The Mariners announced that right-hander Seth Martinez was claimed off waivers from the Marlins. Righty Jackson Kowar was placed on the 60-day injured list in Seattle’s corresponding roster move.
Miami designated Martinez for assignment earlier this week, and today’s move makes it four different organizations in a little under four months’ time for the 30-year-old reliever. After spending his first four MLB seasons with the Astros, Martinez was designated for assignment in early November and claimed by the Diamondbacks. He then went to the Marlins on another waiver claim on February 20 before being DFA’ed again a week later, and now Martinez finds himself back in the AL West.
Martinez is out of minor league options, which somewhat explains his carousel of an offseason. With teams prizing flexibility within their bullpens, Martinez’s status makes him something of the proverbial 26th man, while also still having enough value that several teams are interested in having him on their rosters.
Over 111 appearances and 137 1/3 innings with Houston, Martinez often worked as a multi-inning reliever, so the Mariners would deploy him in that same capacity if he ends up on the Opening Day roster. Martinez has a career 3.93 ERA, though his strikeout rate fell rather sharply from 23.1% in 2023 to just 16.2% last season. Between that dropoff and other uninspiring Statcast metrics, the Astros felt comfortable in exposing Martinez to DFA waivers, leading to his busy winter of changing teams.
An innings-eating reliever always carries some usefulness, even on a Mariners team with an unusually durable starting rotation. A good Spring Training performance might help Martinez break camp with the team, or he might find himself on the waiver wire yet again before Opening Day.
Kowar underwent a Tommy John surgery almost exactly one year ago, so he was expected to miss some time at the start of the 2025 season as he finishes up his rehab. The 60-day IL placement means that Kowar won’t make his 2025 debut until late May at the earliest.