Jhonathan

Diaz

Davis did a nice job during Cactus League play, but he was always considered a longshot to land a bench spot on the M’s Opening Day roster. Diaz and Dunning will begin the year as extra pitching depth at Triple-A Tacoma.

The 29-year-old left-hander elected free agency at the end of January instead of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Tacoma but ultimately decided that his best landing spot was a return to the Mariners. He’ll continue to serve as extra pitching depth — both for the M’s rotation and their bullpen.

Díaz will test the open market instead of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Tacoma. The 29-year-old swingman represents quality organizational depth at this stage of his career and should be able to latch on somewhere ahead of spring training. He’s made 17 appearances at the major-league level since 2021 between the Mariners and Angels.

Díaz has an option year left and the ability to eat innings, but since he’s 29 and he struggles to reach 90 mph with his fastball, no one grabbed him on waivers. He can choose to become a free agent if he’d like.

Díaz has made a couple of appearances for Seattle over the past couple seasons without much success. The left-hander is now off the 40-man roster and on the waiver wire to make room for the recently-acquired Cooper Criswell.

The cosmic ideal of a modern-era swingman, Díaz has oscillated between Seattle’s long relief mix and Triple-A Tacoma for the majority of the last two seasons, making six appearances (one start) during that span at the highest level. The 28-year-old southpaw heads back to the minors until another emergency situation leads to his return.

Diaz replaces Bryce Miller on the roster with Miller hitting the IL with shoulder inflammation. Diaz could make a start for Seattle, but the 28-year-old also could just be a multi-inning option as well. Either way, there’s no fantasy upside.

The 28-year-old southpaw provided the M’s with a fresh arm in their bullpen over their final two games against the Tigers, working 1 1/3 scoreless innings with a punchout. He’ll continue to hone his craft at the Triple-A level until he’s needed once more. Expect the M’s to make a corresponding move prior to Friday’s battle against the Giants.

Díaz provides Seattle with some extra long relief depth after Emerson Hancock’s unexpected implosion during Monday’s series opener against the Tigers put the bullpen in a tight spot. The 28-year-old southpaw has been up-and-down over the last few years with the Mariners, mostly on an emergency basis, and can be safely ignored in most fantasy formats.

Bolton was the lone player from Seattle’s 40-man roster exiting big-league camp in the latest round of cuts. Arroyo is one of the Mariners’ top prospects and should reach Double-A at some point in the next few months. Díaz and Medina figure to make it to Seattle at some point as emergency stopgap options.