Ahead of the 1 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline Monday, the Mariners claimed INF Michael Freeman off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks and immediately optioned him to the AAA Tacoma Rainiers. To make room on the 40-man roster, the club designated infielder Patrick Kivlehan for assignment.
Freeman, 28, may fill a void if the Mariners make a move with 1B Adam Lind, who did not play in the Sunday game in Chicago that the Mariners lost 7-6 in 12 innings.
Freeman hit .317 with one home run and 24 RBIs in 88 games with AAA Reno this season. In eight games with the Diamondbacks, Freeman went 0-for-9 with two walks in 11 plate appearances, nine as a pinch-hitter.
In parts of seven minor league seasons with the D-Backs, Freeman is a career .290 hitter with 15 home runs and 255 RBIs in 716 games. Freeman was selected from Clemson University in the 11th round of the 2010 MLB draft, when Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto was a member of the D-backs front office.
Kivlehan, 26, split this season between AAA Round Rock and Tacoma, combining to hit .242 with nine home runs and 41 RBIs. The Mariners acquired Kivlehan May 29 from Texas in exchange for a player to be named later. In 43 games with Tacoma, Kivlehan hit .293 with eight home runs and 25 RBIs.
Kivlehan was the player to be named later in the Nov. 16 trade with the Rangers in which the Mariners acquired OF Leonys Martin and RHP Anthony Bass in exchange for RHP Tom Wilhelmsen, OF James Jones and a PTBNL.
He was drafted by Seattle in the fourth round in 2012 out of Rutgers University.
The Mariners have 10 days to trade, release or outright the contract of Kivlehan to the minors.