LHP James Paxton, RHP Chance Ruffin, RHP Hector Noesi and INF Carlos Triunfel were called up by the Mariners Tuesday, as well as RHP Erasmo Ramirez (5-1, 5.18), who started Tuesday’s game against LHP Bruce Chen (6-2, 2.79) in Kansas City.
The Mariners annual September callups also summoned Seattle Howard Johnson, hitting coach for the AAA Tacoma Rainiers, to the coaching staff. All players were available for Tuesday.
Ramirez, 23, earned a victory in his last start Aug. 29 at Houston (5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R/ER, two BBs, seven SO) to improve to 5-1. The Mariners optioned him to Tacoma following the start, but he remained with the team. In nine appearances, including eight starts, Ramirez is 5-1 with a 5.18 ERA (28 ER, 48.2 IP).
Paxton, 24, will make his major league debut with his first appearance. The lefty went 8-11 with a 4.45 ERA (72 ER, 145.2 IP) in 28 appearances/26 starts. He struck out 131 and averaged 8.09 strikeouts per 9.0 innings. The Mariners selected Paxton in the fourth round of the 2010 June draft. He pitched at the University of Kentucky.
Ruffin, 24, returns to the majors for the first time since 2011, when he pitched 14 innings in 13 games. A former first-round draft choice of the Detroit Tigers, Ruffin came to Seattle in the Doug Fister trade. This season, the right-hander split the minor league season between AA Jackson and AAA Tacoma, combining to go 5-6 with a 3.91 ERA (49 ER, 112.2 IP) in 31 appearances and 18 starts.
Noesi, 26, will make his fourth stint with the Mariners this season. In nine appearances he is 0-1 with a 5.64 ERA (14 ER, 22.1 IP). In his most recent stint with Tacoma, he went 1-2, 4.62 ERA (19 ER, 37.0 IP) in 7 starts.
Triunfel, 23, appeared in nine games with the Mariners over two stints before the All-Star break (.083/2×24, RBI). In 100 games with the Rainiers he hit .282 (108×383) with 55 runs scored, 22 doubles, three triples, five home runs and 31 RBIs.
Johnson, 52, completed his first season as a coach in the Mariners organization serving as the hitting instructor for the Rainiers. In a 14-year major league career that ended in 1995, he hit 228 home runs.Under his guidance, the Rainiers finished second in the Pacific Coast League with 146 home runs, including at least one homer by 26 players.
1 Comment
Had no idea HoJo was a coach in the M’s organization. Big fan of his when he was with the Mets. Looking forward to seeing Paxton pitch.