Seattle Mariner Non-Roster Invitees Breakdown (Pitchers)
The 30’s
JT Chargois – 30 years old – JT has been in several organizations. With the Dodgers in 2018, he showed that he could be productive. In 2020, he wasn’t picked up by any MLB clubs. Odds are he’s not likely to make the Mariners bullpen, either.
Vinny Nittoli – 30 years old – A career minor leaguer after four years at Xavier, Nittoli is back in the Mariners system. He has a lifetime minor league ERA of 4.50 and has very little chance of making the Mariner’s squad on opening day.
Paul Sewald – 30 years old – Sewald has been an ineffective Big League reliever for the Mets for four seasons. In fact, he’s one of the main reasons that Jacob deGrom’s Cy Young season was marred by only 10 wins in 2018. Sewald lost three of his starts. He should not make the Mariners out of camp.
Drew Steckenrider – 30 years old – Drew’s big-league career started fantastically. In 2017 with the Marlins, he posted a 2.34 ERA in 37 relief appearances. In 2018, his workload increased, but so did his ERA to 3.90. Finally, in 2019, Steckenrider gave up six home runs in just over fourteen innings and suffered a 6.28 ERA as a result. His overall numbers don’t look terrible. Despite that, Steckenrider is a longshot to break camp with the M’s.
Over 30’s
Roenis Elias – 32 years old – One of the first Cubans to play for the Mariners is back. Sentimental fans love that he’s back. He began his career as a starter for the Mariners in 2014 and finished the season at 10-12. After a stop in Boston, he returned to the M’s in 2019 as a reliever and fared pretty well. Then he was traded to the Nationals. Now Elias is back for a third trip, and he could fill a long-reliever spot in the bullpen.
Matt Magill – 31 years old – Magill is likely the one non-roster invitee that gets every chance to make the Mariners opening day roster. He closed for the Mariners in 2019 and was effective despite a higher than expected ERA. If Magill doesn’t make it, that wouldn’t be a surprise either. On a roster with dominating talent, he’s never been a dominant pitcher.
Wrap up
The overview here is that everyone is waiting on Gilbert to arrive. He profiles as a top of the rotation pitcher with several plus pitches. Some of the more intriguing hopefuls are Bautista, Magill, and maybe one or two others. There really aren’t many spots available.
The Seattle Mariners will start the season with a six-man rotation. That leaves just eight bullpen spots. Several of those spots are already taken. What does that mean for the rest of the pitchers trying to make the main roster?
The M’s will designate most for assignment. They might remain in the Mariners organization. Those with minor league options get sent down without any concern for losing the depth.
Related Story: Breakdown of Mariners non-roster hitters
Joe Swenson is a lifelong Seattle Sports Fan, Writer, Director, Producer at Broken Arts Entertainment. www.brokenartsentertainment.com.