New twist in former Mariner's career odyssey is a reminder of what's been lost

Odysseus doesn't have jack on Austin Voth. He was once a proud member of the Seattle Mariners. He has since pitched for five teams in three different countries, and is now headed overseas to pitch for yet another team in yet another country. And all this in just two years since leaving Seattle.

It doesn't read like a true story, but it is. Voth's official transaction log lists 23 entries since February, beginning with his minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox and ending with his release from the Texas Rangers on July 15. In between, he was also scooped up and tried out by the Toronto Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins, resulting in 12 runs allowed in 10 major league innings.

According to Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News, Voth is now headed to Korea to pitch for the Samsung Lions of the Korean Baseball Organization. It'll be another temporary posting. The 34-year-old righty's contract is only meant to last six weeks, just long enough to replace the injured Ariel Jurado.

This is Voth's second Asian excursion in as many years, and the first was ostensibly meant to put an end to his wandering. He was legitimately good for the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball in 2025, covering 130 innings and posting a 3.88 ERA. Doing that and coming back to MLB was right out of a tried and true playbook for journeyman pitchers.

Instead, well, there he goes again across the Pacific Ocean.

The Mariners could use a guy like the 2024 Austin Voth right now

If anyone is wondering if we're talking about the same Austin Voth who was A Dude for the Mariners in 2024, that's just plain understandable.

He was every kind of good story that year. A Washington native and University of Washington alum pitching for his hometown team? Heck, yes. And he was good at it! He made 68 appearances out of the bullpen for Scott Servais and Dan Wilson, ultimately posting a 3.69 ERA and leaving behind a Baseball Savant page marked by elite figures for exit velocity and hard-hit rate.

That Voth ended up in Japan upon electing free agency tells us that neither the Mariners nor other teams were buying it, and that wasn't totally unfair. Voth wasn't even a replacement-level pitcher by Baseball Reference's accounting. And when a guy whose previous MLB work consists of a near-5.00 ERA before he randomly breaks out at the age of 32, said guy is best treated with suspicion.

Of course, the Mariners used to be known for digging up randomly effective relievers. But unfortunately, that "used to be" is doing heavy lifting. Nobody like Voth has emerged as the team has tried to navigate the absences of Matt Brash, Carlos Vargas and Cooper Criswell, which is why we're noshing on lotus flowers and dreaming about a trade for Mason Miller. Desperate times and whatnot.

If the Mariners had figured that the genuine article could be this year's Austin Voth, then he'd be back in Seattle right now. Since that ship has apparently (and kinda-sorta literally) sailed, the only thing to do is wish him good luck in Korea… and wonder with real anticipation as to where he'll turn up next.

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