Mariners release former first-round pick Justus Sheffield

The Mariners are releasing left-hander Justus Sheffield from Triple-A Tacoma, tweets Rainiers’ director of media relations Paul Braverman. The southpaw had already been taken off the 40-man roster over the offseason but had remained in the system after going unclaimed on outright waivers.

Sheffield had been hit very hard through his first 10 outings in Tacoma. He’s allowed 17 runs over 8 1/3 innings, walking 11 batters with only four strikeouts. Given that production, he surely wasn’t on the radar for an imminent look at the MLB level. Seattle will instead officially part ways with the 26-year-old hurler, a disappointing conclusion to a four-plus year tenure in the organization.

The M’s first acquired Sheffield from the Yankees in the James Paxton trade over the 2018-19 offseason. One of the game’s top pitching prospects at the time of the deal, Sheffield was regarded by many prospect evaluators as a potential mid-rotation starter. He was the headlining piece of the trade return, though righty Erik Swanson wound up outperforming him after moving to the bullpen.

Sheffield struggled in a brief look in 2019 but flashed some of that promise during the shortened 2020 campaign. He had a 3.58 ERA through 10 starts that year, inducing ground balls at a quality 50.6% clip. Over the past two seasons, though, the former first-round draftee has allowed over six earned runs per nine innings at the MLB level. His ERA was pushing 7.00 over 24 starts in Triple-A last season.

That led to him clearing waivers in January, preceding his immense struggles through this season’s first month. He’ll hit the open market in search of a new landing spot, which would assuredly be via minor league contract.