Cory

Gearrin

Gearrin had been designated for assignment. He will remain in the organization.

Gearrin gets the DFA to make room on the roster for Ildemaro Vargas, who was added to the roster on Thursday. The right-hander will have to clear waivers, but assuming he does, he’ll be depth for the Twins in case of injuries.

Gearrin holds a career 3.64 ERA over parts of eight big league seasons. He’ll operate in low-leverage situations.

Gearrin is a perfectly solid reliever who has always struggled to find his niche because teams don’t trust him against lefties. Granted, he’s not very good against lefties, but he’s also not as bad as his managers have seemed to believe. He ended up with a 4.07 ERA for the Mariners and Yankees last year. He pitched for three teams in 2018, finishing with a 3.77 ERA. Overall, he has a 3.64 ERA in 336 career appearances.

The club claimed Gearrin off waivers from the Mariners on Friday. He has a 3.92 ERA in 48 appearances in the majors this year.

Gearrin has always been good against righties and has held them to a .643 OPS this season. He’ll deepen the already-stacked Yankees bullpen.

He’ll be followed by Wade LeBlanc, who is in line to handle the bulk of the innings. This will be the first “start” of Gearrin’s major league career.

Swarzak missed most of spring training with a lingering issue in his shoulder, but he’s feeling good now and recently pitched in four minor league games. The Mariners’ closer situation is wide open with Hunter Strickland sidelined, so Swarzak is a legitimate threat for saves if he proves his health and effectiveness. He’s coming off a nightmare season with the Mets, but he was great in 2017. Cory Gearrin, Chasen Bradford, and Nick Rumbelow are among the alternatives, which isn’t the most inspiring group.

He won’t need surgery, but a Grade 2 strain is going to result in Strickland being sidelined for “at least a couple months,” per Mariners manager Scott Servais. Anthony Swarzark (shoulder) is slated to be activated from the injured list Tuesday and would figure to be the favorite for saves once he gets up to speed. In the meantime, Nick Rumbelow, Zac Rosscup, Cory Gearrin and Matt Festa are names to speculate on if you’re really desperate.

Strickland said he’ll probably get an MRI to see if there’s anything there. Since that’s the case, it’d be quite a surprise if he didn’t lead on the IL for at least a 10-day break. That’d put the Mariners in a closer-by-committee, with Matt Festa and Cory Gearrin probably first in line for saves. Dan Altavilla could be recalled.