SEATTLE, Wash. – Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto announced today that Mariners have signed free agent RHP Kendall Graveman to a one-year contract.

Seattle’s 40-man Major League roster is now at 38 players. Per club policy, the terms of the contract were not disclosed.

“Kendall is a great bounce back candidate,” Dipoto said. “His makeup is off the charts, and we've done a fair bit of homework on him from his time in Oakland and more recently in Chicago. He was a work horse, ground ball-oriented pitcher, with whom we saw a velocity spike prior to his Tommy John surgery.”

“We really trust him and his ability to consistently throw strikes. At 28 years old, he has the ability to stay in our system for a period of time and gives us something to look forward to.”

Graveman, 28 (turns 29 on December 21), underwent Tommy John Surgery on July 30, 2018 and missed most of the 2019 season while rehabbing in the Cubs organization. He was sent on a rehab assignment with the AZL Cubs on August 22, and was transferred to Triple-A Iowa on September 1. In total, he made 2 rehab appearances in the Cubs organization, tossing 6.0 innings and allowing 2 earned runs (3.00 ERA) with no walks and 8 strikeouts. He elected free agency on November 4.

 From 2015-17, Graveman ranked 21st among all American League pitchers with a 4.11 ERA (min. 400.0 IP). Among pitchers with at least 70 starts in that 3-year stretch, he tallied the 4th-fewest walks and the 2nd-fewest home runs allowed in the American League. He recorded 31 starts in which he tossed at least 6.0 innings and allowed 2 earned runs or less, tied for 25th-most in the AL (also: Collin McHugh).

 Graveman has appeared in parts of 5 Major League seasons with Toronto (2014) and Oakland (2015-18), going 23-29 with a 4.38 ERA with 130 walks and 286 strikeouts in 83 games (78 starts). He was selected by Toronto in the 8th round of the 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft, and made his MLB debut with the Blue Jays on September 5, 2014 after making just 37 starts in the minor leagues. He was traded to Oakland on November 28, 2014, along with Sean Nolin (lhp), Brett Lawrie (inf) and Franklin Barreto (inf) in exchange for Josh Donaldson (inf).