Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto announced today the following roster moves:
· Jacob Hannemann, OF, claimed off waivers from Chicago-NL.
· Seth Frankoff, RHP, claimed off waivers from Chicago-NL.
· David Phelps, RHP, transferred to the 60-day disabled list (right elbow posterior impingement)
· Zac Curtis, LHP, designated for assignment.
Seattle's Major League (40-man) roster remains full at 40 players. The Mariners now have 7 days to trade, release or outright Curtis' contract.
Hannemann, 26, combined to hit .240 (98x409) with 57 runs, 32 doubles, 2 triples, 6 home runs, 32 RBI and 29 stolen bases in 113 combined games with AAA Iowa and AA Tennessee in the Chicago-NL organization. With Iowa, he hit .265 (76x287) with 40 runs, 23 doubles, 1 triple, 5 home runs, 26 RBI and 23 steals in 79 games. Despite appearing in only 79 games in the Pacific Coast League, his 23 steals ranked 7^th in the league, just three off the league lead.
In five minor league seasons with Chicago-NL, he is hitting .247 (432x1749) with 249 runs, 98 doubles, 22 triples, 31 home runs, 164 RBI and 120 stolen bases in 455 games. He spent most of his time in center field (380 G, 293 GS), but has also played in right field (21 G, 15 GS) and left field (44 G, 4 GS). He was selected by Chicago-NL in the 3^rd round of the 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Brigham Young University (Provo, UT). At BYU, he was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American, the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year and led all WCC freshman with a .380 batting average in league play.
Frankoff, 29, appeared in one Major League game with Chicago this season. He spent most of the season with AAA Iowa, going 2-8 with a 4.40 ERA (57 ER, 116.2 IP) with 119 strikeouts in 24 games, including 21 starts.
In eight minor league seasons with Oakland (2010-15), Los Angeles-NL (2016) and Chicago-NL (2017), he is 27-33 with a 3.80 ERA (269 ER, 637.0 IP) with 631 strikeouts in 266 games, including 70 starts. He was selected by Oakland in the 27^th round of the 2010 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
Phelps, 30, is in his second trip to the disabled list since joining Seattle. He was placed on the 10-day disabled list with an impingement in his right elbow on August 8 (retroactive to 8/7) to Aug. 23. Since being acquired by the Mariners (7/20-c), he is 2-1 with 3 holds and a 3.12 ERA (3 ER, 8.2 IP) in 10 reliefappearances with 11 strikeouts and five walks. The 6-foot-2, 198-pound right-hander was acquired on July 20 in a 5-player deal that sent minor leaguer outfielder Brayan Hernandez and minor league right-handed pitchers Pablo Lopez, Brandon Miller and Lukas Schiraldi to Miami. Overall, he is 4-5 with 21 holds and a 3.40 ERA (21 ER, 55.2 IP) with 62 strikeouts and 26 walks in 54 combined appearances with the Mariners and Marlins this season. At the time of his first DL placement (8/8), he ranked 2^nd among Major League relievers in holds (21) and T15^th in innings pitched (54.0).
In 2016, Phelps posted career-bests in wins (7), saves (4), strikeouts (114), ERA (2.28), opponents average against (.197) and holds (25). Overall, he was 7-6 with 4 saves and a 2.28 ERA (22 ER, 86.2 IP) with 114 strikeouts and 38 walks in 64 games with Miami. Over parts of 6 Major League seasons with the Yankees (2012-14), Marlins (2015-17) and Mariners (2017), he is 30-33 with 5 saves and a 3.89 ERA (239 ER, 553.2 IP) with 520 strikeouts and 216 walks in 228 career games (64 starts).
Curtis, 25, appeared in three games in two stints with Seattle, going 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA (0 ER, 4.2 IP) with 2 strikeouts. He spent most of the season with AA Arkansas, going 1-2 with a 3.51 ERA (20 ER, 51.1 IP) with 60 strikeouts in 41 relief appearances. In his first 32 relief appearances with the Travelers, he posted a 2.03 ERA (9 ER, 40.0 IP) with 49 strikeouts before posting an 8.74 ERA (11 ER, 11.1 IP) with 11 strikeouts in his final nine appearances.
The native of Panama City Beach, FL, Curtis was originally selected by the Diamondbacks in the 6th round of the 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Middle Tennessee State University. He made his Major League debut with the Diamondbacks last season. Curtis was acquired from Arizona along with INF Jean Segura and OF Mitch Haniger in exchange for RHP Taijuan Walker and INF Ketel Marte on Nov. 23, 2016. In parts of 4 minor league seasons with Arizona (2014-16) and Seattle (2017), he has compiled a career record of 8-8 with 66 saves and a 2.44 ERA (44 ER, 162.1 IP) in 145 games.