Chris

Mazza

Mazza became a free agent after refusing an outright minor league assignment earlier this month with the Rays and has quickly latched on with the Mariners. The 32-year-old righty, who has made 34 appearances (six starts) in the majors since 2019, will bolster Seattle’s bullpen depth moving forward.

Mazza has opted to test the free agent waters after refusing an outright assignment to Triple-A Durham earlier this week. The 32-year-old righty should be able to find a new opportunity on the open market in short order. He made 14 solid relief appearances last year with the Rays, but has been limited to just a pair of relief outings this season due to a lingering back injury, which he’s now fully recovered from.

Mazza completed his 30-day minor league rehab assignment and has been removed from the Rays’ 40-man roster. The 32-year-old righty reliever pitched well last year in his Tampa Bay debut, but made just a pair of relief appearances this season before being sidelined with back discomfort. There’s a chance he passes though waivers, but there are plenty of teams out there that could use an experienced reliever.

Mazza isn’t eligible to be activated from the 60-day injured list until late June, so he’ll presumably have nearly a month to ramp up in the minors before being an option for the Rays at some point next month. He’s been sidelined since late April due to back discomfort.

Nothing has changed in the recovery process for Mazza, this was merely done as a procedural move to free up a spot on the team’s 40-man roster. Mazza was scheduled to resume throwing live batting practice on Tuesday as he recovers from back discomfort.

Mazza was shut down earlier this month after experiencing renewed back discomfort, so it’s a positive sign that he’s resumed throwing and will progress to facing live hitters this week. There isn’t a definitive timetable for his return to the Rays’ bullpen.

Mazza was placed on the injured list last month with lower back spasms and it seems like it could be awhile before he’s ready to rejoin the Rays’ bullpen. It’s unclear when he’ll be ready to resume throwing again.

No injury designation was provided, so it’s presumably COVID-19 related. Colin Poche is taking Mazza’s spot in the bullpen.

With Poche and Thompson, both of whom are coming off major injuries, jettisoned to the minors, that leaves Jason Adam and Chris Mazza as the most likely candidates to secure spots in the Rays’ Opening Day bullpen.

Mazza signed a minor league contract with Tampa Bay back in January and has managed to claim an Opening Day roster spot. The 32-year-old right-hander projects to work in a low-leverage relief role.