Mariners Sign Luis Torrens To Minor League Deal

The Mariners have signed catcher Luis Torrens to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Tacoma, per Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto. By joining the organization prior to September 1, Torrens will be eligible to play for the Mariners in the postseason.

Torrens, 27, returns to the Mariners organization, which was his club from 2020 to 2022. But he was non-tendered at the end of last year and has been fairly nomadic since. He signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in the offseason and cracked the Opening Day roster but was designated for assignment and flipped to the Orioles a month later. He was designated for assignment again about a week after that, this time clearing waivers and electing free agency. He landed with the Nats on a minor league deal but opted out on the first of July and has been unattached until now.

Amid all of those stops on his journey, he hit .250/.318/.300 in 13 major league games for the Cubs and .258/.311/.470 in 19 games for Triple-A Rochester. He’s generally considered a bat-first catcher and showed that potential with the M’s, hitting .245/.303/.421 over 2020 and 2021. That production translates to a league average wRC+ of 100, though catchers generally hit roughly 10 points lower as a group. But his line dropped to .225/.283/.298 last year, 71 wRC+, leading to his non-tender and wayward 2023 campaign.

The Mariners have Cal Raleigh as their primary catcher but placed backup Tom Murphy on the injured list a couple of weeks ago, bumping Brian O’Keefe up from Triple-A to the majors. They have Cooper Hummel on the 40-man but he’s spent more time in the outfield than behind the plate in Triple-A this year. Pedro Severino is in the organization as experienced non-roster depth and Torrens can now join him on the depth chart. The M’s have been one of the hottest clubs in the league of late and seem to be surging towards the playoffs. If any of their catchers suffers an injury now or through the postseason, Torrens can be an option to replace them.