SEATTLE – Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Justin Hollander announced today the Mariners have acquired right-handed pitcher Alex Hoppe from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for minor league catcher Luke Heyman.
Hoppe was selected to the 40-man roster. In a corresponding move left-handed pitcher Tayler Saucedo was designated for assignment.
The Mariners 40-man roster remains full.
Hoppe, 26, finished the 2025 season with the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox after also spending part of the season with Double-A Portland. In 37 appearances with Worcester, he went 0-2 with a 4.76 ERA (24 ER, 45.1 IP) with 24 walks and 56 strikeouts. Across 44 minor league appearances in 2025, Hoppe was 1-3 with a 4.55 ERA (31 ER, 61.1 IP) with 34 walks and 73 strikeouts.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound righty has appeared in parts of 3 minor league seasons in the Red Sox organization (2023-2025), during which he has posted a career 7-13 record and 4.76 ERA (93 ER, 176.0 IP) with 15 saves, 88 walks and 203 strikeouts.
The Davenport, Iowa native was originally drafted by Boston in the 6th round of the 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Heyman, 22, was drafted by the Mariners in the 14th round of the 2025 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Florida (Gainesville, FL). He has yet to make his professional debut.
The 6-foot-4 catcher batted .301 (52x173) with 21 extra-base hits, including 13 home runs, 44 RBI and 22 walks, getting on base at a .397 clip and slugging .578 (.975 OPS) in 49 games with the Gators in 2025 before suffering a season-ending injury. In 3 seasons with the University of Florida, Heyman combined for a .282 batting average (177x628) with 41 homers and 135 walks.
Saucedo (saw-SAY-doe), 32, appeared in 10 games with the Mariners in 2025. He went 0-0 with a 7.43 ERA (11 ER, 13.1 IP) with 6 walks and 12 strikeouts. In 22 games with Triple-A Tacoma in 2025, he was 3-0 with a 2.75 ERA (6 ER, 19.2 IP) with 10 walks and 24 strikeouts.
The 6-foot-4 lefty has made 115 career appearances over parts of 3 seasons (2023-25) for Seattle, going 5-2 with 4 saves and a 4.06 ERA (45 ER, 99.2 IP) with 47 walks and 93 strikeouts.
Saucedo was originally selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 21st round of the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Tennessee Wesleyan University. He made his Major League debut with the Jays on June 17, 2021. He was claimed off waivers by the Mets on Nov. 9, 2022, and then claimed off waivers by the Mariners from the Mets on Jan. 31, 2023.
The Hawaii-born hurler grew up in Washington and attended Tahoma High School in Maple Valley, Washington. In 148 career Major League appearances with Toronto (2021-22) and Seattle (2023-c), the left-hander is 5-2 with 4 saves and a 4.36 ERA (62 ER, 128.0 IP) with 58 walks and 112 strikeouts.