Mariners invite lefty Hagadone to MLB camp
Seattle continues to add relief depth with Machi deal likely
SEATTLE -- Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto continued adding to his club's pitching depth for Spring Training by signing lefty relief specialist Nick Hagadone on Tuesday to a Minor League deal with an invitation to Major League camp.
The club is also expected to add right-handed reliever Jean Machi to a similar deal before pitchers and catchers report to Peoria, Ariz., on Feb. 14, though that contract hasn't been finalized yet, as Machi hasn't completed his physical exam.
Hagadone, a native of Sumner, Wash., spent five seasons in the Majors with the Indians, but he missed all of 2016 while recovering from surgery to repair a fractured left elbow.
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The 6-foot-5 southpaw is 3-2 with a 4.72 ERA in 143 career relief appearances with Cleveland from 2011-15. He went 0-1 with a 4.28 ERA in 27 1/3 innings over 36 appearances in '15 before being placed on the 15-day disabled list on July 8 with lower back and elbow soreness.
Hagadone, 31, was drafted by the Mariners in the 36th round after he graduated from Sumner High School in 2004, but he chose to attend Bellevue College. He then pitched for the University of Washington before he was selected in the first round (55th overall) by the Red Sox in the '07 Draft.
Hagadone was dealt to the Indians at the 2009 non-waiver Trade Deadline, made his MLB debut in '11 and had his best season in the Majors in '14 when he posted a 2.70 ERA and 1.029 WHIP in 23 1/3 innings over 35 appearances.
Machi, who turns 35 on Wednesday, is a right-handed reliever who has gone 12-2 with a 3.47 ERA in 189 big league outings with the Giants and Red Sox from 2012-15. The Venezuela native was outstanding for the Giants from 2013-14, when he posted a 10-2 record and 2.49 ERA in 122 appearances.
But Machi's ERA jumped to 5.14 in 33 outings for the Giants in 2015, and he was claimed off waivers by the Red Sox in midseason. He pitched to a 5.09 ERA in 26 appearances for Boston through the end of the '15 season. The 6-foot, 255-pounder split last season in Triple-A between the Cubs' and Giants' squads in Iowa and Sacramento, respectively, combining for a 4-3 mark and 3.65 ERA in 61 2/3 innings over 48 games.
In addition to their 40-man roster, the Mariners have now extended non-roster camp invitations to 21 players. That list includes:
Right-handed pitchers:Christian Bergman, Machi, Cody Martin, Andrew Moore, Micah Owings, Max Povse, Peter Tago, Dylan Unsworth and Ryan Weber
Left-handed pitchers: Hagadone, Dean Kiekhefer
Switch-pitcher:Pat Venditte
Catchers:Nevin Ashley, Steve Baron, Marcus Littlewood, Tyler Marlette, Sebastian Valle
Infielder:Tyler Smith
Outfielders:Tyler O'Neill, Kyle Waldrop