The Mariners have promoted right-handed pitcher Emerson Hancock from Triple-A, the team announced this afternoon. To make room on the active roster, Seattle designated catcher Seby Zavala for assignment.
Hancock will take the ball this evening against the Rangers, filling in for an injured Luis Castillo. Castillo landed on the 15-day IL with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain following his start last Sunday. After officially placing Castillo on the IL on Tuesday, the Mariners did not need to add another starting pitcher to the active roster until today, so they selected Zavala’s contract instead. He did not appear in a game. Presuming Zavala passes through waivers, he will most likely accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Tacoma, considering the Mariners have already outrighted him twice this season. Indeed, this is the second time Seattle has DFA’d Zavala to make room for Hancock on the major league roster.
The 25-year-old Hancock is back for his fourth stint with the big league club this season. Over nine starts, he has pitched to a disappointing 4.76 ERA and 5.14 SIERA in 45 1/3 innings pitched. Unfortunately, the young right-hander hasn’t looked much better at Triple-A. He has a 4.66 ERA and 5.78 FIP in 10 starts (56 IP) since his most recent demotion. As was his biggest problem last year, he has had tremendous difficulty earning strikeouts against Triple-A and MLB competition, and he isn’t limiting walks or hard contact as much as needs to if he’s going to survive with such a low strikeout rate.
Hancock still has all the potential that made him one of the Mariners’ top pitching prospects from the moment he was selected with the sixth overall pick in 2020 to his graduation from prospect status this season. However, he has yet to turn that potential into results. Presumably, he’ll get a couple more chances to prove himself in the majors this season while Castillo is on the IL.
Zavala, 31, came to the Mariners last November as part of the trade that sent Eugenio Suárez to the Diamondbacks. He is a strong defensive catcher thanks to above-average framing and blocking skills, but his career .205/.271/.342 slash line is precisely why he has been unable to hold down a job in the majors this season. It hasn’t helped that he is 19-for-101 (.188) with a 79 wRC+ at Triple-A this year. Presumably, he will finish the season at Triple-A Tacoma, sticking around as additional catching depth in case one of Cal Raleigh or Mitch Garver suffers a late-season injury.