SEATTLE -- Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto made a move to bolster his injury-plagued rotation Wednesday, acquiring veteran left-hander Wade LeBlanc from the Blue Jays for a player to be named or cash.
LeBlanc, 31, was 7-2 with a 1.71 ERA in 14 starts for Triple-A Buffalo this season and pitched in Japan last year. He's expected to join the Mariners and be in line to start Friday's series opener against the Cardinals at Safeco Field in place of Taijuan Walker, who is dealing with tendinitis in the arch of his right foot.
"Wade is throwing about as well as anybody in Triple-A this year," Dipoto said. "He was available, and we snapped him up. He provides us with an experienced hand, and he's left-handed, which is something we don't have in our depth. So he gives us another internal option."
The Mariners already have starters Felix Hernandez and Wade Miley on the 15-day disabled list.
LeBlanc was leading the International League in ERA (1.71) and innings pitched (89 2/3), and he was third in strikeouts (85). Over his final seven starts, he was 5-1 with a 1.20 ERA, 56 strikeouts and 15 walks in 60 innings.
LeBlanc signed with the Blue Jays as a Minor League free agent on Dec. 18, 2015, after spending the 2015 season with the Seibu Lions in the Japan Pacific League, where he went 2-5 with a 4.23 ERA in eight starts.
LeBlanc is a veteran of seven Major League seasons and has a career record of 21-33 with a 4.47 ERA in 107 games, including 71 starts, with the Padres (2008-11), Marlins ('12-13), Astros ('13), Angels ('14) and Yankees ('14). He was a second-round Draft pick of the Padres in 2006 out of the University of Alabama.