Seattle Mariners Sign Reliever on Comeback Trail

The Seattle Mariners are playing the middle game of their three-game series with the Baltimore Orioles. The Mariners dropped the opener 5-1 last night. Seattle lost first place in the American League West due to last night’s loss and trail the Houston Astros by a half game entering tonight’s game. Today they signed reliever Daniel Bard to a minor-league deal. On May 27th, Bard threw a showcase in which ten teams attended. Bard will turn 40 at the end of this month. He missed last season due to a pair of surgeries. One surgery was to repair the meniscus in his left knee. The other was more serious as he had his flexor tendon repaired in his right elbow. He last pitched in the big leagues in 2023 making 50 appearances going 4-2. Bard posted a 4.56 ERA, a 6.13 FIP, a 1.70 WHIP, and 47 strikeouts in 49.1 innings.

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Daniel Bard

Bard first broke into the big leagues in 2009 as a member of the Boston Red Sox. In 49 games that season he went 2-2 with a 3.65 ERA, a 3.38 FIP, a 1.28 WHIP, and 63 strikeouts in 49.1 innings. In 2012 the Red Sox tried to convert him into a starter where he made 17 appearances with ten of those coming as starts going 5-6 with a 6.22 ERA, a 6.36 FIP, a 1.74 WHIP, and 38 strikeouts in 59.1 innings.

He didn’t pitch in the big leagues from 2014-2019. In 2020 he made a comeback with the Colorado Rockies. In 2022 he was dominant appearing in 57 games going 6-4 with 34 saves, a 1.79 ERA, a 2.86 FIP, 0.99 WHIP, and 80 strikeouts in 65.2 innings. He finished 16th in MVP voting that season. Making a return at the age of 40 will be difficult but Bard has made a comeback before, if he returns to the form he was just three seasons ago the Mariners will have a solid piece in their bullpen.