Mariners claim intriguing reliever Hagen Danner off waivers

The Mariners have claimed the talented but injury-prone 2017 second round draft pick off waivers from the Blue Jays to help the bullpen.

Last season the Seattle Mariners bullpen was very effective, ranking ninth in the Majors with a 3.71 ERA, fourth with a 1.17 WHIP and second with an opposing team .215 batting average. However, they could have been even better if not for injuries.

Consider that Matt Brash missed the entire year after undergoing Tommy John surgery, while new addition Gregory Santos was limited to eight appearances due to different ailments. It must be exciting for Mariners fans to think how good the bullpen can be, if both players come back/remain healthy in 2025.

In any event, executive vice president and general manager of baseball operations Justin Hollander  has taken a step to further bolster the bullpen, by claiming Hagen Danner off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays. He was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays last month, and his addition now puts the Mariners’ Major League 40-man roster at 39 players.

A former top prospect

Danner makes for an intriguing addition, having previously been considered a top prospect who was selected in the second round of the 2017 draft by the Blue Jays. However, there is the caveat that he was actually selected as a catcher, with him only transitioning to pitching in 2021.

Now in fairness to the 26-year-old, he was also a top pitching prospect prior to being drafted. Irrespective of this though, he is still limited in his professional experience at the position, with just 114.0 combined innings at all levels in the Blue Jays organisation.

The combined innings experience segues nicely to the second caveat regarding Danner, in that he was somewhat injury-prone during his time in Toronto. The prime example of this came in 2022, when he only pitched 3.2 innings in Double AA New Hampshire, due to dealing with an elbow issue most of the year.

Further highlighting the injury factor, the Huntington Beach, California native only pitched 0.1 of an inning in his one Major League appearance to date (in 2023), before being forced to leave the game due to an oblique strain. This in turn sent him to the injured list and finished his season.

• Providence Swedish Performance Center will be the Belgium Teams Training Hub for the World Cup
• Brian Woo Dominates in Mariners’ Series Win Over Braves
• Cautious Return for Cal Raleigh After Injury Absence
• Dante Fowler Jr Joins Seahawks: A Veteran’s Role
• Mariners do right by Randy Johnson with statue to honor his legacy

What Danner offers to the Mariners

Danner’s scouting report references a high-90s fastball and a slider as his most effective weapons. While not as reliable, he also has the potential to further develop an upper-70s curveball.

In terms of actual productivity and focusing on Triple-A Buffalo specifically, the righty pitched 28.1 innings during 2023. He ended up recording a 3.81 ERA and tremendous 0.953 WHIP, while also averaging 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

Last season saw Danner throw 34.1 innings with the Bisons, which included seeing his ERA drop to 3.15. However, he did also see his WHIP jump up to 1.311, while his strikeout rate went down to 8.9 Ks per nine innings.

It will be interesting to see how things play out for Danner this coming season, with him still having an option year remaining. Assuming he can remain healthy, he is projected to challenge for a spot in the front-end of the bullpen.

* All Statistics courtesy of Baseball Reference

What is your take on the addition of Danner to the bullpen? More generally speaking, how good do you predict the Mariners bullpen will be in 2025? Let us know in the comments section below.