SEATTLE, Wash. – Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto announced today that the club has signed free agent right-handed pitcher Carl Edwards Jr.  

 Seattle’s 40-man roster is now at 39 players. Per club policy, the terms of the contract were not disclosed.  

 “Carl Edwards Jr. has an electric arm and is just one season removed from being an impact, leverage reliever,” Dipoto said. “At 28 years old, we think he has a chance to be a part of what we're doing in 2020 and beyond.” 

 Edwards Jr., 28, has appeared in parts of 5 Major League seasons with Chicago-NL (2015-19) and San Diego (2019), making 194 relief appearances in that span. From 2017-19, he ranked 2nd among National League relievers with a .164 (77x469) opponents average against. In that time, only Josh Hader (.146/102x697) had a lower average against among NL relievers. Over the last three seasons, Edwards Jr. also ranked 17th among NL relievers with 180 strikeouts.  

 In 2019, Edwards Jr. spent time with both the Cubs (20 G) and Padres (2 G), going 1-1 with an 8.47 ERA (16 ER, 17.0 IP) with 19 strikeouts and 13 walks in 22 relief appearances. The 6-foot-3, 170-pound right-hander was named to the Cubs Opening Day roster before being optioned to Triple-A Iowa on April 5. He made 14 relief appearances with Iowa, including 4 outings on a rehab assignment. He was acquired by the Padres from Chicago-NL in exchange for Brad Wieck (lhp) on July 31. Edwards Jr. was optioned to Triple-A El Paso, where he made 3 relief appearances before being recalled by the Padres on August 11. He made two appearances out of the bullpen for San Diego before being placed on the Injured List on August 13. Edwards Jr. made two trips to the IL in 2019: June 13 (retroactive to 6/10) – July 19 with a left thoracic strain and August 13 – September 30 with a right shoulder strain.  

 The native of Prosperity, South Carolina, was originally selected by Texas in the 48th round of the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Mid-Carolina (SC) High School. Edwards Jr. was acquired by the Cubs from the Rangers along with Justin Grimm (rhp), Mike Olt (inf) and Neil Ramírez (rhp) in exchange for Matt Garza (rhp) on July 22, 2013. He made his Major League debut with the Cubs on September 7, 2015 at St. Louis.  

 Edwards Jr. refused an outright assignment from San Diego and elected free agency on Nov. 4.