ALCS in 24 years.
Seattle Sports staff made additions to this post.
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