The Toronto Blue Jays have officially acquired veteran reliever Mark Lowe in a deal that will send minor league left-handers Nick Wells, Jake Brentz and Rob Rasmussen to the Seattle Mariners.
Lowe, 32, has a 1.00 ERA with 47 strikeouts and just 11 walks in 36 innings for the Seattle Mariners this year. The right-hander’s average fastball velocity is now 95 mph, the best it’s been since 2011.
Lowe signed a minor league deal with the Mariners in December after spending most of the 2014 season in the minor leagues. He’s now on track to hit free agency after the 2015 season, his tenth as a major leaguer.
Wells, a 19-year-old left-hander, has a 4.78 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 32 innings in the Appalachian League this season. He was initially selected by the Blue Jays in the third round of the 2014 draft.
Brentz, a 20-year-old left-hander also pitching in the Appalachian League, has a 4.09 ERA with 16 strikeouts and 11 walks in 22 innings this year. The Blue Jays initially selected him in the 11th round of the 2013 draft.
Rasmussen, 26, appeared briefly with the Blue Jays this year, but he has spent most of the season at triple-A, where he has posted a 2.36 ERA with 40 strikeouts and 20 walks in 42 innings.
Lowe will join a Blue Jays bullpen that presently consists of Roberto Osuna, Aaron Sanchez, Brett Cecil, Aaron Loup, Bo Schultz, LaTroy Hawkins, Ryan Tepera and Liam Hendriks. Presumably the Blue Jays will carry no more than eight pitchers in their bullpen going forward, which would push a current reliever off of the roster.
The Blue Jays also acquired reliever LaTroy Hawkins and outfielder Ben Revere to go along with two major acquisitions: David Price and Troy Tulowitzki.
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports first reported that the sides were progressing toward a deal, and Chris Cotillo of SB Nation first reported the agreement.
