SEATTLE – Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Justin Hollander announced today the Mariners have acquired C Jhonny Pereda from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for cash considerations. In a corresponding move, RHP Jackson Kowar was designated for assignment.
The Mariners 40-man roster remains full at 40 players.
Pereda (per-AYH-duh), 29, has appeared in 48 games over 2 Major League seasons with the Marlins (2024), Athletics (2025) and Twins (2025), batting .241 (26x108). Pereda was designated for assignment by the Twins on January 23, 2026. He has one minor league option remaining.
Pereda, the San Juan, Venezuela native was originally signed by the Chicago Cubs on April 1, 2013. He made his Major League debut with the Miami Marlins on April 17, 2024. The right-handed hitting catcher has appeared in parts of 12 minor league seasons in the Cubs (2013-2019), Red Sox (2021), Giants (2022), Reds (2023), Marlins (2024), Athletics (2025) and Twins (2025) minor league systems, batting .263 (692x2632), with 125 doubles, 6 triples, 33 home runs, 304 RBI and a .706 OPS.
Kowar (CO-wahr), 29, made 15 relief appearances for the Mariners in 2025, going 2-0 with a 4.24 ERA (8 ER, 17.0 IP) with 7 walks and 15 strikeouts after being reinstated from the Injured List on May 28. In 16 games with Triple-A Tacoma in 2025, he was 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA (4 ER, 14.0 IP) with 10 walks and 15 strikeouts.
The 6-foot-5 right-hander missed the entirety of the 2024 season recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Kowar was acquired the Mariners, along with minor league right-handed pitcher Cole Phillips, from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for outfielder Jarred Kelenic, left-hander Marco Gonzales, and first baseman Evan White on December 3, 2023.
Kowar was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 1st round (33rd overall) of the 2018 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Florida. In 54 career Major League games (8 starts) across 3 seasons with the Royals (2021-23) and Mariners (2025), the Weddington, NC native is 4-6 with an 8.21 ERA (83 ER, 91.0 IP) with 58 walks and 90 strikeouts.