Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto announced today the following roster moves:
·         Nelson Cruz, DH, activated from the 10-day disabled list.
·         Casey Lawrence, RHP, optioned to AAA Tacoma.
Cruz (#23) will be in uniform and available for tonight's (6:10 pm PT) game against the Oakland Athletics at Safeco Field.
Cruz, 37, was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a sprained right ankle on April 3 (retroactive to April 1). He sustained the injury during the Mariners game on March 31 after slipping on the dugout stairs. In the first two games of the season, Cruz was 2-for-6 with 2 runs, 2 home runs and 4 RBI. He homered in the first two games of the season, the fourth time in his career he has accomplished that feat, becoming the first player in MLB history to homer in the first two games of four separate seasons.
Cruz hit .288 (160x556) with 91 runs, 28 doubles, 39 home runs, 119 RBI and a .375 on-base percentage and a .549 slugging percentage last season in 155 games. He led the AL in RBI, and the 119 were a career high. He won a Silver Slugger® and was the Edgar Martinez Award Winner as the game's top designated hitter, as well as earning his fifth All-Star Game appearance.
Cruz is the only player to hit 20 or more home runs in each of the last 9 seasons. He has a total of 325 home runs in his career with Milwaukee (2005), Texas (2006-2013), Baltimore (2014) and Seattle (2015-current).
Lawrence, 30, made 2 relief appearances with the Mariners this season, posting a 10.38 ERA (5 ER, 4.1 IP) with 3 strikeouts and 2 walks. In his 2018 debut on March 31 vs. Cleveland, the 6-foot, 175-pound right-hander tossed 2.2 scoreless innings, striking out 2. He was roughed up for 5 runs on 4 hits in 1.2 innings of work on Monday (4/9) at the Royals. He was named to his first career Opening Day roster after recording a 1.80 ERA (3 ER, 15.0 IP) with 17 strikeouts and 2 walks in 6 games (2 starts) with Seattle during Spring Training.
In 2017, Lawrence spent most of the season with Seattle, where he went 2-0 with a 5.57 ERA (26 ER, 42.0 IP) with 45 strikeouts and 14 walks in 23 relief appearances. He was claimed off waivers by the Mariners from Toronto on May 11. The native of McSherrytown, Penn., made his Major League debut with the Blue Jays on April 8 at Tampa Bay. It was his first of 4 appearances (2 starts) with Toronto, where he was 0-3 with an 8.78 ERA (13 ER, 13.1 IP) with 7 strikeouts and 11 walks. He combined for a record of 3-4 with a 3.61 ERA (27 ER, 67.1 IP) with 48 strikeouts and 11 walks in 14 games (10 starts) at the triple-A level with Buffalo (3 GS) and Tacoma (11 G, 7 GS). In parts of 2 Major League season with the Blue Jays (2017) and Mariners (2017-c), he is 2-3 with a 6.64 ERA (44 ER, 59.2 IP) with 55 strikeouts and 27 walks in 29 games (2 starts). Lawrence was originally signed by Toronto as a non-drafted free agent on June 15, 2010.