Mariners get RHP Harper to finalize Ramirez deal
SEATTLE -- Ryne Harper, a 26-year-old right-handed reliever who has spent the past three seasons in Double-A, was acquired by the Mariners from the Braves on Friday to complete an earlier deal that sent reliever Jose Ramirez to Atlanta.
Harper is the player to be named from a Dec. 4 swap that also includes Seattle receiving an undisclosed amount of cash. He'll be assigned to Triple-A Tacoma.
Harper posted a 1.87 ERA and 0.98 WHIP in 23 appearances for Mississippi in the Southern League last year, with 40 strikeouts and 11 walks in 33 2/3 innings. Opposing batters hit .186.
The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder was drafted by the Braves in the 37th round out of Austin Peay in 2011, and he rose quickly through the lower levels of the Braves' Minor League system before spending the last three years with Mississippi. In five Minor League seasons, he's 20-12 with a 2.16 ERA in 172 relief appearances.
Ramirez, 25, was acquired by the Mariners along with outfielder Ramon Flores in a trade last July with the Yankees for Dustin Ackley. He is 1-2 with an 8.66 ERA in 16 Major League relief appearances over the past two years with the Yankees and Mariners, including an 11.57 ERA in five games with Seattle following his July 30 acquisition.
Harper is not on the Mariners' 40-man roster, which remains at 40.