Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto announced today the following roster moves:
· Andrew Albers, LHP, selected from AAA Tacoma.
· Sam Gaviglio, RHP, recalled from AAA Tacoma.
· Casey Lawrence, RHP, optioned to AAA Tacoma.
· Thyago Vieira, RHP, optioned to AAA Tacoma.
· Christian Bergman, RHP, designated for assignment.
Albers (#63) and Gaviglio (#44) will be in uniform and available for tonight's (7:10 p.m.) game vs. the Baltimore Orioles at Safeco Field. Albers is tonight's starting pitcher for the Mariners.
The Mariners Major League, 40-man roster remains full at 40 players.
Albers, 31 (turns 32 on Oct. 6), was acquired by Seattle from Atlanta in exchange for cash considerations in a minor league trade on Aug. 11. He was assigned to AAA Tacoma but did not appear with the Rainiers. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound left-hander went 12-3 with a 2.61 ERA (35 ER, 120.2 IP) with 115 strikeouts and 19 walks in 26 games (17 starts) with AAA Gwinnett in the Atlanta organization this season. At the time of the trade, he ranked T1st in wins (12), 3rd in ERA (2.61), 6th in WHIP (1.15), 7th in strikeouts (115) and 8th in innings pitched (120.2). Over his last 8 starts with Gwinnett (7/1-8/10), he went 6-0 with a 0.98 ERA (6 ER, 55.1 IP) with 49 strikeouts and 9 walks while posting 7 quality starts.
In parts of 3 Major League seasons with Minnesota (2013 and 2016) and Toronto (2015), Albers is 2-5 with a 4.41 ERA (39 ER, 79.2 IP) with 42 strikeouts and 15 walks in 17 games (12 starts). He made his Major League debut with the Twins on Aug. 6, 2013 at Kansas City. The native of North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada was originally drafted by Milwaukee in the 12th round of the 2004 MLB Draft out of John Paull II High School (North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada) but did not sign. He was selected and signed by San Diego in the 10th round of the 2008 MLB Draft out of the University of Kentucky. He was teammates with James Paxton at the University of Kentucky from 2007-08).
Gaviglio ("Guh-VEE-leo"), 27, was 3-5 with a 3.70 ERA (24 ER, 58.1 IP) with 40 strikeouts in 10 starts with AAA Tacoma. This is his third stint with Seattle this season (May 10-July 6, July 18-20 and Aug. 15-current). In 12 games, including 11 starts with Seattle this season, he is 3-5 with a 4.62 ERA (32 ER, 62.1 IP) with 40 strikeouts. He has pitched at least 5.0 innings in 10-of-his-11 starts and has allowed 3 earned runs or fewer in 7-of-his-11 starts.
Gaviglio was acquired by the Mariners from St. Louis in exchange for INF Ty Kelly on Nov. 20, 2014. The native of Ashland, Ore., has appeared in parts of 7 minor league seasons in the Cardinals (2011-14) and Mariners (2015-17) organizations, compiling a 36-39 record with a 4.01 ERA (278 ER, 624.1 IP) with 501 strikeouts and 164 walks.
Lawrence, 29, is 1-0 with a 5.64 ERA (19 ER, 30.1 IP) with 34 strikeouts in 13 relief appearances over three stints with the Mariners this season. From May 21 - June 1, he held opponents to 3 runs in 11.2 innings pitched (2.31 ERA) while striking out 14 and walking 3 in 4 relief appearances. The 6-foot, 175-pound right-hander struck out 9 over 5.0 innings in relief on June 1 vs. Colorado, setting the single-game club record for strikeouts by a reliever. In his most recent stint with AAA Tacoma June 13-27, he was 2-3, including 1 shutout, with a 3.35 ERA (17 ER, 45.2 IP) with 30 strikeouts and 9 walks in 7 starts. Overall in 11 games (7 starts) with the Rainiers, he is 2-4 with a 4.08 ERA (26 ER, 57.1 IP) with 41 strikeouts.
He was claimed off waivers from Toronto on May 11 after being designated for assignment on May 8. Lawrence went 0-3 with an 8.78 ERA (13 ER, 13.1 IP) with 7 strikeouts and 11 walks in 4 games (2 starts) with Toronto this season. He was selected by the Blue Jays from AAA Buffalo on April 8 and made his Major League debut in relief later that day at Tampa Bay. With AAA Buffalo, he was 1-0 with a 0.90 ERA (1 ER, 10.0 IP) with 7 strikeouts in 3 starts. The native of McSherrytown, PA, was originally signed as an amateur free agent on June 15, 2010 after 4 seasons at Albright College (Reading, PA). Over parts of 8 minor league seasons with Toronto (2010-17) and Seattle (2017), he is 66-64 with a 3.81 ERA (437 ER, 1031.1 IP) with 677 strikeouts and 191 walks in 183 career games (168 starts).
Vieira (pronounced "chee-AH-go" "vee-AIR-ah"), 24, made his Major League debut with the Mariners last night, tossing 1.0 scoreless inning while striking out 1. He was recalled from AAA Tacoma earlier on Monday. will be making his Major League debut with his first appearance. In 7 relief appearances with AAA Tacoma this, he has earned 2 saves while posting a 3.18 ERA (4 ER, 11.1 IP) with 10 strikeouts and 6 walks. Prior to being promoted to Tacoma on July 19, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound right-hander went 2-3 with 2 saves and a 3.72 ERA (15 ER, 36.1 IP) with 35 strikeouts and 15 walks in 29 outings with AA Arkansas. Vieira was named to the World Team (Brazil) roster for the 2017 All-Star Futures Game. He struck out 1 while allowing 1 hit and 1 walk in 0.2 scoreless innings on July 9 vs. the U.S. Futures squad. The native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, originally signed by Seattle as a non-drafted free agent on Sept. 21, 2010. In parts of 7 minor league seasons with the Mariners, Vieira is 14-18 with 13 saves and a 4.53 ERA (143 ER, 284.1 IP) with 237 strikeouts and 146 walks in 144 career games (28 starts).
Bergman, 29, made 2 relief appearances with the Mariners since being selected from AAA Tacoma prior to Saturday's game. He combined for 5.0 scoreless innings in relief - including 4.0 scoreless innings Sunday vs. the Angels - scattering 2 hits and 1 hit batsman while striking out 3. Overall, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound right-hander is 4-4 with a 4.91 ERA (28 ER, 51.1 IP) with 33 strikeouts and 14 walks in 11 games (8 starts) over two stints (5/7-6/20 and 8/12-13) with Seattle this season. In 14 starts with AAA Tacoma, Bergman is 8-3 with a 4.88 ERA (43 ER, 79.1 IP) with 60 strikeouts and 16 walks. In 4 Major League seasons with Colorado (2014-16) and Seattle (2017), he is 11-13 with a 5.56 ERA (123 ER, 199.0 IP) with 123 strikeouts in 66 games (23 starts). He was selected by Colorado in the 24th round of the 2010 MLB Draft.