Mariners Moves: Ty Adcock called up, Penn Murfee back to IL

Just a little over a month after Ty Adcock was coming out of the Everett AquaSox bullpen, the Seattle Mariners prospect will pitch again in the Puget Sound. Only this time, the stage will be considerably bigger.

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Adcock, a 26-year-old right-hander, has been selected to the Mariners’ active roster from Double-A Arkansas ahead of Seattle’s homestand opener at 6:40 p.m. Monday against the Miami Marlins. He will take the place of second-year reliever Penn Murfee, who is headed back to the 15-day injured list after just one appearance since his recent return from elbow inflammation.

To make room for Adcock on the 40-man roster, Seattle moved starting pitcher Robbie Ray (Tommy John surgery) from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL.

Should Adcock appear in a game following this promotion, it will mark his MLB debut.

The 29-year-old Murfee left Sunday’s Mariners loss in Anaheim after an inning pitched due to a re-aggravation of the elbow issue. In 16 games (14 innings) for Seattle this season, he owns 1.29 ERA with 16 strikeouts to 10 walks.

Adcock’s path to the big leagues makes for an interesting story. An eighth-round pick by the Mariners in 2019, he was just as much a hitter as he was a pitcher during his college career, even catching at times at North Carolina’s Elon University, where he was teammates with current Mariners starting pitcher and fellow 2019 draft pick George Kirby. Adcock didn’t pitch in the minors until last year, missing the 2019 season following the draft due to right shoulder impingement syndrome, then all of 2021 while he recovered from Tommy John surgery (the minor leagues did not play in 2020 due to the pandemic).

Adcock has turned heads in 2023 thanks to the combination of a fastball that nears 100 mph and a hard slider.

In eight appearances covering eight innings last year between the Rookie and Low-A levels, Adcock posted a 7.88 ERA with 11 strikeouts to four walks. But in 2023, he owns a 1.35 ERA and 0.55 WHIP over 18 appearances (20 innings) combined between Single-A Everett and Double-A Arkansas, the latter of which he was promoted to at the start of May. His control has been much better this year with 22 strikeouts to three walks and two hit batters.

The Mariners are back at T-Mobile Park beginning Monday night following a nine-game road trip. The radio broadcast of the series opener against Miami is carried on Seattle Sports starting at 5:30 p.m. with the pregame show. Click here for Monday’s full Mariners lineup.

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