Seattle Mariners Swing Trade with Pittsburgh Pirates For Little Known Reliever

In an effort to bolster their bullpen at the outset of the offseason, the Seattle Mariners have acquired Cody Bolton in a minor trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

MLBTradeRumors had some background info on Bolton:

Bolton, 25, was drafted in the sixth round in 2017 out of Tracy High School in California. By the end of the 2019 season, Bolton had made his way to Double-A as a starter.

However, the 2020 minor league season was wiped out by COVID-19, and Bolton missed all of 2021 due to knee surgery. Fortunately, Bolton recovered and made his MLB debut for the Pirates on April 29th on the road against the Nationals. He spent the season moving up and down from Triple-A. Bolton pitched fairly well at Triple-A, but only managed a 6.33 ERA, 20.6 K%, and 14.0 BB% in the Majors across 21 1/3 innings.

The Mariners have had good luck turning little known pitchers into valuable major league contributors, so maybe they can do the same here. Over the last past three years, Paul Sewald, Drew Steckenrider, Gabe Speier, and Justin Topa have all found huge success because of the Mariners' programs and processes. 

Seattle finished third last season in the deeply-talented American League West, missing the playoffs by 1.0 game. This came on the heels of them making the playoffs and winning a playoff series in the 2022 season.

In addition to bullpen help, the Mariners need offensive help in the outfield and at second base. They are likely to lose Teoscar Hernandez in free agency.