Along with making their signing of former Washington Nationals relief pitcher Marc Rzepczynski official, the Seattle Mariners announced the signing of Casey Fien, who spent the 2016 season with the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Dodgers claimed Fien off waivers from the Twins in May. At the time he had a 7.90 ERA, 6.73 FIP, 1.76 WHIP and had allowed five home runs in 13.2 innings pitched over 14 games. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and third baseman Justin Turner were optimistic Fien would contribute, citing his competitiveness.
Fien appeared in one game with Triple-A Oklahoma City, then was sent outright to the Minors after clearing waivers.
The procedural move took Fien off the Dodgers’ 40-man roster, though he joined the club in late-May. Fien pitched well early before falling victim to the long ball.
He posted a 4.09 ERA with five walks, 19 strikeouts and seven home runs allowed in 22 innings over 21 appearances.
The Dodgers placed Fien on the 15-day disabled list on July 19 with right-elbow tendinitis. He didn’t return until Aug. 16, and threw 1.2 scoreless innings across two appearances prior to being optioned to Oklahoma City.
Fien re-joined the Dodgers at the end of August, was later designated for assignment and after again clearing waivers, sent outright to Oklahoma City in September for the Pacific Coast League Championship.
The 33-year-old went 0-1 with a 4.21 ERA, 6.22 FIP, 1.21 WHIP, 23 strikeouts and eight home runs allowed over 25.2 innings in 25 games with the Dodgers. Fien was 1-0 with a 4.35 ERA in eight regular-season games with Oklahoma City.
The Mariners designated Dean Kiekhefer and Zach Lee for assignment to clear room for the Rzepczynski and Fien signings. Seattle acquired Lee from the Dodgers in June in exchange for utility man Chris Taylor.
Lee did not reach the Majors, and struggled mightily with Triple-A Tacoma, going 0-9 with a 7.39 with 11 home runs allowed in 14 starts. He was selected No. 28 overall by the Dodgers in the 2010 Draft.
