Seattle Mariners DFA Former A's Reliever

Last summer, the Athletics made a trade with the Kansas City Royals, sending right-hander Lucas Erceg to the playoff contenders in exchange for righty Mason Barnett, outfielder Jared Dickey, and relief pitcher Will Klein.

Klein had made his MLB debut with the Royals before the trade, and was added to the Oakland bullpen not too long after the deal, but he didn't stick around for long. He racked up 1.2 innings of work in three outings, giving up five earned on two hits and four walks. That performance led to him getting optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas, where he'd finish out the 2024 campaign.

Back in January, Klein was DFA'd and ended up getting traded to the Seattle Mariners for "other considerations." The hard-throwing righty didn't crack the Mariners bullpen, spending the 2025 campaign (so far) with Triple-A Tacoma. In 21.1 innings of work he held a 7.17 ERA with a 1.93 WHIP thanks to 23 hits and 19 walks allowed.

On Saturday, Klein was designated for assignment by the Mariners to create a roster spot for prospect Cole Young. He will now go through the waiver process, and if he goes unclaimed, then he will presumably just be outrighted to Tacoma.

The question now becomes whether or not there is a team that will claim Klein on waivers. Given the A's rough month of May drastically changing their trajectory for this season, they may have more room in their bullpen to give someone a shot that they'd originally thought, so a reunion wouldn't seem to be out of the realm of possibilities. The team is searching for fresh arms constantly.

Then again, the Athletics need guys that can finish innings, and given his incredibly high walk rate that's sat at 18.1% of the hitters he's faced this season, he may not exactly be the most ideal fit.

Seattle has had success with these types of guys repeatedly over the last handful of seasons, so to see them miss on one is a bit jarring, given the perception of the club as a pitching factory. The Mariners have collected former A's relievers of late, too. Last season they had Kirby Snead, a left-hander acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays in the Matt Chapman deal. He elected free agency following the season.

This year, in addition to Klein, Seattle also has veteran Trevor Gott, whom the A's signed last year, but he missed the entire year after undergoing Tommy John surgery. They're also working with Shintaro Fujinami, whom the A's held an entire signing press conference for back in 2023. His stuff can be dominating, but he was just unable to keep it in the zone enough.