Mariners Claim Hagen Danner – MLB Trade Rumors

On By Littum

The Mariners announced they have claimed the right-hander Hagen Danner waivers from the Blue Jays. The latter club had appointed him for assignment last month. DFA limbo usually only lasts a week, but that clock is paused for the holidays. Seattle’s 40-man roster is now 39.

Danner, 26, has a fairly limited track record as a pitcher. This is due to his unusual trajectory as well as some injuries. He was drafted by the Jays as a catcher in 2017, but struggled at the plate and moved to the mound in recent years. His first professional season as a pitcher was 2021, a year in which he threw 35 2/3 innings at the High-A level, allowing 2.02 earned runs per inning. He struck out 29.4% of batters faced while limiting walks to an 8.4% clip.

Although he had only been on the mound for one season as a minor leaguer, he was already Rule 5 eligible due to the years he spent behind the plate. But the Jays didn’t want him to get away at that point and gave him a spot on the 40-man.

He spent most of 2022 on the injured list, making only four Double-A appearances. He was healthy again in 2023 and threw 39 1/3 innings across multiple levels with a 3.66 ERA, 35.7% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate. He also made his major league debut, though he only threw a third of an inning before an oblique strain sent him to the IL for about six weeks to end the year. In 2024, he spent two more months on the minor league injured list, but managed to throw 35 1/3 innings on the year with a 3.06 ERA, 24.2% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate.

Perhaps the big drop in his strikeout rate prompted the Jays to move on, though the Mariners are intrigued enough to give him a shot. Danner is still a fairly unknown quantity at this point, with just under 100 professional innings under his belt, but he still has an option year remaining. Seattle can get a close look at him and see how things go. He can serve as optional depth for one more year and, if things break down, be cheaply retained in the future as he only has a handful of service days.