Seattle Mariners Designate Offseason Trade Acquisition For Assignment

Austin Shenton, who was drafted by the Mariners in 2019, was re-acquired this offseason from the Tampa Bay Rays. Now, Seattle will have to pass him through waivers to keep him in Tacoma.

Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Austin Shenton (54) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Chicago White Sox during the fifth inning at Guaranteed Rate Field in 2024. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

CHICAGO - Austin Shenton, who was acquired this past offseason by the Seattle Mariners, was designated for assignment on Tuesday.

In corresponding moves, veteran reliever Casey Lawrence was called up to the big-league roster and left-hander Jhonathan Diaz was sent down to Triple-A. The Mariners will try to keep Shenton in Triple-A, but he will have to pass through waivers first. If another team wants to trade for him, it can.

The #Mariners announce that Casey Lawrence is up with the big club now, Jhonathan Diaz has been sent to Triple-A, with Austin Shenton being DFA'd.#TridentsUp

— Brady Farkas (@RefuseToLosePod) May 20, 2025

Shenton, 27, was drafted by the Mariners in the fifth round of the 2019 draft and then traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2021 deal that brought the Mariners reliever Diego Castillo. Seattle was able to re-acquire him from Tampa Bay this past November.

Shenton appeared in 19 games at the big-league level for the Rays last season, hitting just .214. At Triple-A Tacoma this season, he's hitting .207 with eight homers and 26 RBIs. He's a .276 hitter over parts of six minor league seasons.

He is a Washington native, having been born in Spokane and attending high school in Bellingham.

The Mariners enter play on Tuesday at 27-19 and in first place in the American League West by 2.5 games. They'll take on the Chicago White Sox for the middle game of a three-game set. The M's have won four consecutive games to start a 10-game road trip.

Casey Legumina will start for the M's against the newly-signed Adrian Houser. The two teams will wrap up the series on Wednesday before the M's head off to Houston for a four-game series with the Astros.

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