Mariners make Pitching Moves as Doolittle Claimed & Middleton DFA’d

On Thursday morning, the Mariners made a move to bolster their bullpen depth while at the same time adding some playoff experience to the roster. Sean Doolittle was claimed off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds Thursday morning. In a corresponding roster move, recently optioned reliever Keynan Middleton was designated for assignment.

Sean Doolittle has had a decent season for the Reds up to this point. Per FanGraphs, he had posted a 4.46 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 38.1 innings pitched. While those stats are important, there is a stat that you will not find on FanGraphs that the Mariners should find more valuable: Doolittle has pitched in (and helped win) a World Series.

This is something that the Mariners roster is lacking and clearly, GM Jerry Dipoto felt this was the right move to make at a time where the Mariners are well-positioned to make a playoff push.

Doolittle’s championship pedigree and playoff experience will greatly benefit the bullpen.

With a roster full of young talent, it should be a priority to surround the younger players with established and experienced MLB talent. Sean Doolittle fits that mold to a T. Especially with a bullpen that features less proven or experienced talent, Doolittle can come in and bring a new and needed presence into the bullpen.

Additionally, this is a low-risk/high-reward situation so the fact that Dipoto took a flier on Doolittle shows that he believes the Mariners are capable of making a legitimate playoff push in the last 35 games.

As a fan, I am extremely excited that Jerry Dipoto took a flier on Doolittle. There have been many opportunities this year for the Mariners to improve their pitching staff, but Dipoto has stayed consistent with his nature and has tapped in frequently with the waiver wire.

With the Mariners missing out on claiming or signing other proven relievers, it is refreshing to see some aggressiveness when it comes to adding a proven player at a key spot in the season. This is not a typical Dipoto waiver wire transaction. Instead, I believe this fully signifies Dipoto’s belief that the Mariners are going all-in on trying to end our playoff drought! Go Mariners!