Mariners Rumors: M’s Showing Interest in RHP Jason Frasor

Bob Dutton of The News Tribune is reporting that the Seattle Mariners are interested in signing veteran reliever Jason Frasor. The 37-year-old right-hander opted to become a free agent on Monday after the Kansas City Royals designated him for assignment on July 6th.

Frasor’s numbers in 2015 are deceiving to say the least. He sports a stingy 1.54 ERA across 23.1 innings, but his 18:15 strikeout to walk ratio leaves plenty to be desired. Despite allowing 1.671 walks/hits per inning, Frasor has only surrendered 4 earned runs in 26 appearances.

The 12 year veteran is fresh off the most impressive season of his career. Frasor tore it up with the Royals down the stretch in 2014, going 3-0 with a 1.53 ERA across 23 appearances. He posted a career best 4.00 strikeout to walk ratio, and held the opposition to a career low 0.962 walks/hits per inning. Fraser was big for the Royals during their unlikely run to the World Series, going 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA over the course of 5.1 innings pitched.

The Oak Forrest, IL product has had a nice career. Originally selected in the 33rd round of the 1999 draft by the Detroit Tigers, Frasor made his big league debut in 2004 with the Toronto Blue Jays. He has spent time with the Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers and the Royals during his 12 year career. He has a record of 35-35 with a 3.52 ERA and 36 saves across 642 career innings.

It has been a tough season for right-handers in the Mariners’ bullpen. Seattle relied heavily on the righties last year, but 2015 has been a different story. Danny Farquhar and Tom Wilhelmsen played key roles at the back end last year, but they have both been demoted to Tacoma. Yoervis Medina and Dominic Leone looked like rising stars a season ago, but they were both dealt away earlier in the season. Skipper Lloyd McClendon has been quoted as saying “the biggest disappointment to date has been the right-handers,” and I tend to agree with his assessment.

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If the Mariners are on the lookout for a veteran right-handed reliever, Jason Frasor might be their best option. Frasor is on the open market, and can potentially be had for a paltry $225,000. There are bound to be other clubs interested in acquiring his services, and reports suggest the Boston Red Sox might be the M’s stiffest competition.

I do not think adding Frasor would dramatically change the course of the Mariners’ season, but I do think he is worth a flier. He has had a solid career, and Frasor might help solidify the backend of the M’s bullpen. Personally, I would rather see Seattle sign Frasor now rather than sell off prospects to land a middle reliever at the trade deadline.

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