Inside The Dodgers

Former Dodgers Reliever Attempting to Make Surprise MLB Comeback With Mariners

Maren Angus-Coombs

Sep 7, 2021; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Neftali Feliz (25) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the ninth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images
Sep 7, 2021; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Neftali Feliz (25) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the ninth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images / Joe Puetz-Imagn Images
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The Seattle Mariners have invited former Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Neftali Feliz to big league spring training as a non-roster invite, the club announced.

The 36-year-old last appeared in the majors in 2021, making one inning of work for the Philadelphia Phillies and three innings for the Dodgers.

Feliz has had a decade-long career in the majors, playing for the Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Tigers, Dodgers, Kansas City Royals, and Phillies.

However, he’s best remembered for his seven years with the Rangers, where he won Rookie of the Year and made the All-Star Game in 2010.

Over his career, Feliz holds a 21-20 record with a 3.55 ERA. He recorded 40 saves for the Rangers in 2010, leading MLB with 59 games finished.

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Before his limited major league action in 2021, Feliz hadn't appeared since 2017, and he spent the 2022-24 seasons pitching in the Mexican League for three different teams.

Despite the league's hitter-friendly environment, he posted an impressive 2.37 ERA with a 26.3 percent strikeout rate and a 9.8 percent walk rate over 121.2 innings. During that time, he also recorded 54 saves.

This offseason, Feliz is pitching for Las Estrellas Orientales in the Dominican Winter League, where he’s accumulated 21.1 innings with a solid 2.11 ERA. His strikeout rate (18.4 percent) and walk rate (12.6 percent) are less notable, however.

Feliz had a productive but injury-plagued seven-year run with the Rangers, recording 93 saves and a 2.69 ERA in 261.1 innings. However, his career was hampered by Tommy John surgery in 2012 and multiple injuries, limiting him to fewer than 50 innings in 2014 and 2015.

After being released by Texas in 2015, he had a rough stint with the Tigers. A 2016 rebound with the Pirates was followed by struggles with the Brewers and Royals in 2017, where he ended the season with a diagnosis of ulnar nerve palsy after experiencing numbness in his right hand.

Signing Feliz is a low-risk move for the Mariners and there's no telling what Seattle will exactly get out of him. During his prime, his fastball sat around 96 mph. When he returned in 2021, it was at 95 mph.

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State and has been a sports writer since 2008. Despite growing up in the South, her sports obsession has always been in Los Angeles. She is currently a staff writer at the LA Sports Report Network.

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