Major League rosters expand from 26 to 28 players on September 1. Which two players will the Seattle Mariners add?
Calling up players in September is an annual ritual. Last season, however, roster sizes were restricted to 28. It was 28 before last season, but COVID allowed teams to go beyond that, so MLB reintroduced the rule last season.
Their current roster size is 26, so the Seattle Mariners will add two players. Joe Swenson analyzes the potential candidates to join the M’s on September 1.
The easiest additions to consider are members of the organization who are on the 40-man roster, as no one has to be Designated For Assignment to make room for them.
Pitchers on Seattle Mariners 40-man Roster
Justus Sheffield
Fans haven’t seen him in a Seattle Mariners uniform since June, but Justus Sheffield is still in the organization. He’s struggled at Tacoma this year with a 7.12 ERA in 92.1 innings. But he’s a lefty, and the M’s are thin in that area.
Seattle will need someone in the bullpen besides Flexen to eat innings should a start go sideways. Right now, the Mariners shuffle between a 1A and 1B set-up in the bullpen with some combination of Andres Munoz/ Paul Sewald and Erik Swanson/ Diego Castillo as the primary set-up closer situation.
The emergence of Penn Murfee and Matthew Festa as viable late-inning options means they don’t have a lot of innings eaters outside of Flexen. It’s a great problem to have, and Sheffield could be another arm in the bullpen to eat innings.
Matthew Boyd
Another lefty, Matthew Boyd, is new to the Seattle Mariners, coming over in a deadline trade from San Francisco with Curt Casali to provide some innings. He’s been a starter throughout his seven-year Major League career, but Boyd isn’t likely to be a starter in Seattle this season coming back from elbow surgery. The Sammamish, Washington native, could be an asset in the bullpen as a long man if one of the Mariners’ starting five falters.
Next: Page 2 – Another Bat
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