Former Guardians legend resurfaces with Mariners on minor league contract

One of the most prominent relief arms over the last 10+ years of baseball on the corner of Carnegie and Ontario in Cleveland has found a new home. Former Guardians reliever Bryan Shaw has agreed to terms on a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners,

This is Shaw's second stint with Seattle, having pitched for the Mariners during the 2020 season. Shaw was not particularly successful in his brief time with the Mariners, allowing 12 runs on 13 hits and six walks in 6 innings across six appearances.

Shaw had initially signed with the Cincinnati Reds this past offseason, reuniting him with his former manager in Cleveland, Terry Francona. In four appearances for Cincinnati's Triple-A affiliate Louisville Bats, Shaw gave up five runs (eight total) on six hits and four walks in only 1.2 innings. This lackluster performance in the minors was more than enough for the Reds to move in a different direction, with Shaw being released a couple of weeks ago.

The 37-year-old veteran has played in Cleveland before and after the name change to the Guardians, with his first five years (3.11 ERA, 1.118 WHIP, and 8.4 K/9 ratio) being more successful than the second two (4.31 ERA, 1.408 WHIP, and 8.1 K/9). Granted, his second go-around in Cleveland was solid overall, but it was clear that 2022 (5.40 ERA and 1.440 WHIP) was the true end of Shaw being a consistently effective reliever.

During his time in Cleveland with Francona as his manager, Shaw was the future Hall of Fame skipper's go-to guy, for better or for worse. Shaw led all of baseball in appearances three times (2014 - 80, 2017 - 79, 2021 - 81) and the American League four times (2016's 75 appearances leading the AL).

Whether or not the veteran right-hander returns to the majors remains to be seen, but if the Mariners are truly desperate for a relief arm that is seemingly always ready to go, they really can't go wrong with Shaw.