SEATTLE -- The usual September callup came a couple of weeks early for right-hander Matt Festa, the Mariners' No. 8 prospect, on Saturday.
Festa will join the Mariners for his second big league stint of 2018 after continuing to pitch well in relief for Double-A Arkansas. In a corresponding move, reliever Christian Bergman -- who threw 2 2/3 innings of relief in Friday's 11-1 loss -- was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.
Manager Scott Servais wanted to bolster his bullpen in advance of two games in which he won't be turning to one of his regular starters. Erasmo Ramirez got the nod on Saturday for his second start since returning from the disabled list, and the Mariners announced that Roenis Elias will make Sunday's start.
"Just trying to keep as many fresh arms as we can in the bullpen," said Servais. "Erasmo goes tonight and tomorrow Elias will go. I don't know how far he's going to be able to go in the game, so we want to cover as much as we can here in the next few days."
Sunday's start initially belonged to Marco Gonzales, but Servais shuffled the rotation in order to get extra rest for the lefty, who has pitched 142 1/3 innings.
"You do have to keep the big picture," Servais said. "We need Marco to be fresh and to try to keep him as fresh as possible as we go down the stretch here. He's going to be key for us."
Elias is still on the 10-day DL with a triceps strain. He tossed 3 2/3 innings and allowed two earned runs in a spot start vs. San Francisco as part of a 2018 campaign in which he's posted a 2.88 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 25 innings.
Festa made his Major League debut with the Mariners right before the All-Star break in Colorado. He entered in the fifth inning, retiring two batters and allowing one inherited runner to score in a loss to the Rockies.
In 39 appearances with the Travelers, Festa posted a 2.70 ERA and converted 18 of 18 save opportunities, striking out 58 over 43 1/3 innings.

Andreoli to the Orioles
Former Mariners outfielder John Andreoli was claimed off waivers by the Orioles on Saturday.
The Mariners designated Andreoli for assignment on Friday in order to make room on their 40-man roster for infielder James Beckham, who was called up because of Jean Segura's paternity leave.
Seattle is very deep in the outfield, thanks to the acquisition of Cameron Maybin. The Mariners carry four outfielders on their 25-man roster -- Maybin, Mitch Haniger, Denard Span and Guillermo Heredia. They also have Ben Gamel -- who owns a .290/.360/.395 line in 200 at-bats with the Mariners this season -- stashed away in Triple-A.
In 89 games for Tacoma, Andreoli slashed .287/.397/.401. The Orioles optioned the 28-year-old to Triple-A Norfolk.

Paxton progressing
James Paxton has not started throwing, but Servais said the lefty's range of motion is back to normal after he was struck on the forearm by a line drive in the first inning of Tuesday's start against the Athletics. Servais was hopeful that Paxton would start throwing within a few days.
"Hopefully he's not down too long," Servais said. "That's the big thing, the longer he's down, the longer it will take to get him back game-ready."
Daddy Jean
Segura was not in Saturday's lineup, using up the second of a maximum of three days of paternity leave. Servais said he was not sure whether Segura would play on Sunday.
Because Segura was not with the team, he missed Saturday's team photo. Instead, he posted a photo of newborn Jacob on Instagram.