Mariners tied to recently waived reliever Bryan Shaw in report
Jul 20, 2020, 4:06 PM | Updated: 4:53 pm
Veteran reliever Bryan Shaw has pitched for Arizona, Cleveland and Colorado. (Getty)
(Getty)
Mariners season is almost here, and for the first time in a long time, the M’s are finding their way into the rumor mill.
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MLB Network insider Jon Heyman tweeted Monday afternoon that the Mariners are expected to add veteran reliever Bryan Shaw to their bullpen mix. Shaw was recently put on waivers by the Colorado Rockies, who he spent the past two seasons pitching for.
Hear Bryan Shaw will be going to the Mariners after Rockies let him go
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 20, 2020
The right-handed Shaw is a nine-year veteran of the big leagues, debuting with Arizona in 2011. He spent five seasons with Cleveland from 2013-17, thrice leading the American League in appearances (2014, 2016, 2017), and was a key contributor to the 2016 team that won the AL championship and took the eventual world champion Chicago Cubs to seven games in the World Series.
Shaw had an ERA of 3.52 or lower in each of his first seven seasons in the majors, but the 32 year old had a tougher time with the Rockies, who call notoriously hitter-friendly Coors Field their home. Shaw had a 5.93 ERA in 61 games with Colorado in 2018 and a 5.38 mark last year. He was still called upon with great regularity, however, throwing 72 innings over 70 games in 2019.
For his career, Shaw has a 3.68 ERA, 1.298 WHIP, 8.0 strikeouts per nine innings and 2.45 strikeouts to walk ratio. He has appeared in 70 games or more in six of his nine seasons, including a career-high 80 in 2014, and had 61 and 64 appearances in two other seasons, respectively.
Shaw’s contract for 2021 initially had a vesting option for $9 million based on appearances, but according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, that option is nullified once he clears waivers, allowing teams to sign him simply for the prorated minimum salary. The Rockies still owe Shaw both a prorated portion of his $9 million salary for 2020 plus a $2 million buyout ahead of 2021, according to MLB Trade Rumors.
The Mariners could be looking for a veteran bullpen arm to help out in the absence of Yoshihisa Hirano, an offseason signing who was placed on the team’s injured list last week.
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