Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto announced today that right-handed pitcher Tom Wilhelmsen has been placed on waivers for the purpose of granting him his unconditional release. Wilhelmsen had been designated for assignment on Friday, November 18.
The Mariners Major League, 40-man, roster remains at 40 after today's move.
Wilhelmsen, 32 (turns 33 on Dec. 16), was 2-4 with 1 save and a 6.80 ERA (35 ER, 46.1 IP) with 28 strikeouts and 19 walks in 50 relief appearances with Seattle and Texas last season.
The 6-foot-6, 220-pound right-hander was signed by Seattle on June 22 and placed on the Mariners Major League roster before being optioned on June 24. After being recalled from AAA Tacoma on June 30, he was 0-1 with 1 save and a 3.60 ERA (10 ER, 25.0 IP) with 17 strikeouts in 29 games with Seattle. He was on 15-day DL, Aug. 27 (retro to Aug. 26) -- Sept. 10, with low back spasms.
He began the 2016 season with Texas, where he went 2-3 with a 10.55 ERA (25 ER, 21.1 IP) with 11 strikeouts and 9 walks in 21 relief appearances.
The native of Tucson, Ariz., is 13-14 with 68 saves and a 3.46 ERA (138 ER, 358.2 IP) with 322 strikeouts and 159 walks in 317 career games (2 starts) over 6 Major League seasons with Seattle (2011-16) and Texas (2016). He was originally selected by Milwaukee in the 7th round of the 2002 First-Year Player Draft out of Tucson High School, and made his pro debut with the AZL Brewers in 2003. Wilhelmsen did not pitch in professional baseball from 2004-2010 when he was signed by the Mariners as a minor league free agent on Feb. 26, 2010.