HOUSTON -- The Mariners will be without their blossoming left-handed leverage reliever, but for the happiest reason, as José A. Ferrer and his wife were in the process of welcoming the birth of a child on Monday.
Ferrer was placed on the paternity list ahead of Seattle’s four-game series opener in Houston, with right-hander Domingo Gonzalez recalled from Triple-A Tacoma as the corresponding move.
Players are permitted up to three days on the paternity list, meaning Ferrer could join the club at Daikin Park before Thursday’s matinee, or sooner.
The Mariners will certainly miss him over these next few days, though, as Ferrer has emerged as their most consistent reliever -- even after a few hiccups in April that were largely a product of bad batted-ball luck.
Ferrer carries a 1.80 ERA (222 ERA+, where league average is 100) with 16 strikeouts and three walks against 90 batters faced over 21 outings. He had one of the Mariners’ grittier saves of the season last Wednesday against Atlanta, becoming the club’s first reliever this season to pitch three days in a row.
The Mariners’ bullpen, from a bird’s-eye view, has a 3.41 ERA this season that ranks seventh best in the Majors. But two-time All-Star Andrés Muñoz has been working through a few kinks amid three losses in his 16 outings, while Matt Brash (right lat strain) and Gabe Speier (left shoulder inflammation) are on the injured list.
All of those factors have allowed Ferrer to step into a more prominent role over the past few weeks, while showing why the club was so bullish to acquire him from the Nationals ahead of the Winter Meetings.
Gonzalez, meanwhile, will make his Major League debut if he appears in a game. Claimed off waivers from the Braves last Aug. 12, he’s made 12 appearances at Tacoma, with a 1.80 ERA, 14 strikeouts and two walks in 15 innings.