Anthony Fernandez Designated For Assignment by the Seattle Mariners

facebooktwitterreddit

Anthony Fernandez, a 24-year old left-handed pitcher from the Dominican Republic, was designated for assignment on Wednesday, January 15. In 8 seasons with the Seattle Mariners organization, Fernandez never saw time in the MLB.

With the minor league player swap between the Mariners and the Chicago Cubs, the M’s had to open up a spot on the 40-man roster. Anthony Fernandez was the odd man out.

After being signed by the Mariners in 2007 at the age of 17, Anthony Fernandez played 8 seasons in the farm system. However, it wasn’t until the 2014 season– his 8th (and now final) season with the team– that he ever reached Triple-A Tacoma.

More from Mariners News

In those eight years that spanned all levels of the minor league system, Fernandez posted a 42-34 record over the course of 144 games played, 103 of which he started.

fHis lifetime minor league ERA is 3.64, with a 1.301 WHIP, totaling 553 strikeouts and 229 walks in the process. He allowed 42 home runs over 673.1 innings pitched.

With a small sample size at Triple-A Tacoma, Anthony Fernandez had a 1-1 record through just 25.2 innings pitched. However, in that short time span, he carried a 1.481 WHIP with 27 strikeouts to go with 14 walks and 3 home runs.

His time in Tacoma was short, however, due to a torn UCL that sidelined him for the rest of the season.

According to Baseball America, Anthony Fernandez was the 30th ranked Mariners prospect, with only his changeup listed as a ‘plus’ pitch.

With the addition of Mike Kickham in the trade with the Chicago Cubs, Fernandez became expendable, especially having already spent 8 years in the minors without a game of major league service time.

Of course, we wish Anthony Fernandez the best in his future baseball pursuits, and hopefully whoever picks him up next will give him that opportunity to play in the MLB. That is if he shows enough on the mound to warrant the call-up.