The Mariners announced that catcher Seby Zavala has been designated for assignment. In the corresponding move, right-hander Emerson Hancock has been called back up from Triple-A to start Saturday’s game against the Blue Jays. Zavala’s DFA also creates an opening on Seattle’s 40-man roster.
This is the second time in the last three weeks that Zavala has been designated, and his previous trip to DFA limbo saw him clear waivers and then outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma. Because Zavala had previously been outrighted in his career, he could’ve rejected that assignment and instead become a free agent, but he opted to remain with the M’s and report to Triple-A. Zavala is out of minor league options, so Seattle has been forced to designate the catcher and thus expose him to the waiver wire in order to move him to Triple-A.
Zavala could very well pursue the same path this time around, given that the Mariners selected his contract back onto the 26-man roster in pretty short order after his previous outright. That move (just earlier this week) came after Mitch Garver was dealing with a sore wrist, and thus the Mariners wanted some extra catching depth if Garver was strictly limited to DH duties or perhaps needed to visit the injured list. Since Garver appears to be OK, the M’s apparently now feel comfortable enough with the situation to again remove Zavala from their 40-man.
With Cal Raleigh handling the starting catcher duties and Garver also getting some part-time work behind the plate, Zavala has gotten into just 18 games this season, and is hitting .154/.214/.282 over 43 plate appearances. Even considering that Zavala is known as a defensive specialist, the Mariners have decided to go with the bat-first approach with their catching corps, which isn’t surprising given how Seattle has been hurting for offense all season.
As for Hancock, he is set to make his ninth start of the season after delivering a 4.79 ERA in his first 41 1/3 innings of the season. The former top prospect has gotten another look with Bryan Woo on the 15-day IL, but since Woo is expected back relatively soon, Saturday’s outing will likely be just a spot start for Hancock. It could also potentially be an unofficial audition for potential trade suitors, if the Mariners look to deal from their rotation depth to upgrade their lineup at the deadline.
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