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Ernesto Frieri Sold to Mariners by Rangers for $1
August 9, 2017
The Seattle Mariners didn't exactly break the bank Tuesday when they acquired right-handed pitcher Ernesto Frieri.
According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com), the Texas Rangers sold him to their American League West rivals for $1. Texas previously signed him as a minor league free agent on June 15, but he struggled with a 5.14 ERA in six relief appearances for the Rangers.
As a result, he was assigned outright to Triple-A Round Rock on July 7.
Frieri has also pitched for the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Angels, Pittsburgh Pirates and Tampa Bay Rays throughout his career and impressed from 2010 through 2012. He finished the 2010 campaign with a 1.71 ERA, the 2011 season with a 2.71 ERA and the 2012 season with a 2.32 ERA.
However, he has failed to replicate that type of impact since and didn't pitch in 2016 after the Philadelphia Phillies released him during spring training.
Seattle assigned him to Triple-A Tacoma after acquiring him Tuesday, but manager Scott Servais knows the pitcher from their days with the Angels.
Servais was the assistant general manager in Los Angeles when Frieri was there, and the manager called him a "good guy, somebody with major league experience that if we do start circulating guys up and down then he's a guy that's been there before that you can count on," per the AP.
Seattle is a middling 13th in the league in bullpen ERA, per ESPN.com, and could use Frieri if he rediscovers his past form following this move.