SEATTLE -- Right-handed reliever Ruben Alaniz, a 27-year-old who spent last year in the Minor Leagues with the Rays, signed a Major League contract with the Mariners on Thursday.
Alaniz became a six-year Minor League free agent on Nov. 2. His addition brings the Mariners' 40-man roster to 33 players.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder from Texas pitched in 31 games for four different Minor League teams in the Rays' system during an injury-shortened 2018, going 3-4 with a 3.38 ERA and four saves in 42 2/3 innings.
He finished the year with Triple-A Durham, where he was 1-3 with a 4.00 ERA in 20 appearances, racking up 35 strikeouts and eight walks in 27 innings.
Alaniz also went 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings in nine games for Double-A Montgomery and made one outing for both Class Advanced A Charlotte and the Rays Rookie-level squad in the Gulf Coast League while rehabbing from two separate stints on the disabled list with strained calf muscles.
Alaniz was originally signed by the Astros as a non-drafted free agent in 2009 and is 45-41 with a 4.27 ERA in 240 Minor League games, including 83 starts, over nine seasons in the Astros, Tigers and Rays systems, but has yet to pitch in the Majors.