Mariners add bullpen arm as Jerry Dipoto makes his third trade this week

Jerry Dipoto has made his third trade of the offseason, acquiring right-handed reliever Nick Rumbelow from the Yankees in exchange for minor league pitchers J.P. Sears and Juan Then.

Rumbelow, 26, was a seventh round pick out of LSU in 2013 for the Yankees. He made his big league debut in 2015, appearing in 17 games and posting a 4.02 ERA.

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“Nick is another young, power-arm reliever who provides us with present flexibility and future impact,” Dipoto said.

In 2016, he made just one appearance in Triple-A before going on the DL with a torn UCL. He returned from Tommy John surgery last June, and put up a 1.12 ERA split between Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He went 5-1 with six saves and struck out 45 while allowing just 11 walks. In 10 of his 25 appearances, he pitched two or more innings.

Sears, an 11th round pick by the Mariners this year, went 1-2 with three saves and a 0.65 ERA in 17 relief appearances between Short-A Everett and Single-A Clinton. MLB.com ranked him as the 21st best prospect in the Mariners organization.

Then, 17, signed as an international non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2016 and pitched in the Dominican Summer League in 2017.

The move gives the Mariners a MLB-ready bullpen arm who can compete for a spot in the pen. For the Yankees, who have quite a bit of depth in right-handed relievers, it gives them roster space ahead of the deadline for teams to add players to their 40-man roster before the Rule 5 draft on Monday.

The Mariners’ 40-man roster is at 36 players after the move.

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