The Mariners have signed left-hander Fernando Abad, as announced earlier today by Saraperos De Saltillo, Abad’s Mexican League club. It appears to be a minor league contract, as Triple-A Tacoma broadcaster Mike Curto reported that Abad will pitch for the affiliate tonight.
After not landing a contract with an MLB club over the offseason, Abad’s 2.25 ERA over four innings of Mexican League action was enough to get the Mariners’ attention. Anthony Misiewicz is the only left-hander in Seattle’s current bullpen, so there’s some opportunity for Abad to win a job if he performs well at Triple-A.
The 36-year-old Abad has suited up for seven different teams over his 10 MLB seasons, plus some stints in independent ball as well as the Mexican League. There have been plenty of ups and down over Abad’s long career, but he has generally been a pretty solid bullpen arm, able to deliver good results against both left-handed and right-handed batters.
Despite a lack of velocity and big strikeout totals, Abad has a 3.77 ERA over 348 1/3 career innings in the bigs. However, only 30 2/3 of those frames have come over the last four seasons, as Abad didn’t see any MLB action in either 2018 or 2020. Most recently, he posted a 5.60 ERA over 17 2/3 innings with the Orioles last season.