MINNEAPOLIS -- The Seattle Mariners continued their bullpen shuffle on Wednesday, recalling right-hander Chase De Jong from Triple-A Tacoma and optioning right-hander Casey Lawrence to Tacoma.
Lawrence, 29, pitched 3 2/3 innings in Tuesday night's 20-7 loss to Minnesota. De Jong is in his fourth stint with Seattle this season. He's 0-3 with a 7.40 ERA in 24 1/3 innings. He's pitched in six games, including four starts, and made his Major League debut on April 5.
"With our starting pitching being banged up as much as it has been, there have been some outings that have gone short," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "We've let the long man in our bullpen run with it. Unfortunately, when you do that, he's going to be down for probably three or four days. In that case, we've flipped him out for somebody else who's on the 40-man roster. That's how we've kind of been able to stay afloat.
"It's not ideal. It's not the way I particularly like to do it. But I think a month ago, or six weeks ago, we realized the situation we were in and we thought that was the best way to handle it."
De Jong was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers during the offseason in exchange for infielder Drew Jackson and right-handed pitcher Aneurys Zabala.
De Jong was 2-3 with a 4.32 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings in Triple-A this season. Lawrence has a 5.71 ERA in six games for Seattle this season.