The Mariners announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Casey Lawrence. Fellow righty Sauryn Lao was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma in a corresponding active roster move. To get Lawrence onto the 40-man, outfielder Víctor Robles was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Robles suffered a left shoulder dislocation a couple of weeks ago and isn’t expected back for several months.
Lawrence and the Mariners seem to have an arrangement that is working for both of them. The season is only a few weeks old but this is already the third time he has been selected to the roster. He signed a minor league deal with the M’s in the winter and was called up to the majors on April 9th. A few days later, he was designated for assignment, cleared waivers and elected free agency. He returned on a fresh minor league deal and was back on the roster by April 18th. Once again, he was quickly DFA’d and cleared waivers but is now back on the roster a third time.
Around those transactions, he has served as a multi-inning reliever for the club. He has logged five innings across three appearances thus far, having allowed two earned runs. By continually shuffling him on and off the roster, the Mariners can keep fresh arms moving in and out of the bullpen.
Lawrence is out of options, which necessitates him continually being removed from the 40-man. He has the right to elect free agency as a player with a previous career outright but seems content to circling back to the Mariners each time. From his perspective, he gets to add a bit of major league pay and service time, not a bad outcome for a 37-year-old journeyman.
Emerson Hancock, the least established member of the Seattle rotation, takes the ball tonight for the M’s at Fenway Park. If he gets into trouble, Lawrence will likely be called upon to sop up some innings and save the rest of the bullpen before tomorrow’s day game.
Photo courtesy of Stephen Brashear, Imagn Images
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