NEW YORK -- Dominic Leone still remembers his Major League debut and can recite it with clarity.

It was April 6, 2014, and the Mariners were facing the A’s in Oakland. Leone entered the game in the seventh inning, and the first batter he faced, Eric Sogard, hit a double down the right-field line that just barely stayed fair.

“I stood on the mound, I got the ball back, and I was like, ‘All right, welcome to the big leagues,'” Leone recalled.

Leone responded by striking out Coco Crisp for his first big league punchout, inducing a groundout from Josh Donaldson, and, after walking Jed Lowrie, getting Brandon Moss to pop out to complete a clean inning of relief.

It was a special moment for the now-31-year-old right-hander, who was selected by the Mariners in the 16th round of the 2012 MLB Draft. Just as special was the news Leone received on Thursday, when he found out that he had been claimed off waivers by Seattle.

Leone was among six players that the reeling Angels placed on waivers in an attempt to shed salary. The Mariners will owe him only one month's pay on the $605,000 he's earning this season, in addition to the $50,000 cost to claim him.

Reliever Devin Sweet was designated for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot.

• How do waivers work?

On Friday, Leone found himself in the visitors’ clubhouse at Citi Field alongside a new iteration of the Mariners, none of whom were on the roster with him before he was traded to the D-backs in June 2015.

Leone was activated ahead of the three-game series against the Mets, alongside utility man Sam Haggerty, as rosters expanded to 28 in September.

The timing couldn’t have worked out better for Leone, given that the Mariners are coming off a franchise-record 21-win August in their quest to not only make the postseason, but possibly win the American League West for the first time since 2001.

“It’s like the most electric show on the diamond,” Leone said. “I mean, all these guys are so young and lively. … It is just an uber-talented group. Fast, energetic. Pitching staff is incredible. It was definitely something fun to watch. Now that I get to put the colors back on, it’s pretty sweet.”

By virtue of sharing a division, the Mariners also got a close look at Leone not long ago, as the reliever made his Angels debut on Aug. 4 against Seattle and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning of a 7-7 ballgame.

After inheriting two runners on base, Leone threw a wild pitch to advance both runners and then walked Julio Rodríguez. But Leone hunkered down and retired Eugenio Suárez, Tom Murphy and Teoscar Hernández in order to strand the bases loaded, a moment that led Seattle manager Scott Servais to quip on Friday: “I don’t know how he did it, but he did.”

“I think it’s a really good fit,” Servais said. “Certainly got experience. In our bullpen, we’ve got a lot of young guys who have really good stuff. So happy to have him join us. … He’s throwing the ball pretty good.”

Leone signed a Minor League deal with the Rangers last offseason, but he never made an appearance with Texas, opting out of his deal in May. He then signed with the Mets, who dealt him to the Angels at the Aug. 1 Trade Deadline.

Leone posted a 4.40 ERA and a 1.239 WHIP with 33 strikeouts over 30 2/3 innings with New York, and he compiled a 5.54 ERA and a 1.846 WHIP while collecting one save in 11 games (13 innings) with the Angels.

In his 10-year MLB career, Leone is 22-23 with a 3.81 ERA over 395 games, notching eight saves with a 1.379 WHIP. He’s joining a Mariners bullpen that has been among baseball’s best, entering Friday with a 3.41 combined ERA, second lowest only to the Yankees.

“They roll out guys whenever they’re needed, a lot of fireman-type roles,” Leone said. “I’m ready to do whatever they need me to do. This is a situation and an equation that’s clearly been working. It’s a formula that’s been pretty darn good, definitely for the last month but over the back half of the season.

"So, I just look to come in and whatever they throw at me, I’ll be ready for it.”