Mariners acquire lefty reliever Ferguson in trade with Pirates

WEST SACRAMENTO -- The Mariners’ pursuit of reinforcement to their bullpen came to fruition on Wednesday, as the club acquired left-hander Caleb Ferguson from the Pirates with a little under 24 hours to go before the Trade Deadline.

Going back to Pittsburgh is 19-year-old Minor League right-hander Jeter Martinez, who’d been at Single-A Modesto all season.

Ferguson, who was with the Pirates in San Francisco, was en route to Sutter Health Park for Seattle’s series finale vs. the Athletics and potentially available.

TRADE DETAILS
Mariners receive: LHP Caleb Ferguson
Pirates receive: RHP Jeter Martinez (Seattle's No. 13 prospect per MLB Pipeline)

A source with knowledge of the Mariners’ plans said that they will remain active in their search for relief help, as well as another bat.

However, their top target -- Twins closer Jhoan Duran -- was acquired by the Phillies later on Wednesday, with news of that deal breaking a little over one hour after news of Seattle’s trade for Ferguson.

Multiple industry sources with knowledge of Minnesota’s trade talks on Wednesday told MLB.com that the Mariners were in deep negotiations throughout the afternoon with the Twins for Duran -- one of the sport’s elite closers, who has a 100.2 mph average fastball, 16 saves, a 2.01 ERA and is under club control through 2027.

The Phillies’ final package included two among MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects list -- catcher Eduardo Tait (No. 56) and right-hander Mick Abel (No. 92) -- which had been a sticking point in negotiations with all clubs, per sources.

The Mariners have eight such prospects, and had been hesitant to include at least two for Duran as late as Tuesday night. Yet by Wednesday afternoon, they were among a finite number of teams negotiating with Minnesota up until the very end before its trade with Philly, multiple league sources said.

All that said, the Mariners still made an upgrade via Ferguson, a seven-year veteran most known for his time with the Dodgers (2018-23), which included a World Series title in 2020. He pitched for the Yankees and Astros last year before signing a one-year, $3 million control with Pittsburgh this past offseason.

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The Mariners’ lone lefty on their pitching staff all season has been Gabe Speier, but Ferguson will give the club another southpaw near the back end of the bullpen.

Ferguson has a 3.74 ERA (114 ERA+, where league average is 100) over 43 1/3 innings this season and has been worth 0.7 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs. He’s held lefties to a .439 OPS with just one extra-base hit and righties to a .690 OPS.

He doesn’t overwhelm with velocity (his 94.0 mph average fastball velo ranks in Statcast’s 44th percentile), but Ferguson has been able to limit damage, with just one homer surrendered while ranking in the 100th percentile in both hard-hit rate (25.2%) and average exit velocity (83.5 mph). It’s correlated to a 19.3% strikeout rate, an 8% walk rate and 49.6% ground-ball rate.

Part of that is due to his pitch mix, with three variations of a fastball -- a four-seamer, a two-seamer and a cutter -- that he pairs with a slurve, which is his prominent swing-and-miss pitch (29.5% whiff rate).

“With a lot of the load coming on Gabe, being able to get another left-hander down there -- one that's a proven veteran down there -- it's huge for us,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “And one who really does well against lefties and really has great stuff.”

In a corresponding roster move once the trade was official, right-hander Collin Snider (right forearm flexor strain) was activated from the 15-day injured list and designated for assignment.

Martinez was part of Seattle’s international signing class in 2023, for $600,000, carrying a 6.18 ERA in 16 starts at Modesto. With a 6-foot-4 frame and power stuff, he has upside, but he’s also struggled to harness it, with a 13.2% walk rate this season that has some scouts questioning whether he’ll remain a starter long term.