SEATTLE -- Micah Owings, a 34-year-old right-hander with six seasons of Major League experience, has agreed to terms on a Minor League deal with the Mariners and will be invited to Spring Training this February.
The pitcher broke the news on his own Twitter account on Monday:
"I'm BAAACK!! Thankful for another opportunity to compete & pitch with the @Mariners organization! Feeling blessed! Wish we started tom! #mlb"
Owings hasn't pitched in the big leagues since appearing in six games in relief for the Padres in 2012, but he went 7-6 with a 4.30 ERA in 23 games (19 starts) in independent ball for the York (Pa.) Revolution this year in the Atlantic League.
Owings has a career record of 32-33 with a 4.86 ERA over 138 appearances, including 68 starts, with the D-backs, Reds and Padres from 2008-12. He also was 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA in three postseason games with the D-backs, including a start in the 2007 National League Championship Series against the Rockies.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pounder was known as an excellent hitting pitcher and he attempted to come back with the Nationals as an outfielder in 2013 after batting .283/.310/.502 with nine home runs and 35 RBIs in 219 plate appearances during his big league stints, which all came in the National League.
After undergoing elbow surgery in 2012, he hit .265 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs in 57 games for Washington's Triple-A Syracuse affiliate in '13 while playing mostly right field.
Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto was in the D-backs' front office while Owings was in that organization from 2006-08 and again when they reacquired him in free agency in 2011.
Worth noting
Brad Mills, a left-hander who was in the organization last year, has also agreed to terms on a Minor League contract for 2017, though he is still recovering from a shoulder issue that sidelined him since late June and won't be invited to big league camp.
Mills, 31, has a 4-4 record and 7.97 ERA over parts of six seasons with the Blue Jays, Angels and A's from 2009-15. He went 3-3 with a 5.28 ERA in nine starts for Triple-A Tacoma this year before sustaining the shoulder injury.