The Seattle Mariners announced another batch of roster moves Tuesday, following Monday’s placement of SS J.P. Crawford on the 10-day injured list and recalling of 2B Ryan Bliss. Today, they placed long relief RHP Cooper Criswell on the 15-day injured list for pitchers with a right shoulder strain, recalling RHP Nick Davila from Triple-A Tacoma in exchange.
It’s a tough break for Criswell, who’s been dutiful with Seattle to the tune of a 3.52/3.76 ERA/FIP, generating groundballs at an exceptional 60.2% clip and covering 30.2 frames in 26 appearances. While a recent poor outing set the stage for a walk-off loss in Detroit, by and large Criswell has been a stellar bridge on days where the bullpen needs length. That is all the more vital with Seattle utilizing a six-man rotation instead of the piggy-back approach, leaving the bullpen shorthanded by current tastes at all times. Davila has been sharp with the Rainiers, and has yet to yield an earned run in the bigs, though his peripherals are that of a man hiding a horseshoe somewhere, and it’s not in his hands or mouth.
Today’s move came along with a contemporaneous deal, wherein Seattle traded for veteran RHP reliever Carson Fulmer, who’d been with Triple-A Indianapolis in the Pittsburgh Pirates system. Fulmer was not on Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster and thus won’t need to be placed on Seattle’s, however the move is the sort that seems likely to include such an addition soon. Bearing no relation to RHP Michael Fulmer who debuted in 2016 as well and won AL Rookie of the Year with the Tigers, Carson Fulmer has nonetheless carved a similar path of longevity at the big league level across several organizations. Fulmer was even a Mariner briefly, signing a minor league deal in the spring of 2024 with a Spring Training invite before being released.
Most recently with the Anaheim Angels in the bigs, the 32 year old occupied a mixture of roles from mop-up to mid-range relief and even starting from 2023-25. He’s managed a 5.44/5.27 ERA/FIP in 256.2 innings, however, with -0.2/-0.5 bWAR/fWAR and a pedestrian 8.1% K-BB ratio. Part of what’s kept clubs coming back to Fulmer is a pedigree as a Vanderbilt ace who was selected 8th overall in the 2015 draft by the Chicago White Sox. He’s lost several ticks on his fastball since then, and struggled with command at every level and stop on his journey, but the repertoire he boasts can be hard on hitters when located well.
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