M’s notebook: Moore promoted, Seguar activated in slew of moves

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, June 21, 2017

SEATTLE — A series of roster moves. Well, how else did you expect the Seattle Mariners to mark the first full day of summer?

Take a deep breath.

The Mariners reached into their farm system Wednesday to promote one of their top pitching prospects for the second time in four days when they summoned right-hander Andrew Moore from Triple-A Tacoma.

That was just the start.

Moore will start Thursday in the series finale against Detroit because the Mariners are shifting struggling veteran Yovani Gallardo to the bullpen.

The Mariners also activated shortstop Jean Segura from the disabled list and reinstalled him as their leadoff hitter. Left fielder Ben Gamel shifts to No. 2 in the lineup, while right fielder Mitch Haniger moves down to No. 7.

“We’ll move (Gamel) and Haniger around a little versus right or versus left,”manager Scott Servais said. “I’m excited about our lineup coming together, and the length of our lineup now.

“When you start looking at (Jarrod) Dyson and (Mike) Zunino at eight and nine, that’s pretty good.”

To make room for Moore and Segura, the Mariners optioned right-hander Christian Bergman and infielder Tyler Smith to Tacoma. To add Moore to the 40-man roster, the Mariners designated right-hander Tyler Cloyd for assignment.

Sending Bergman to the Rainiers means rookie right-hander Sam Gaviglio, at least for now, will remain in the rotation. Gaviglio will start Saturday against Houston at Safeco Field.

Got all that?

Moore, 23, is 4-3 with a 2.72 ERA this season in 14 games at Tacoma and Double-A Arkansas. He entered the season ranked as the organization’s No. 2 starting pitching prospect in the TNT Top 10.

“He’s been the definition of steady since entering the system,” general manager Jerry Dipoto said. “He’s mature in his preparation, knows himself, understands his strengths, controls the zone and has consistently performed at every level.

“He’s earned an opportunity to pitch here.”

The move to promote Moore comes three days after the Mariners promoted right-hander Max Povse directly from Arkansas. Povse has yet to appear in a game.

Moore was a second-round pick in the 2015 MLB Draft after a standout career at Oregon State. He began the season by going 1-2 with a 2.08 ERA in six games at Arkansas before getting promoted May 8 to Tacoma.

He was 3-1 with a 3.19 ERA in eight starts for the Rainiers. Moore learned of his promotion late Tuesday from Tacoma manager Pat Listach.

“That’s the moment that every ballplayer dreams of,” Moore said, “and then getting to call your family and tell them. It was pretty special. I grew up going to games here. Now to be able to take the mound is going to be awesome.”

Gallardo, 31, is the only member of the club’s projected rotation who hasn’t spent time this season on the disabled list, but he is 3-7 with a 6.30 ERA and has only four quality starts among his 14 outings.

“If you look at his raw stuff,” Servais said, “it’s ticked up. It’s probably better than it was last year. It’s just his (in)ability to stay away from the big inning. A lot of those big innings have happened early in games.

“So you’re behind he eight-ball right at the get-go.”

Gallardo hasn’t pitched in the bullpen since he was a rookie in 2007. He is 111-90 with a 3.90 ERA in 284 games, including 281 starts, over his 11 big-league seasons.

Segura, 27, played two games at Tacoma on a rehab assignment in his recovery from a high right ankle sprain suffered June 1 on a slide at second base. He batted .341 in 43 games prior to his injury.

“We talked about maybe giving him a day off today,” Servais said, “but he came out of the game really good (Tuesday) night. We sat down and talked with him today. ‘Do you need a day off?’ He said, ‘I’m ready to play.’”

Bergman, 29, returns to the Rainiers after going 4-4 with a 5.44 ERA as a replacement in the Mariners’ injury-depleted rotation. He permitted two or fewer earned runs in five of his eight starts.

Smith, 25, was 3-for-16 in 10 games in a reserve role after being recalled June 2 as a replacement for Segura.

Cloyd, 30, got a victory in his only big-league appearance in a brief call-up earlier this year. He pitched a scoreless inning on June 9 in a 4-2 victory over Toronto.

The Mariners purchased Cloyd contract on May 12 from Somerset in the independent Atlantic League and assigned him to Tacoma, where he was 1-4 with a 1.40 ERA in five starts.

M’s reach deal with Carlson

The Mariners didn’t limit themselves to merely overhauling their roster in a series of moves and adjustments to their lineup, rotation and bullpen.

They also signed their second-round pick, right-hander Sam Carlson of Burnsville (Minn.) High School, to above-slot bonus of $2 million.

Carlson, 18, spent the day at Safeco Field and, after a trip home, will report later this week to the Peoria Mariners in the Arizona Rookie League.

“He’s got a big-league face,” scouting director Scott Hunter said. “That’s an old-school scout thing. Sometimes you just look at a kid, and you go, ‘That’s a big-league face. He’s good-looking enough to play in the big league right now.’”

The slot value for Carlson as the 55th overall pick was $1,206,900, but the Mariners saved enough on other signings to boost their offer in an effort to lure him away from a scholarship to Florida.

“I think I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do,” Carlson said. “When the Mariners came around, the opportunity was right. Me and my agent felt it was the best decision for me and my future.”

By signing Carlson, Hunter said the Mariners now have agreements with their top 12 draft picks and 30 of 40 overall — and still stayed within their allotted bonus pool from Major League Baseball.

“We wound up being under,” Hunter said. “We were able to manage it. We had some opportunities to really balance it. We were able to get (first-round pick) Evan White and Sam Carlson done fairly quick and then made some moves.”

White, 21, is a first baseman from Kentucky whom the Mariners selected with the 17th overall pick. He will open his career at Short-A Everett but is expected to spend Friday at Safeco Field and take batting practice with the big-league club.

Carlson plans to return to Minnesota in order to attend an awards banquet before heading to Arizona. Peoria’s 56-game season begins Saturday.

“He’s physically ready to go,” Hunter said. “Now, just learning the baseball life and the pro lifestyle is the next step for him. I don’t think we’ve seen the peak of Sam Carlson’s 18-year-old campaign until August.”