The White Sox announced that left-hander Sammy Peralta has been claimed off waivers by the Mariners. The southpaw was designated for assignment on Opening Day and has now been assigned to Triple-A Tacoma. The Mariners had two open spots on their 40-man roster, which is now at 39.
Peralta, 26, just made his major league debut with the Sox last year, frequently being shuttled between Triple-A and the big leagues. He ultimately tossed 20 innings in the majors with a 4.05 earned run average, striking out 20% of batters faced while walking 12.2%. He seemed to do a decent job of limiting damage, as his average exit velocity, barrel rate and hard hit rate were all better than average in that small sample.
He also tossed 69 innings over 29 appearances in Triple-A with a 5.09 ERA, though he likely deserved better. His 23.1% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate were both strong but a 59.2% strand rate seems to have hampered him, which is why his 4.21 FIP was almost a full run better.
The Mariners are currently a little bit snakebit in the bullpen, with Gregory Santos and Matt Brash trying to come back from injuries while Jackson Kowar is out for the year due to Tommy John surgery. They have two lefties on the big league roster in Gabe Speier and Tayler Saucedo but Peralta will give them a third option on their 40-man for when a need arises.
He still has two option years and less than a year of service time, so he can be a long-term depth piece for the club if he continues to hang onto that 40-man spot. The M’s have done a good job in recent years with unearthing hidden gems by grabbing fairly unheralded relievers and polishing them until they shine, so the club and Peralta will be hoping he is the latest point on that trendline.