Mariners reinstate J.P. Crawford from IL; Recall Matt Festa from Triple-A Tacoma

Brandon Brennan placed on 10-day IL (strained right shoulder); Shed Long optioned to AAA Tacoma.

June 14th, 2019

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto announced today the following roster moves:

• J.P. Crawford, INF, returned from rehabilitation assignment with High-A Modesto and reinstated from 10-day IL.
• Matt Festa, RHP, recalled from AAA Tacoma.
• Brandon Brennan, RHP, placed on the 10-day Injured List with a strained right shoulder.
• Shed Long, INF, optioned to AAA Tacoma.

Crawford (#3) and Festa (#67) will be in uniform and available for tonight’s (6:37 pm PT) game against the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum.

Crawford, 24, was originally placed on the 10-day Injured List with a left ankle sprain on May 29. He was lifted from the game on June May 28 in the top of the 9th after spraining his left ankle trying to avoid a tag at third base in the bottom of the 8th. He began a rehab assignment with High-A Modesto on June 11, where he went 1-for-10 (.100) with 2 runs, 1 home run, 3 RBIs and 2 walks in 3 games. Prior to being placed on the IL, he was batting .279 (17x61) with 7 runs scored, 6 doubles, 1 home run, 5 RBIs and 6 walks in 17 games with the Mariners this season. Prior to being recalled from AAA Tacoma on May 10, he hit .319 (37x116) with 20 runs scored, 7 doubles, 3 home runs 15 RBI, 19 walks and 3 stolen base in 31 games.

Crawford was acquired by Seattle from Philadelphia on Dec. 3, 2018. He was originally selected by Philadelphia in the 1st round (16th overall) of the 2013 MLB First Year Player Draft. In parts of 3 Major League seasons with the Phillies (2017-18) and Mariners (2019-c), he is batting .230 (57x248) with 32 runs, 16 doubles, 4 triples, 4 home runs and 23 RBIs in 89 games.

Festa, 26, is appearing in his 4th stint with the Mariners this season (also: Opening Day -- April 11, May 17 and June 3-10). In 9 relief appearances with the Mariners this season, he is 0-1 with a 5.73 ERA (7 ER, 11.0 IP) while striking out 9 and walking 7. In his most recent stint with Seattle (June 3-10), he made 2 appearances out of the bullpen, allowing 1 run in 2.0 innings while striking out 3 and walking 2. After being optioned to AAA Tacoma on June 11, he earned the win in the Rainiers 4-2 victory on Wednesday (June 12) at San Antonio, tossing 2.0 scoreless innings and striking out 3. In 13 outings with the Rainiers this season, is 1-1 with 2 saves and a 3.86 ERA (7 ER, 16.1 IP) with 22 strikeouts and 6 walks.

Festa had four separate stints with the Mariners in 2018, combining for a 2.16 ERA (2 ER, 8.1 IP) in 8 games, 1 start, while holding opponents scoreless in 6 of 8 appearances. He made his Major League debut with the Mariners on July 14, 2018 at Colorado. He spent most of the 2018 campaign with Double-A Arkansas, where he led the Texas League with 20 saves. He was originally selected by the Mariners in the 7th round of the 2016 MLB Draft out of East Stroudsburg University.

Long, 23, hit .267 (16x60) with 9 runs, 7 doubles, 1 home run, 5 RBIs, 8 walks, 3 stolen bases and a .353 on-base percentage in 16 games with the Mariners since being recalled from AAA Tacoma on May 21 for his second Major League stint in 2019. The 5-foot-8, 184-pound infielder belted his first Major League home run on Wednesday (June 12) at Minnesota. Overall this season, he is batting .232 (16x69) with 9 runs, 7 doubles, 1 home run, 5 RBIs, 10 walks, 3 steals and a .329 on-base percentage in 19 games with the Mariners. He has appeared in 2 stints with Seattle this season: May 10-14 and May 21 -- June 14. In 2 stints with AAA Tacoma this season, Long hit safely in 25 of 36 games with the Rainiers, batting .293 (43x147) with 31 runs scored, 6 doubles, 4 triples, 6 HR, 23 RBIs and 16 walks.

Long was acquired by Seattle from New York-AL in exchange for minor league outfielder Josh Stowers on Jan. 21, 2019. He was originally selected by Cincinnati in the 12th round of the 2013 MLB Draft. Over 7 Minor League seasons, he is batting .274 (488x1782) with 262 runs, 92 doubles, 19 triples, 56 home runs, 234 RBIs, 204 walks and 54 steals in 494 games.

Brennan, 27, is 2-6 with a 5.56 earned run average (21 ER, 34.0 IP) in 30 relief appearances with the Mariners this season. In his first 21 appearances this season (March 21-May 21), Brennan posted a 2-2 mark with a 2.05 ERA (6 ER, 26.1 IP) with 29 strikeouts and 12 walks. Brennan limited opposing hitters to a .176 batting average against. He made his MLB debut March 21 vs. Oakland in Tokyo, did not allow an earned run in his first 8 Major League appearances, and notched his first Big League win on April 11 at Kansas City, tossing a 1-2-3 inning. In his last 9 games (since May 25), Brennan is 0-4, 17.61 (15 ER, 7.2 IP) with 8 walks, 6 strikeouts and a .333 batting average against. He allowed 4 runs, and did not retire a batter, in taking the loss yesterday at Minnesota.

Brennan was selected by Seattle in the Major League portion of the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 13, 2018. He was originally selected by Chicago-AL in the 4th round of the 2012 MLB First Year Player Draft. He spent seven years (2012-2018) in the White Sox Minor League system and was a combined 25-34 with a 4.64 ERA (249 ER, 482.2 IP) with 16 saves in 172 games (64 starts). He spent most of the 2018 season at AA Birmingham where he was 4-3 with 1 save in 40 games. He also made 4 appearances with AAA Charlotte where he was 1-1. Brennan signed with Colorado as a minor league free agent on Nov. 13, 2018 but was selected by Seattle prior to joining the Rockies.