Seattle Mariners: Art Warren claimed off waivers by Rangers

The Mariners’ #25 prospect was claimed off of waivers by the Texas Rangers Wednesday

The Texas Rangers claimed 27-year-old reliever Art Warren off of waivers yesterday.

Warren was surprisingly the 25th Mariners prospect at age 27. He does have good stuff in his toolbox which dubbed him a solid prospect. He was drafted by Seattle in the 23rd round of the 2015 draft from Ashland University, a small school in Ohio.

The hard-throwing right-hander throws his fastball in the mid to upper 90s which even drew him 70 grades by scouts while in the farm system. The fastball and slider pitcher has only pitched six times in the big leagues which all came in 2019.

Warren has spent five seasons in the minor leagues and has an impressive 2.86 ERA while striking out 233 in 229.2 innings. Warren proved he had good stuff at the Single-A and Double-A levels. He would have most likely pitched in Triple-A this past season if it weren’t for the pandemic.

Warren was on the Mariners’ taxi squad late in the shortened 2020 season but was never activated. The pitcher’s departure opened up room for the Mariners’ 2020 fourth-round pick, Tyler Keenan, to be the new player on the Mariners top 30 prospect list coming in at #30.

It is unfortunate that we lose Warren who has shown great potential as a minor leaguer despite being an atypical 27-year-old prospect. The Mariners needed to open room for some players who are on the 60-day injured list who need to be reinstated or designated for assignment soon after the World Series ends.

Baseball is one of those weird sports where roster management is so important and players can be dropped and signed left and right before you know it. I personally do not have any bad or super good things to say about Warren which says a lot about the lack of exposure he has received as a Mariner.

But, Warren is 27 and you do have to feel good for him deep down as a Mariners fan because you know he is anxious for big-league playtime. He logged minimal time at the big league level in 2019 and I am honestly excited to see him get a chance to pitch for the Rangers.

Warren has a good fastball and slider and he could be a great pickup for the Rangers in 2021. It is ironic because the Mariners clearly need to bolster its bullpen for 2021 and Art Warren is a relief pitcher that throws heat. As I always say, “it is what it is.” I have faith in Jerry Dipoto’s process.