Mariners trade with Pirates for lefty reliever Caleb Ferguson

The Seattle Mariners landed left-handed reliever Caleb Ferguson in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.

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The Mariners are sending pitching prospect Jeter Martinez to the Pirates in the deal.

To make room on the 40-man roster for Ferguson, the Mariners activated right-handed reliever Collin Snider off the injured list and designated him for assignment.

Ferguson, 29, has a 3.74 ERA and 1.08 WHIP with 34 strikeouts to 14 walks in 43 1/3 innings over 45 games. He has a career 3.69 ERA over 305 innings in seven big leagues.

“We are excited to add Caleb and fortify our bullpen down the stretch,” general manager Justin Hollander said in a release from the team. “He’s been one of the most reliable left-handed relievers in the game and adds postseason experience to our group.”

Ferguson will be a free agent at the end of this season.

The left-hander has excelled at limiting hard contact (only one home run allowed) and inducing groundballs. His 25.2% hard-hit rate and 83.5 mph average exit velocity this season rank in the 100th percentile, 3.3% barrel rate in the 97th percentile and 51.2% groundball rate in the 86th percentile, per Baseball Savant.

He’s also held left-handed batters to a .167 average and .439 OPS with only one extra-base hit allowed in 74 plate appearances.

Ferguson features a four-pitch mix with a 94 mph four-seam fastball, cutter, sinker and slurve. Batters are hitting just .152 off his slurve this season.

Ferguson adds a second southpaw to the Mariners’ bullpen alongside leverage arm Gabe Speier, as well as the postseason experience Hollander mentioned. Ferguson has made nine appearances over four career trips to the playoffs with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, pitching 5 2/3 scoreless innings during those outings.

Martinez, a 19-year-old right-hander, is the Mariners’ 13th-ranked prospect, per MLB Pipeline.

An international signing out of Mexico in 2023, Martinez is 2-6 with a 6.18 ERA and 1.61 WHIP with 60 strikeouts to 38 walks in 62 2/3 innings over 16 starts with Single-A Modesto. The 6-foot-4 right-hander is a power arm with a fastball that reaches the upper 90s, but he has struggled with command in his brief minor league career.

Snider, 29, has a 5.47 ERA over 26 1/3 innings in the majors this season.

Ferguson is the second addition for the Mariners ahead of Thursday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline. The team acquired first baseman Josh Naylor in exchange for pitching prospects Brandyn Garcia and Ashton Izzi last Thursday. Seattle currently holds the American League’s final wild card spot.

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