SEATTLE, Wash. -- Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto announced today the following roster moves:
Jean Segura, INF, reinstated from the paternity list
Ben Gamel, OF, recalled from AAA Tacoma
Guillermo Heredia, OF, optioned to AAA Tacoma (post-game 8/19)
Matt Festa, RHP, optioned to AA Arkansas (post-game 8/19)
Segura (#2) and Gamel (#16) will be in uniform and available for tonight's (7:10 pm PT) game vs. the Houston Astros at Safeco Field.
Segura, 28, who was placed on the paternity list Friday (8/17), is batting .314 (148x471) with 78 runs, 27 doubles, 2 triples, 9 home runs, 56 RBI,17 stolen bases and a .343 on-base percentage this season. Over his last 7 games (Aug. 9-current), he's hitting .452 (14x31) with a double, a home run and 3 RBI. Among American League leaders this season, the 5-foot-10, 205-pound shortstop ranks 2nd in hits, T3rd in multi-hit games (43), 5th in batting average, T9th in runs scored and 11th in stolen bases. He leads the Major Leagues with 18 games of at least 3 hits and has more multi-hit games (43) than games without a hit (30) this season. He was voted to his 2nd career All-Star Game (also: 2013 with Milwaukee) and finished 2-for-2 with a home run, 2 runs and 3 RBI.
In parts of 7 Major League seasons with Los Angeles-AL (2012), Milwaukee (2012-15), Arizona (2016) and Seattle (2017-c), he is a career .287 (990x3444) hitter with 152 doubles, 35 triples, 63 home runs and 309 RBI in 871 career games. The native of San Juan, DR, was signed by the Angels as an international free agent on Jan. 22, 2007.
Gamel, 26, hit .369 (24x65) in 16 games with AAA Tacoma since being optioned to the Rainiers on July 31. In those 16 games, he scored 15 runs while recording 7 doubles, 3 triples, 1 home run, 11 RBI, 6 walks and 4 stolen bases. The 5-foot-11, 187-pound outfielder has appeared in 72 games with the Mariners this season, batting .290 (58x200) with 26 runs, 10 doubles, 4 triples, 1 home run and 12 RBI. The left-handed batter has hit .307 (50x163) with 8 doubles, 3 triples, 1 home run and 12 RBI vs. right-handed pitchers this season, compared to .216 (8x37) with 2 doubles and 1 triple against left-handers. Overall in 21 games with AAA Tacoma this season, including 5 games on a rehab assignment in April, he hit .349 (29x83) with 19 runs, 8 doubles, 3 triples, 1 home run, 16 RBI, 10 walks and 4 stolen bases. He was placed on the 10-day disabled list on March 28 (retro to 3/26) with a strained left oblique. He was activated from the DL on April 18 after a 10-game rehab assignment with High-A Modesto (5 G) and AAA Tacoma (5 G).
In parts of 3 Major League seasons with New York-AL (2016) and Seattle (2016-c), Gamel is a career .273 (207x757) hitter with 39 doubles, 9 triples, 13 home runs and 76 RBI in 239 career games. The native of Neptune Beach, Fla., was acquired by the Mariners from the Yankees on Aug. 31, 2016 in exchange for RHP Jio Orozco and RHP Juan De Paula. He made his Major League debut with the Yankees on May 6 vs. Boston. Gamel was selected by New York-AL in the 10th round of the 2010 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Bishop Kenney (FL) High School.
Heredia, 27, is batting .217 (57x263) with 22 runs, 10 doubles, 1 triple, 4 home runs and 14 RBI in 105 games over 2 stints (Opening Day - 4/22 and 5/1-8/19) with the Mariners this season. After being named to his 2nd career Opening Day roster, he hit .293 (29x99) with 10 runs, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs and 7 RBI in his first 42 games of the season (3/29-6/1). Since June 2, he is batting .171 (28x164) with 12 runs, 5 doubles, 2 home runs and 7 RBI in 63 games. He was optioned to AAA Tacoma on April 22, where he hit .385 (5x13) with 2 runs, 1 double and 3 walks in 6 games before being recalled by the Mariners on May 1.
Heredia originally signed with the Mariners as a free agent on March 1, 2016. The native of Matanzas, Cuba, made his Major League debut with the Mariners on July 29, 2016 at the Cubs. In parts of 3 Major League seasons with Seattle (2016-c), he is batting .238 (176x741) with 77 runs, 29 doubles, 11 home runs and 50 RBI in 273 career games.
Festa, 25, was recalled from AA Arkansas on Saturday (8/18) for his 2nd stint with the Mariners this season (also: 7/14-15). He tossed 2.0 innings yesterday vs. the Dodgers, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and 1 walk. Overall in 2 relief appearances with Seattle this season, he has a 3.38 ERA (1 ER, 2.2 IP) with 1 walk. He made his Major League debut with Seattle on July 14 at Colorado, tossing 0.2 scoreless innings in relief. In 39 relief appearances with AA Arkansas this season, he has successfully converted 18-of-18 save opportunities this season, while posting a record of 4-2 with a 2.70 ERA (13 ER, 43.1 IP). The 6-foot-1, 190-pound right-hander has struck out 58 while walking only 10 (5.80 K/BB ratio). Festa's 18 saves currently lead the Texas League.
The native of Brooklyn, NY, attended Dominican (NY) College in 2012 before transferring to East Stroudsburg University, where he became the highest draft pick in program history after the Mariners selected him in the 7th round of the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft.