Mariners add Beimel, Rogers on Minors deals
SEATTLE -- Veteran left-handed reliever Joe Beimel and right-hander Mark Rogers, a former Brewers first-round Draft pick, have signed Minor League deals with invitations to Major League camp, the Mariners announced Friday.
Beimel, 36, is an 11-year Major League veteran who is coming off Tommy John surgery. He hasn't pitched in the Majors since 2011, but he appeared in 30 games last year for the Braves' Triple-A club.
Beimel was a big part of the Dodgers' bullpen from 2006-08 and pitched in the postseason for the Dodgers in '08 and Rockies in '09. With 567 career games under his belt, he could compete for a bullpen role if his velocity has returned, as scouts indicated after recent workouts.
The Mariners have two returning lefties in the bullpen with Charlie Furbush and Lucas Luetge, but they went with three southpaws most of the past two years. Oliver Perez, who was used extensively in that role in 2012-13, is a free agent and has not signed with anyone.
Beimel posted a 24-32 career record and 4.21 ERA in 587 2/3 innings in the Majors from 2001-11. He had a 3.04 ERA in 216 games with the Dodgers from 2006-08, including a career-high 83 appearances in '07 (the most by a lefty in franchise history), and pitched 71 games with a 3.40 ERA for the Rockies in 2010.
But the elbow issue began flaring up in '11, and Beimel spent two stints on the disabled list with the Pirates that season, recording a 5.33 ERA in 35 games before being released.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder signed a Minor League deal with the Rangers in 2012, but was released at the end of Spring Training and then underwent Tommy John surgery a month later. Beimel was 1-2 with a 4.36 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 33 innings for Triple-A Gwinnett last year.
Rogers, who turns 28 on Jan. 30, has battled shoulder problems for most of his career since being the fifth overall pick by the Brewers in 2004, when Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik was Milwaukee's scouting director.
The big right-hander compiled a 3-1 record with a 3.49 ERA in 11 games (nine starts) in two brief stints with Milwaukee in 2010 and '12.
The native of Brunswick, Maine, went to Brewers camp last year competing for a rotation berth after going 3-1 with a 3.92 ERA in seven starts in 2012, but lost his velocity during the spring and spent most of the season on the 60-day disabled list with a right shoulder injury. He appeared in 12 Minor League games on rehab assignment.
The Mariners' Spring Training roster is now at 64 players (40 roster, 24 non-roster). Pitchers and catchers will report to Peoria, Ariz., on Feb. 12.