Mariners Sign Five to Minor League Deals
Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto today announced that the Mariners have signed the following players to minor league contracts with invitations to Spring Training.
- Mike Baxter, OF
- Casey Coleman, RHP
- Ed Lucas, INF
- Brad Mills, LHP
- Blake Parker, RHP
These obviously won’t be the only invites to Spring Training, but it’s a start. The remainder of the list will begin to trickle out in the coming weeks and we hope to have a full list out in January.
With that said, here are a few tidbits about the five that were signed this week.
Baxter, 31, spent last year in the Chicago Cubs organization, splitting time with AAA Iowa and the Chicago Cubs. In 34 games in the Majors, he hit .246 (14x57) with 6 runs, 1 double and 2 RBI. With Iowa, he hit .279 (62x222) with 31 runs, 9 doubles, 3 triples, 1 home run, 20 RBI and a .390 on-base percentage in 74 games. In parts of six Major League seasons with San Diego, New York (NL), Los Angeles (NL) and Chicago (NL), he has hit .228 (95x417) with 52 runs, 23 doubles, 4 triples, 4 home runs and 28 RBI in 232 games. During his minor league career, he has hit .280 (978x3494) with 528 runs, 208 doubles, 53 triples, 63 home runs, 423 RBI and a .355 on-base percentage. He was originally drafted by San Diego in the 4th round of the 2005 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN).
Coleman, 28, spent last season with AAA Omaha in the Kansas City Royals organization where he was 5–4 with a 4.92 ERA (45 ER, 82.1 IP) with 54 strikeouts in 33 games including 6 starts. In parts of four Major League seasons with Chicago-NL (2010–12) and Kansas City (2014), he is 8–13 with a 5.72 ERA (113 ER, 177.2 IP) with 123 strikeouts in 58 games including 26 starts. In eight minor league seasons, he has combined to go 50–30 with a 3.73 ERA (287 ER, 692.0 IP) with 467 strikeouts in 194 games including 90 starts. He was originally drafted by Chicago (NL) in the 15th round of the 2008 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Florida Gulf Coast University (Fort Myers, FL).
Lucas, 33, spent last season with AAA Round Rock in the Texas Rangers organization where he hit .316 (124x393) with 43 runs, 17 doubles, 3 triples, 6 home runs, 48 RBI and a .389 on-base percentage in 107 games. In two Major League seasons, both with Miami (2013–14), he has combined to hit .255 (135x530) with 62 runs, 19 doubles, 1 triple, 5 home runs and 37 RBI in 163 games. In 12 minor league seasons in the Kansas City, Atlanta, Los Angeles (AL), Miami and Texas organizations, he has hit .282 (1058x3747) with 538 runs, 177 doubles, 24 triples, 72 home runs, 471 RBI and a .355 on-base percentage in 1,049 games. He was originally drafted by Kansas City in the 8th round of the 2004 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH).
Mills, 30, spent last season in the Oakland organization. He spent most of the season with AAA Nashville where he went 5–12 with a 4.52 ERA (69 ER, 137.1 IP) with 95 strikeouts in 24 starts. He made one appearance, a start, with Oakland. In parts of six Major League seasons with Toronto (2009–11, 2014), Los Angeles-AL (2012) & Oakland (2014, 2015), he is 4–4 with a 7.97 ERA (70 ER, 79.0 IP) with 71 strikeouts in 21 games including 14 starts. In nine minor league seasons, he is 59–58 with a 3.82 ERA (412 ER, 970.2 IP) with 826 strikeouts in 174 games including 165 starts. He was originally drafted by Toronto in the 4th round of the 2007 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ).
Parker, 30, appeared in only three games with AAA Iowa before having surgery to remove loose bodies in his right elbow on June 16th. In parts of three Major League seasons with the Chicago Cubs, he is 2–3 with a 3.68 ERA (30 ER, 73.1 IP) with 85 strikeouts in 74 games, all in relief. In 2013, he posted a 2.72 ERA (14 ER, 46.1 IP) with 55 strikeouts in 49 relief appearances with the Cubs. In nine minor league seasons in the Cubs organization, he is 14–18 with a 2.86 ERA (122 ER, 383.1 IP) with 424 strikeouts in 295 relief appearances. He was originally drafted by Chicago (NL) in the 16th round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, AR).
