Former Top Seattle Mariners Prospect Latches on With Cincinnati Reds

Justus Sheffield, who was once a top prospect with the Seattle Mariners, has signed a new contract with the Cincinnati Reds. The 28-year-old appeared in parts of four seasons with the M's.

Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Justus Sheffield (33) throws against the Los Angeles Angels during the eighth inning at T-Mobile Park. Los Angeles won 3-0 in June of 2022. | Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

Former Seattle Mariners' top prospect and former starting rotation member Justus Sheffield has found a new home with the Cincinnati Reds.

The deal was reported on the minor league transaction page and announced by MLBTradeRumors. Sheffield has been assigned to the team's Complex League affiliate.

Reds Sign Justus Sheffield To Minor League Deal https://t.co/ueXGfrIP3A pic.twitter.com/r7hr90Qlsn

— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) June 10, 2024

The 28-year-old Sheffield was once a top prospect of the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees and Mariners. He was traded from Cleveland in the deal that sent Andrew Miller to the Indians and then dealt to the Mariners in the trade that sent James Paxton to New York.

MLBTradeRumors had more on his prospect pedigree:

He was clearly a hot commodity during that time, looking at that draft selection and his inclusion in those trades. Baseball America ranked him as one of the top 100 prospects in four straight seasons from 2016 to 2019, putting him as high as #27 in the last of those years.

Sheffield appeared in parts of four seasons (2019-2022) with the Mariners, making 33 starts. He was 12-12 lifetime with the M's but pitched to a 5.40 ERA. He won a career-high seven games back in 2021, a season in which the M's missed the playoffs on the final weekend of the regular season. However, he had an ERA of 6.83 that season.

In 2023, he pitched at the Triple-A level for the Mariners, and then subsequently for the Braves. He was 2-6 among both organizations and had a 7.63 ERA.

We wish him the best as he attempts to get his career back on track.

***On a fun note, the Cincinnati-Seattle pipeline remains strong. Since 2000, Ken Griffey Jr. Mike Cameron, Jesse Winker, Eugenio Suarez, Emilio Pagan, Luis Castillo, Justin Dunn and Sheffield are just a few of the players to be a part of both organizations.

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