The Mariners announced they’ve selected reliever Ryder Ryan onto the 40-man roster. He was immediately optioned to Triple-A Tacoma, so he’ll have to wait a little longer for his first MLB call. Seattle had an opening on the 40-man after designating Kolten Wong for assignment on Tuesday.
Ryan, 28, has spent seven years in the minors. Originally a 30th-round draft choice by Cleveland in 2016, he’s been traded twice. The right-hander went to the Mets at the ’17 deadline in the Jay Bruce deal and to the Rangers over the 2020-21 offseason as the player to be named later in the Todd Frazier swap. Ryan spent two years in Triple-A with Texas but never cracked the big league club and became a minor league free agent last winter.
The North Carolina product signed a minor league pact with Seattle. He’s spent the season in Tacoma, working to a 3.72 ERA through 38 2/3 innings in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Ryan has solid if unspectacular peripherals — a 23% strikeout rate, 9.1% walk percentage and 48.4% grounder rate.
It’s unclear what spurred the M’s to select his contract without immediately bringing him to the MLB roster. Speculatively, it’s possible his minor league deal had contained an opt-out provision that required them to do so or allow him to head back to free agency. In any case, getting added to the 40-man gives him a good chance at securing a big league look down the stretch.