SEATTLE, Wash. – Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto announced today that the Mariners have acquired LHP Nestor Cortes Jr. from New York-AL in exchange for international bonus pool money.

Seattle’s 40-man roster is now at 36 players.

“Nestor is a versatile lefty who can do a little bit of everything,” Dipoto said. “He can start, he can relieve, he can give you those middle innings or even operate as an opener.”

“He's got roughly all the pitches and a very deceptive style. He's not going to overpower you with velocity, but he has a really effective fast ball quality and feel. He is an optionable young pitcher that gives us another flexible piece on our 40-man roster.”

Cortes Jr., 24 (turns 25 on December 10), appeared in 33 games (1 start) with the Yankees last season, going 5-1 with a 5.67 ERA (42 ER, 66.2 IP) with 28 walks and 69 strikeouts. He tossed at least 2.0 innings in 18 of his 32 relief appearances, including 9 outings of at least 3.0 innings pitched and 4 outings covering 4+ innings. He also appeared in 7 games (6 starts) with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he posted a 2-2 record with a 3.86 ERA (17 ER, 39.2 IP) with 11 walks and 42 strikeouts.

Cortes Jr. was originally drafted by the Yankees in the 36th round of the 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft from Hialeah High School in Hialeah, FL. He was selected by Baltimore from New York-AL in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft, and made his Major League debut with the Orioles on March 30, 2018 vs. Minnesota, tossing 2.0 innings and allowing 1 run on 3 hits with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. He was returned to New York-AL on April 13, 2018. Overall, he has appeared in parts of 2 Major League seasons with Baltimore (2018) and New York-AL (2019), posting a 5-1 record with a 5.80 ERA (46 ER, 71.1 IP) with 32 walks and 72 strikeouts.