Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto announced today that the club has acquired right-handed pitcher Joe Wieland from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for minor league infielder Erick Mejia. To make room on the Major League 40-man roster, right-handed pitcher A.J. Schugel has been designated for assignment.
 
Wieland, 25 (26 on Jan. 21), spent the majority of last season with AAA Oklahoma where he was 10-5 with a 4.59 ERA (58 ER, 113.2 IP) with 92 strikeouts in 22 games including 21 starts. He also made two starts in the Majors with Los Angeles (NL), going 0-1 with an 8.31 ERA (8 ER, 8.2 IP) with 4 strikeouts.
 
In three Major League seasons with San Diego (2013-14) and Los Angeles-NL (2015), he has combined to go 1-5 with a 5.85 ERA (31 ER, 47.2 IP) with 36 strikeouts in 11 games including 9 starts. In his minor league career in the Texas, San Diego and Los Angeles-NL organizations, he is 45-27 with a 3.52 ERA (231 ER, 590.1 IP) with 536 strikeouts in 117 games, including 107 starts.
 
The right-hander was originally selected by Texas in the 4^th round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Bishop Manogue High School (Reno, NV). He was traded by Texas to San Diego, along with LHP Robbie Erlin, in exchange for RHP Mike Adams. He was acquired by Los Angeles-NL from San Diego, along with LHP Zach Eflin and C Yasmani Grandal, in exchange for OF Matt Kemp and C Tim Federowicz.
 
Mejia, 21, spent the majority of the season with Short-A Everett, but also appeared in games with Single-A Clinton (5/10-20), Rookie AZL Mariners (6/12-7/1) and Triple-A Tacoma (7/2-13) in 2015, combining to bat .282 (49x174) with 34 runs scored, 6 doubles, 2 triples, 16 RBI and 20 stolen bases in 51 games. He also had one stint on the disabled list, May 21-June 11 with a left shoulder strain. Mejia was originally signed by Seattle as a non-drafted international free agent on June 30, 2012. Over four seasons in the minor leagues, he has hit .273 (125x458) with 86 runs scored, 28 extra-base hits and 42 RBI and 49 stolen bases in 133 games.
 
Schugel, 26, was claimed off waivers from Arizona on Dec. 16, 2015. He made his Major League debut with Arizona last year, posting a 5.00 ERA (5 ER, 9.0 IP) with 5 strikeouts in 5 relief appearances during two stints in Majors. In minors, he split the season between AA Mobile & AAA Reno, combining to go 9-9 with a 4.84 ERA (62 ER, 115.1 IP) with 79 strikeouts in 21 starts. In the minors he began the season with Reno, posting a 12.66 ERA (30 ER, 21.1 IP) in five games before moving to Mobile where he was 7-2 with a 2.21 ERA (19 ER, 77.1 IP). In six minor league seasons in the Angels and Diamondbacks organization, he is 32-34 with a 4.04 ERA (281 ER, 625.1 IP) with 497 strikeouts in 139 games including 109 starts. He was originally drafted by the Angels in the 25^th round of the 2010 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Central Arizona College (Coolidge, AZ).