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Former Seattle Mariners Closer Agrees to Deal with Arizona Diamondbacks
Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Kendall Graveman (49) celebrates after the final out against the Oakland Athletics at T-Mobile Park in 2021. Jennifer Buchanan-Imagn Images

Former Seattle Mariners closer Kendall Graveman found his newest baseball home on Friday, agreeing to a one-year deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Per Jesse Rogers of ESPN on social media:

News: Free agent reliever Kendall Graveman is in agreement with the Arizona Diamondbacks on a 1 year deal, sources tell ESPN. Graveman is fully recovered from a shoulder injury and adds a needed piece to the Az bullpen. The deal is pending a physical.

The 34-year-old is a nine-year veteran of the Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, Mariners, Houston Astros and Chicago White Sox.

Formerly a starter, he transitioned to a full-time reliever in 2020 with the Mariners, revolutionizing his career. When healthy, he features an upper-90s power sinker and a slider. He was 4-0 with the Mariners in 2021, pitching to a 0.82 ERA in 30 games along with 10 saves. The Mariners traded him to the Astros that summer in a deal that brought Joe Smith and Abraham Toro to Seattle. It was a controversial deal at the time since the Mariners were still in playoff contention, and they ended up missing the playoffs on the final day of the regular season.

He signed a two-year deal with the White Sox before the 2022 season and then was traded back to Houston in 2023. With Chicago, he was 6-8 in 110 games. He had a 3.30 ERA and 14 saves. Lifetime, he's 37-43 with a 3.95.

Graveman isn't the only former M's closer to find a second act in Arizona, as the M's traded Paul Sewald to the D'Backs in 2023. He's since moved onto the Cleveland Guardians.

This article first appeared on Seattle Mariners on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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