Mariners Reinstate OF Julio Rodríguez from 10-day Injured List; Reinstate C Curt Casali from Paternity List

C Brian O’Keefe and INF Abraham Toro optioned, RHP Phillips Valdez outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma

SEATTLE, Wash. — Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Justin Hollander announced today the following roster moves:

• Julio Rodríguez, OF, reinstated from 10-day Injured List (lower back strain).
• Curt Casali, C, reinstated from Paternity List.
• Brian O’Keefe, C, optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.
• Abraham Toro, INF, optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.
• Phillips Valdez, RHP, cleared waivers and outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma.

Rodríguez, 21, was placed on the Injured List on Sept. 23 with a lower back strain. He missed games at Los Angeles-AL on Sept. 17–19 with lower back tightness. He returned to the lineup on Sept. 20 at Oakland, before leaving the game on Sept. 22 in the bottom of the 1st inning. The 21-year-old outfielder is batting .280 (140x500) with 81 runs scored, 24 doubles, 3 triples, 27 home runs, 73 RBI, 40 walks, 8 hit-by-pitches, while reaching base at a .342 clip and slugging .502 with an .844 OPS in 129 games this season.

On Sept. 14, Rodríguez became just the 3rd rookie in Major League history to record a 25-home run, 25-stolen base season and first player to reach that milestone in their first season. It took him just 125 career games to reach the 25-homer, 25-steal mark, beating out Mike Trout-LAA (128 games) for the fastest to the milestone in MLB history.

Among American League rookies, Rodríguez ranks 1st in home runs (27), 2nd in RBI (73), T2nd in runs scored (81), 1st in total bases (251), 2nd in stolen bases (25) and 1st in bWAR (5.7). He was the only rookie to be named an All-Star this season and finished in 2nd place in the Home Run Derby.

The Loma de Cabrera, Dominican Republic born Rodríguez has hit 5 leadoff home runs this season, which is tied for the most in a season in Mariners history, joining Ichiro Suzuki, who hit 5 in 2002 and in 2005. Rodríguez’s 5 leadoff home runs are T5th in the Majors, trailing Jose Altuve-HOU (12) for the Major League lead.

Rodríguez was named the American League Rookie of the Month in both May and June, leading MLB rookies during that span in games played (57), hits (64), home runs (13), OPS (.885) and total bases (116). The rookie outfielder became the 2nd player in franchise history to win multiple Rookie of the Month awards, joining Ichiro Suzuki (4x in 2021). He became the first AL player to win back-to-back Rookie of the Month awards since Houston’s Yordan Alvarez won 3 consecutive in 2019 (June-Aug.). Rodríguez was also named AL Player of the Week for the week of June 27-July 3.

The rookie outfielder signed a seven-year contract extension on Aug. 26, 2022, covering the 2023–2029 seasons with club and player options that could keep him in Seattle until the 2039 season. Rodríguez was originally signed by the Mariners as an international free agent on July 2, 2017. He made his Major League debut on Opening Day this season in Minnesota.

Casali (kuh-SAL-ee), 33, was placed on the Paternity List on Sept. 30. He has appeared in 13 games with the Mariners this season. He was acquired in a trade on Aug. 2, 2022, along with LHP Matthew Boyd, from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for minor leaguers Michael Stryffeler (rhp) and Andy Thomas ©.

Casali was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 10th round of the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Vanderbilt University. The 6-foot-2 backstop has appeared in 459 career games across 9 Major League seasons with Tampa Bay (2014–17), Cincinnati (2018–20), San Francisco (2021–22) and Seattle (2022-c), batting .223 (261x1171) with 135 runs, 56 doubles, 1 triple, 46 home runs, 147 RBI and 144 walks.

O’Keefe, 29, made his Major League debut on Oct. 1, going 1-for-3 with a walk as the designated hitter. The right-handed hitting catcher appeared in 83 games with Tacoma this season, batting .253 (80x316) with 19 doubles, 2 triples, 13 home runs, 40 RBI and 32 walks.

O’Keefe has been in the Mariners organization since 2020, appearing in 188 games between Double-A Arkansas and Triple-A Tacoma over the past 2 seasons. In 2021, his 24 home runs ranked 3rd-most among minor leaguers in the organization.

The Albany, New York native was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 7th round of the 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. He has appeared in 653 career minor league games across 8 seasons in the Cardinals (2014–19) and Mariners (2021-c) organizations, batting .251 (594x2366) with 311 runs, 131 doubles, 5 triples, 93 home runs, 348 RBI, 281 walks and 16 stolen bases.

Toro, 25, has appeared in 106 Major League games this season, batting .179 (56x312) with 35 runs scored, 13 doubles, 1 triple, 9 home runs, 30 RBI, 2 stolen bases and 22 walks, while reaching base at a .236 clip and slugging .314 with a .550 OPS. He has appeared defensively for the Mariners at 4 different positions, including second base (53 G), third base (30 G), first base (1 G) and right field (1 G), while also appearing in 22 games as the designated hitter.

He was previously optioned to Triple-A Tacoma on Aug. 6 and appeared in 16 games with the Rainiers, batting .241 (14x58) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs and 12 RBI while getting on base at a .353 clip and slugging .431 (.784 OPS).

Toro was acquired by Seattle from Houston on July 27, 2021 along with RHP Joe Smith in exchange for RHP Kendall Graveman and RHP Rafael Montero. He was originally selected by the Astros in the 5th round of the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Seminole State College in Seminole, OK. He has appeared in parts of 4 Major League seasons with the Astros (2019–21) and Mariners (2021-c), batting .204 (166x812) with 106 runs scored, 30 doubles, 3 triples, 25 home runs, 94 RBI, 65 walks and 10 stolen bases in 259 career games.

Valdez, 30, was designated for assignment on Sept. 30. He appeared in 18 games (1 start) with Triple-A Tacoma this season after he was claimed off waivers by Seattle from Boston on July 29. In those 18 games, the righty went 1–1 with a 4.22 ERA (10 ER, 21.1 IP) with 9 walks and 16 strikeouts.

The 6-foot-2 right-hander has appeared in 76 Major League games across 4 seasons with Texas (2019) and Boston (2020–22). Valdez has also appeared in 12 minor league seasons with 5 different organizations: Cleveland (2009–10), Washington (2012–18), Texas (2019), Boston (2021–22) and Seattle (2022).