The Mariners agreed to a minor league contract with right-handed reliever Luke Barker, Jon Morosi of MLB.com reports. The Gaeta Sports client will head to Triple-A Tacoma.
Barker, 32, made three appearances for the Brewers in 2022 — his lone MLB experience to date. The right-hander was undrafted out of Division-II Chico State University in California back in 2015 but parlayed a dominant showing in the independent Frontier League into a minor league look with the Brewers organization. He spent the next six seasons in the Brewers system, working toward that ’22 debut.
While Barker was tagged for five runs in four innings during his MLB cup of coffee, his minor league track record is outstanding. In 261 2/3 minor league innings, the righty carries a 2.38 ERA, 27.6% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate. That includes three seasons of Triple-A work — a total of 116 1/3 frames with a 2.32 earned run average, an even better 30.4% strikeout rate and a 6% walk rate. Barker doesn’t throw hard, averaging just 91 mph on his heater during his brief MLB look, but he’s routinely posted swinging-strike rates north of 14% in the upper minors.
Barker didn’t pitch in 2023. He spent the season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery after suffering a UCL tear late in the 2022 campaign. He’ll now join just the second organization of his career.
The Mariners aren’t short on talented relievers, though two of their best are currently on the 15-day injured list: righties Matt Brash and Gregory Santos. Brash was slowed by a bout of elbow inflammation during spring training, while Santos suffered a lat strain late in camp. Neither has pitched in the big leagues or on a minor league rehab assignment so far this season. Barker will give the M’s some more depth in the upper minors. Seattle has a recent track record of striking gold on unheralded bullpen acquisitions — Paul Sewald, Drew Steckenrider, Justin Topa, Gabe Speier, Tayler Saucedo among them — and Barker will hope to add his name to the list.