Nick Davila will make his major league debut in his first outing with the Mariners
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners have had a decent amount of turnover in the bullpen over the last several days.
High-leverage right-handed reliever Matt Brash is currently dealing with right lat inflammation and was placed on the 15-day injured list Friday ahead of game one of a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals.
Left-handed reliever Josh Simpson was brought up in a corresponding move to Brash's IL stint. The former's time in the major leagues was cut short following another roster move ahead of game two against the Royals on Saturday at T-Mobile Park.
The Mariners selected the contract of right-handed reliever Nick Davila from the Double-A Arkansas Travelers. Simpson was optioned back to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers in a corresponding move.
"Good slider," Seattle manager Dan Wilson said of Davila in a pregame interview Saturday at T-Mobile Park. "And from what we've heard has really been filling up the zone and been attacking. And that's what we love about our guys. A chance for him to come up here and do it at this level. Excited to get him here and get him acclimated."
Davila was welcomed fairly quickly to the ballpark. He was greeted by several members of the staff as well as bullpen catcher Justin Novak almost as soon as he walked into the clubhouse.
Davila, a former South Florida product, was signed by the Mariners to a minor league contract March 27, 2023. The 27-year-old joined the M's after a three-year stint with the Detroit Tigers organization that ended with him being released March 9, 2023.
The former Bull elected free agency after the season but was brought back by Seattle on another minor league deal Nov. 13, 2023, and he's been pitching in the team's minor league system since.
In the midst of his various outings in the M's farm system, he's also been extended a non-roster invite to the team's last two spring trainings.
This past spring, Davila struck out six batters in 5.1 innings pitched across seven outings. He allowed four earned runs across his first four starts but didn't allow a hit, issue a free base or allow a run in his final three.
Davila began this season playing with Arkansas for the second-straight year. In eight appearances, he's fanned 10 batters in nine innings pitched. Davis has issued just one walk across those eight outings and is holding opposing hitters to a .182 average.
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