Mariners Outright Newly Acquired Ryan Weber To AAA

Exactly a month ago today, the Mariners claimed RHP, Ryan Weber off waivers. Today they have chosen to outright him to the Mariners triple-A affiliate, the Tacoma Rainiers after he cleared waivers.

The Mariners have outrighted their fourth player this off-season. Before they sent Ryan Weber to Tacoma this afternoon, the M’s had already sent Steve Clevenger, Charlie Furbush, and Ryan Cook to Tacoma through outrighting.

Weber was always a middle of the line pitcher throughout his minor league career. Before coming to Seattle, Weber featured in the Atlanta Braves minor league system.

Over the course of his eight years in the bus league, only twice did Weber have an ERA below 3.00. In 2011 he managed an ERA of 2.74 with the team’s single-A affiliates and then again in 2015 when he split time between the double-A and triple-A Braves -his ERA was 2.35 that year.

Weber did pull off a call-up to the majors after nearly a decade of busting his butt in the minors. The Braves gave him a shot in 2015 as a starter. He pitched in just five games and had an ERA of 4.76.

More from SoDo Mojo

• 2023 Steamer Projections: Teoscar Hernandez could see a drop in Seattle
• Could the Mariners Acquire AL Batting Champion, Luis Arraez?
• Steamer Projections: Julio Rodriguez to enter rarified air in 2023
• What if the Mariners traded FOR Tyler O’Neill this time?
• Mariners starting pitching is being overlooked by MLB

He allowed a run in all of his starts but still gritted out three quality starts including a seven-inning spectacle where he struck out ten men and surrendered five hits.

However, after that, there was no longer room for Weber in the rotation, and he was moved to the bullpen. He still gave up a ton of runs in the pen, allowing his opponents to score on him in nine of his sixteen outings.

He did have a positive stretch in the middle of his charity. In seven starts from July, 30th to August, 28th, he pitched in seven games over 11.2 innings and gave up two runs, giving him an ERA of 1.54 in that span. He also allowed zero walks in that time.

Nevertheless, Dipoto sees promise in the young righty, telling the press:

"“He’s an excellent strike-thrower with a good sinker who can either start or relieve,” general manager Jerry Dipoto said. “He also improves our depth at 26 years old, and he has two options left.”"

Yet, before playing a single game for the team, he has been sent back to the minors to prove his worth. This seems like the right decision for a guy who has been allowing teams to score runs off him more often than not.

Next: Mariners Outright Pat Venditte

If he can curb this bad habit, maybe he’ll get the chance to rack up more quality starts as part of the Mariners rotation, or maybe he’ll just be another right-handed arm in the bullpen. We’ll see what happens.