The Mariners have acquired southpaw pitcher Josh Simpson from the Miami Marlins, but what does he bring to Seattle?
Even with spring training now underway, the Seattle Mariners continue to make moves to add more depth to their pitching staff. As confirmed by Executive Vice President and General Manager of Baseball Operations Justin Hollander on Monday, the team has acquired Josh Simpson from the Miami Marlins.
In exchange for Simpson, the Marlins have received cash considerations. In a corresponding move after acquiring Simpson, the Mariners have placed Logan Evans on the 60-day Injured List and the Major League 40-man roster remains full at 40 players.
Simpson was designated for assignment by the Marlins last week, after they added fellow southpaw John King. He is expected to be in Arizona before the end of this week, with Cactus League action beginning on Friday when the Mariners face their fellow Peoria Sports Complex tenants, the San Diego Padres.
Simpson did not make his Major League debut for the Marlins until last season, in part due to left elbow neuritis a year earlier which caused him to begin the 2024 campaign on the injured list. He was subsequently transferred to the 60-day Injured List on April 20, and not reactivated until Sep. 3.
Josh Simpson offered some positive glimpses in Miami
In truth, the 28-year-old’s overall performances weren’t much to write home about after he finally made his Major League debut in late June. He allowed four earned runs in 2.0 innings of a 7-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves, and by season’s end had produced a 7.34 ERA, 5.35 FIP and 1.826 WHIP in 30.2 combined innings over 31 appearances out of the bullpen.
To be fair Simpson did still have his encouraging moments, including pitching eight consecutive scoreless innings immediately after his rough debut versus the Braves. He posted an xFIP and SIERA below 4.50, struck out 23.8 percent of batters and created a 53.9 percent ground-ball rate.
The Stafford, Connecticut native will be just fine if he spends time in Triple-A Tacoma. For his minor league career he has a 4.74 ERA and 1.244 WHIP over 156 appearances in six years, and last season in Triple-A Jacksonville he recorded a 3.41 ERA and 1.019 WHIP in 34.1 combined innings over 29 appearances.
This is not to say Simpson won’t at least have the opportunity to prove what he can do for the Mariners in the majors, with him having one more minor league option remaining. He becomes the fourth lefty on the 40-man roster along with Gabe Speier, Jose A. Ferrer and Robinson Ortiz, with Daniel Kramer of MLB.com noting that southpaw bullpen reinforcements had been a priority for the front office during the offseason.
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Logan Evans did his bit in 2025 for the Mariners
As for Evans, he underwent surgery to reconstruct a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right arm on Jan. 23. At the time, Vice President of High Performance and Medical Rob Scheidegger advised the estimated recovery time is approximately 12 months.
The 24-year-old provided much-needed support for a Mariners rotation which suffered injuries to all but one of their preferred five last season, as he started 15 games (as well as making one relief appearance). He had his highlights, including having the longest outing by any M’s pitcher in 2025, when he went 8.0 innings on May. 27 versus the Washington Nationals.
Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rogers Photography
