Latest Mariners trade brings back a pitcher on his way to fulfilling his destiny

When the Mariners finally admitted defeat last week and designated Casey Legumina for assignment, they all but knew he was gone. However, at least president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander were able to work their (usual) magic. They completed a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays to bring Ty Cummings back to Seattle, with him already in the role they previously had envisioned for him.

Cummings was originally selected in the seventh round of the 2023 draft by the Mariners, but subsequently sent to Tampa Bay following the 2024 season as the player to be named later in the Randy Arozarena trade. As per Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, the M's had planned to convert the righty to a reliever if he'd remained in their system, something which the Rays ended up doing themselves and more than likely helped secure his return to the Pacific Northwest.

The 24-year-old was OK as a starter in the minors, but since becoming a full-time reliever this season he seems to have found his mojo and the early returns are solid. It's only a small sample size, but it's still looking good with him pitching 5.1 innings out of the bullpen in Double-A Montgomery and allowing just one hit, a walk and one earned run, while also recording six strikeouts.

Ty Cummings in arguably the best possible situation to succeed

It makes sense that Cummings would feel more at home as a reliever, given that he pitched out of the bullpen in all but three of his 74 appearances during three years at Campbell University. What should be particularly encouraging for Mariners fans is his improved productivity every time he moves up a level, and it only helps that he's now back in a farm system which is renowned around the majors for developing arms.

It's tough to miss the Clayton, North Carolina native, because of his tall and skinny build at 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, with a sidearmer pitching style and a bowling ball sinker. As per his scouting report on Baseball America, his fastball is around 93-94 mph but can reach 97, while he uses an 81-85 mph slider as his primary swing-and-miss pitch.

Cummings will start his second tenure with the organization in Double-A Arkansas, but if he continues his promising start to the season it will be only fair to call him up to Triple-A Tacoma at some point. (He pitched 7.0 innings in Triple-A Durham last year.) His ability to pitch multiple innings only enhances his potential upside, as he looks to justify the faith which brought him back to the Mariners and fulfil his destiny.

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