The Mariners announced that right-hander Cooper Criswell has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. He will take the active roster spot of right-hander Nick Davila, who has been placed on the 15-day injured list with an SC joint sprain. To open a 40-man spot, infielder Colt Emerson has been transferred to the 60-day IL. It was reported last week that Emerson would require season-ending wrist surgery, so his move comes as no surprise.
Criswell, 30, was acquired in the offseason. He had been a decent swingman for the Red Sox for a couple of years but exhausted his final option year in 2025. That got him pushed off the roster and onto the waiver wire. The Mets claimed him but then designated him for assignment shortly thereafter. The Mariners then sent cash to Queens to skip the waiver process and get Criswell to Seattle.
The Mariners haven’t needed Criswell in the rotation as they have had so many good starting options that they have had to shuffle guys to the bullpen or run six-man rotations at times. Criswell was purely in a relief role for the early parts of the season, tossing 30 2/3 innings over 26 appearances. He had a solid 3.52 earned run average in that time. His 19% strikeout rate was below average but his 6% walk rate was good and he also induced grounders at a really strong 60.2% clip.
In June, a pectoral strain put him on the 15-day IL and he was later transferred to the 60-day IL. Now that he’s back, he can retake a spot in the Seattle bullpen for the stretch run. As mentioned, he is out of options but has been pitching well this year.
Criswell came into the year with his service clock at one year and 143 days. Assuming he holds a roster spot through the end of the year, he will be at 2.143. He would qualify for arbitration as a Super Two player but could theoretically be retained for four more seasons after this one.
Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images
