Mariners rumored to have signed former division-rival All-Star closer

The Seattle Mariners left the Winter Meetings without having made an impact outside of getting the No. 3 pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, but it appears they made an under-the-radar move shortly after the event in Dallas came to a close.

Mariners fans are intimately familiar with the name Neftali Feliz, as he spent the first seven years of his big league career as a member of the division-rival Texas Rangers. The right-hander emerged as one of the game's premier closers after bursting on to the scene with a Rookie of the Year-winning performance in 2010.

Feliz, now 36 years of age and three years removed from his last outing in Major League Baseball, has reportedly signed a minor league contract with the Mariners. Even if he hasn't been active in the United States, Feliz has spent a ton of time pitching professionally in Mexico over the past three seasons.

You'd be forgiven if this name slipped off your radar, or if you thought he had sailed off into retirement. This caught us by surprise, too.

Mariners Rumors: Seattle signs Neftali Feliz to minor-league contract

It's been a long, long time since Feliz was at his best. In fact, he hasn't posted a single-season ERA+ above 100 (league-average) since all the way back in 2016 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Since then, he's had rough stints with the Brewers, Royals, Phillies and Dodgers.

Back in his prime, though, Feliz was utterly dominant in that Rangers bullpen. In 216 outings across seven years in Texas, he posted a combined 2.69 ERA and 164 ERA+. A failed experiment to turn him into a starting pitcher derailed his momentum after two straight seasons of 32 or more saves, but he's still managed to hang on after all these years.

It's not difficult to see why the Mariners might have been intrigued by Feliz after a quick look at his combined 2024 stats between two Mexican League teams and a 20-game stint in the Dominican Winter League. All told, he made 52 appearances, earning 25 saves while sporting a sparkling 1.65 ERA. In 54 2/3 innings of work, the right-hander allowed just 10 earned runs and gave up only two homers.

The Mariners are pretty much set at the back end of their 2025 bullpen with Andres Muñoz at closer and Collin Snider as the primary setup option. Trent Thornton and Tayler Saucedo are going to continue in their middle-relief roles, but there's an obvious spot for someone of Feliz's caliber if he's able to prove he belongs in spring training.

Seattle has needs all around the roster, but a reliever (or two!) is among them for sure. As of right now, FanGraphs' Roster Resource projects that, outside of the aforementioned quartet, the Mariners will employ a pitcher who threw just 7 1/3 innings last year, two who had ERAs no lower than 4.88, and one who didn't throw a single inning at the big league level. If Feliz can keep up the production he had in 2024, he'll join this group in no time.