Former Seattle Mariners Reliever Kendall Graveman Healthy After Missing All of 2024
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The picture of what the 2025 Seattle Mariners team will look like has become a lot more clear over the past month.
The Mariners entered the offseason with needs at first, second and third base. They signed Donovan Solano mid-January to a one-year, $3.5 million deal. He'll spend most of his time at first base. The team also reunited with Jorge Polanco on a one-year, $7.75 million deal. He'll play third base.
Second base will be handled in-house with the players currently on the roster, barring a trade.
An area of improvement secondary to the infield was the front-end of Seattle's bullpen. If the Mariners are in the mood for another reunion, a former high-leverage closer for the team is healthy and available.
Per a report from ESPN's Jesse Rogers, former Mariners reliever Kendall Graveman is healthy after missing all of 2024 with a shoulder injury. The former Mississippi State Bulldog is still a free agent. Per Rogers' report, Graveman has received a lot of "late interest."
With relievers going off the board, one guy getting a lot of late interest is Kendall Graveman who is healthy after missing last season with a shoulder injury. Had back-to-back years of 60-plus appearances before going down. Lots of teams looking for set-up men after several…
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) January 30, 2025
Graveman pitched for Seattle in 2020 and part of 2021.
Graveman struggled in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season and put up a 5.72 ERA in 11 appearances (two starts) with 15 strikeouts across 18.2 innings pitched.
His 2021 season was much better. In 30 outings with the Mariners, Graveman posted an elite 0.82 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 33 innings pitched.
Kendall Graveman, Wicked Two Seamers. 🔥🤢 pic.twitter.com/Dqbv2aV6IP
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 5, 2021
In one of the more infamous moves made during the Jerry Dipoto era, Seattle traded Graveman to American League West rivals the Houston Astros on July 27, 2021.
The deal was not received well by the players in the clubhouse, with one anonymous player reportedly calling it a "betrayal," according to a story published on July 27, 2021, by the Seattle Times Ryan Divish.
The Mariners have hardly any payroll left after signing Polanco. But if Graveman is willing to take a cheap deal to return to Seattle, then he might help elevate a bullpen that is already better on paper than it was in 2024.
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