Mariners notebook: M’s claim right-hander Dominic Leone from Angels; travel to New York in style

NEW YORK – The speculation lacked the intensity of the August trade deadline. The social media chaos was subdued in comparison to the hot stove season.

But on Thursday morning, just after 11 , the anticipation of unexpectedly being able to add legitimate major league talent for the final month of the season and eligible for the playoffs peaked for fans and teams with postseason aspirations.

Earlier this week, information was leaked to multiple national MLB reporters that the Angels planned to place six players, including five who they acquired at the trade deadline, on waivers, hoping they’d be claimed by MLB teams.

It was a money-saving plan by the Angels, who cratered after the All-Star break and fell out of postseason contention, to clear up salary space and get under the MLB luxury tax threshold of $254 million.

Call it Arte Moreno’s yard sale.

Other underachieving teams mired in losing seasons like the Yankees, Mets and White Sox, also placed players on waivers.

A few hours before Thursday’s deadline, Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said on his weekly radio show on Seattle Sports 710-AM that they planned to be active in trying to land players on the waiver market.

Given the process, however, in which priority to claim players goes from teams with the worst record to the best record, the Mariners didn’t expect to come away with more than one player despite putting out multiple claims.

In the end, they were able to bolster their bullpen, claiming right-hander Dominic Leone from the Angels. To make room on the 40-man roster for Leone, right-handed reliever Devin Sweet was designated for assignment.

The Mariners can add Leone to the active roster Friday without having to remove a player with rosters expanding from 26 to 28. Seattle had right-handed pitcher Adam Oller travel with the team to New York as the possible roster addition. Instead, he will remain on the taxi squad.

Leone, who turns 32 on Oct. 26, is a familiar name to fans. He was selected in the 16th round of the 2012 draft out of Clemson by the Mariners. He made his MLB debut two seasons later, making the opening day roster out of spring training.

He started the 2023 season with the Mets, appearing in 31 games, posting a 4.40 ERA. With the underachieving Mets in sell-mode, he was traded to the Angels at the deadline. He made 11 appearance for Los Angeles, posting a 5.45 ERA in 15 innings.

In an MLB career spanning 10 seasons, he’s appeared in 395 games, posting a 22-23 record.

When news began to leak about the Angels placing so many players on waivers – information that is supposed to remain confidential only to executives from teams, and reports from other teams doing the same – there was a concern within the Mariners’ organization that the Rangers and Astros, who they are battling for the American League West title, and the Blue Jays, who are chasing all three teams for the final wild-card spot, would benefit by adding players to address obvious needs or get deeper.

With all three teams sitting ahead of them in the waiver priority order, there was nothing the Mariners could do but hope that teams with worse records than Texas, Houston and Toronto claimed players before they could access them, which is what happened.

All three teams failed to add through waiver claims.

With a 64-70 record, the Cleveland Guardians were able to claim right-handed pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez and lefty reliever Matt Moore to try and make a late push to pass the Minnesota Twins (69-65), who are five games up in the AL Central.

Giolito was the top starting pitcher available while Lopez and Moore are proven relievers who any of the postseason contenders would desire. Texas would’ve jumped at the opportunity to take any or all three players.

The Cincinnati Reds, who are trying to get the third wild-card spot in the NL, claimed the top two position players available – outfielder Hunter Renfroe of the Angels and outfielder Harrison Bader of the Yankees.

Of the known players who were placed on waivers, right-handed pitchers Carlos Carrasco of the Mets, Mike Clevinger of the White Sox and outfielder Randall Grichuk of the Angels went unclaimed and will remain with their teams.

Traveling in style

The Mariners had some interesting travel attire for their cross-country trip to New York on Wednesday evening.

Instead of the normal Lululemon team travel gear that they wear on long flights, the entire team and coaching staff were given black and white Adidas track suits with the all-white Jeremy Scott model of high-top shoes that have wings on them and black bucket hats, compliments of their center fielder.

Julio Rodriguez, who has a shoe and apparel deal with Adidas, went to Scott Servais a few weeks ago about doing it. Servais happily agreed to the request, even adding some gold chains – likely fake – for some of the staff.

“It’s all Julio, but I’ve added a little a few things to it,” Servais said. “We’ve got to spice it up. It’s Run-DMC, it’s like ’80s-’90s. I’ve even got that.”

Also

• The Mariners have signed catcher Luis Torrens on a minor league contract to serve as organizational catching depth. By adding him to the organization before Sept. 1, he would be eligible for the postseason. Torrens played parts of the past two seasons with Seattle.

• Friday’s game at Citi Field between the Mariners and Mets has been selected by Apple TV+ as part of its “Friday Night Baseball” package and will only be aired on the streaming service. People wanting to watch the game must either be an Apple TV+ subscriber or sign up for a free two-month trial subscription to the service.