Mariners News: New pitcher from Reds, Samad Taylor DFA, full international signings

The Seattle Mariners did the most Mariners thing imaginable on Thursday: they found a live arm on the margins, cleared a 40-man spot with a depth DFA, then followed it up by pumping real energy into the farm with international signings.

It’s not the flashiest headline a lot of fans are begging for in January — especially with Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette finding new homes — but it is a pretty clean snapshot of how this front office tries to win. They continue their quest to manufacture pitching, continue stockpiling athleticism, and trust the machine to turn raw ingredients into usable big leaguers.

Mariners’ latest trade for Yosver Zulueta signals a familiar pitching obsession

The Mariners acquired right-hander Yosver Zulueta from the Reds for minor-league pitcher Dusty Revis. 

If the name doesn’t move you, the profile should: Zulueta is a power arm with real strikeout ability. In the majors, the track record is small (23.2 innings across the last two seasons), but the shape of it is interesting: a 24.8 percent strikeout rate, a high walk rate (10.9 percent), and a strong ground-ball rate (54 percent) even while running a 5.32 ERA. 

That’s where Seattle’s pitching reputation comes in. The org makes a habit out of finding these hard-throwing, imperfect relievers and sanding down the rough edges. In Triple-A last year, he posted a 3.28 ERA with a 31.2 percent strikeout rate (and, yes, still a 12.8 percent walk rate). 

Mariners DFA Samad Taylor in a 40-man decision that feels brutally predictable

To make room for Zulueta on the 40-man, the Mariners designated Samad Taylor for assignment. 

This one is less dramatic than it sounds. Taylor is a useful depth player — multi-position, runs well, gets on base in the minors — but the roster reality is brutal: he’s out of minor-league options, and Seattle clearly didn’t view him as a must-carry bench piece into spring. 

Still, there’s a reason someone might claim him. He hit .296/.378/.461 at Triple-A Tacoma last season with 44 steals, and he’s consistently produced at that level over multiple years. The skepticism is whether that translates against MLB pitching (and whether the power is “real” enough), but as a depth add for the right roster? He’ll get calls.

Mariners’ international haul could reshape the next wave in Seattle

The Mariners announced five international signings, headlined by outfielders Juan Rijo (MLB Pipeline No. 12) and Gregory Pio (No. 32), plus infielder Leonardo Reynoso (No. 48), with outfielders Jarvis Gomez and Ambeiro Recio rounding out the group.

Rijo reads like the “safest” bet of the bunch. Seattle has called him “uniquely advanced,” and the early chatter around his profile leans heavily on polish.

Pio, on the other hand, is the ceiling swing. The scouting language almost always starts with the tools: speed, defense, athleticism, raw strength. With Pio, it’s less about what he is today and more about what he becomes if the development clicks.

The money tells you Seattle is serious about both of them. Reports have Rijo signing for $2.2 million, Pio for $2.9 million, and Reynoso for $750,000, with the Mariners working from a $7,357,100 international bonus pool this year. 

And the sleeper intrigue is in Recio and Gomez, the two names most fans probably haven’t dug into yet. The Mariners’ own release pegs Gomez as a premium athlete with speed, power potential, and arm strength, while Recio’s calling card is loud raw pop.

The larger point is this class looks like a deliberate push toward athletic outfield talent, not just lottery tickets. And if you’re going to accept that the big-league roster building sometimes moves at a glacial pace, then yeah — you’d like to see the org at least keep feeding the pipeline with players who can become real assets (either as contributors or trade currency). This is how you avoid getting boxed into one narrow roster plan.