Mariners dip into farm system to promote hard-throwing righty

The Seattle Mariners announced a few roster moves prior to Wednesday night's game, selecting the contract of right-hander Devin Sweet and recalling fellow righty Prelander Berroa, with both players set to make their respective Major League debuts as soon as they get into a game. In corresponding moves, the club optioned right-handers Ty Adcock and Isaiah Campbell to Double-A Arkansas. The Mariners already had a 40-man vacancy and won’t need to make a corresponding move in that regard.

Berroa, 23, came over to Seattle last year in a trade that sent Donovan Walton to the San Francisco Giants. Berroa finished last year with a combined 2.86 earned run average across those two systems and different minor league levels, tossing 100 2/3 innings. The M’s liked him enough to give him a 40-man roster spot in November in order to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft.

Berroa started this year in the Double-A rotation, but posted a 5.16 ERA through his first five starts. He was moved to the bullpen at that point, a move that seems to have worked out quite well. He has thrown 23 1/3 innings over 19 appearances since taking on a relief role, posting a 0.77 ERA in that space. His 13.5 percent walk rate is certainly on the high side, but he’s also limiting damage by striking out 39.3 percent of batters faced. He won’t be able to sustain a .238 batting average on balls in play or 90.9 percent strand rate, but the results are nonetheless encouraging enough to earn him a big-league look. Berroa is currently considered the club’s No. 10 prospect at Baseball America and No. 11 at FanGraphs.

Sweet, 26, cracks a 40-man roster for the first time in his career. An undrafted free agent who signed with the Mariners in 2018, he’s been climbing the minor-league ladder for a few years. He had spent all of this year in Double-A, posting a 1.54 ERA over 35 innings in 27 appearances. He’s struck out 34.6 percent of opponents while walking just 5.9 percent. Sweet is ranked as the club’s No. 26 prospect by BA and #29 at FanGraphs.

The Mariners suffered a rough 10-3 loss at the hands of the Minnesota Twins Tuesday night, with Bryan Woo allowing six earned runs before getting bounced in the fourth inning. Each of Adcock, Campbell and Tayler Saucedo tossed 29 pitches or more, while many of Seattle's high-leverage hurlers appeared in close games on both Sunday and Monday. With a fairly taxed relief corps, these moves give the club an injection of fresh arms.