There's reason to believe in Mariners' latest Braves waiver claim (but not much)

In addition to getting swept by the Royals in an utterly forgettable series, the Mariners spent this past weekend playing musical chairs with their roster. José Suarez is the newcomer in the midst, though what he can do and how long he'll last are both fair questions.

For now, Suarez is with the organization after he was claimed off waivers from the Atlanta Braves on Sunday. He's been added to the 40-man roster and because he's out of minor league options, will have to be added to the active 26-man roster as well.

The 28-year-old lefty comes to the Mariners with parts of eight major league seasons under his belt. He knows the AL West well from his six seasons with the Angels, though he left town with a 5.57 ERA and only improved to a 4.04 ERA in two mostly cameo-laden seasons with Atlanta.

On the plus side, Suarez did pitch multiple innings in four of his seven relief appearances for the Braves this season. He fanned 15 of the 61 batters he faced in those, getting good mileage out of a changeup that has had a whiff rate around 40 percent since the start of last year.

The lefty also held left-handed batters to a .200 average and a .573 OPS. This is a relatively new trick of his, as he actually wasn't very effective (i.e., .771 OPS) against lefties prior to arriving in Atlanta.

If we're going to game out how the Mariners could use Suarez, it's just as well that he can't be stashed at Triple-A Tacoma and built up as an emergency starter. Whereas the rotation is on a collision course with having too many options, the bullpen was an arm short even before Matt Brash went on the injured list on Friday.

It's more likely that José Suarez is merely a placeholder on the Mariners' roster

Then again, the Braves designated Suarez for assignment after he had posted a 6.61 ERA for them. That's obviously an unflattering look, and how long he'll stick in the Mariners organization is an open question.

Suarez seems to be here simply because the team needed another arm more than it needed outfielder Rhylan Thomas, who was DFA'd in a corresponding move. There's nothing wrong with that, but Suarez's roster spot is likely on borrowed time anyway.

The Mariners currently have right-hander Carlos Vargas and utility man Miles Mastrobuoni on the 60-day injured list, which requires them to be off the 40-man roster. Though Vargas unfortunately had a setback in his recovery from a lat strain, he's the top candidate to snatch Suarez's roster spot out from under him eventually.

This puts Suarez in a position to do what he can while he can for the Mariners. His first step is merely getting his first shot with the big club, after which everyone will be hoping for better results.

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