The Seattle Mariners made some huge major league moves on Friday when they tendered contracts to 29 players while non-tendering four.
The decisions made on Friday left spots open in the infield and in the bullpen, two areas the Mariners struggled in for much of last season.
The relievers ended up having a much better second half than first and the emergence of rookie former Double-A hurler Troy Taylor had a big part in that.
If Seattle opts to go the minor league route again to find a major league reliever, it’ll have one less promising option.
The Mariners have had over 30 minor leaguers leave the organization. The latest name included in that was left-handed reliever CJ Widger, who signed with the San Diego Padres.
Widger’s signing was reported by MLB Roster Moves (@RosterMoves_MLB on “X”) on Friday. He’s the fifth farm system pitcher to sign a deal since the offseason began.
Widger first signed with Seattle on a minor league deal on March 27. He was released on March 24 by the Texas Rangers’ Single-A affiliate, the Down East Wood Ducks. Widger was originally taken by the Rangers in the 10th round of the 2021 MLB Draft.
Widger split time with the Mariners Low-A affiliate, the Modesto Nuts, and the High-A affiliate, the Everett AquaSox, in 2024. He made 37 appearances in total — 27 with Modesto and 10 with Everett.
Despite flashes of excellence, the left-handed hurler’s raw numbers were inconsistent. He had a 5.03 ERA across his 37 outings with 59 strikeouts in 39.1 innings pitched. Despite the high ERA, hitters averaged just .184 against him (.180 with the Nuts, .194 with the AquaSox). He had an interesting ratio of walk-per-nine (5.22) and strikeout-per-nine (13.5).
Widger’s potential is evident when looking at some of his stats and his frame (6-foot-6, 170 pounds).
Widger will now hope that he can make a big-league impression in the National League West after failing to catch on with two teams in the American League West.
