The Seattle Mariners have released right-hander Todd Coffey so that he can possibly find a bullpen job for a team that is still in playoff contention and to showcase for this offseason, according Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
Todd Coffey, who turns 34-years-old next week, originally signed a minor league contract with Seattle at the beginning of this summer after missing all of the 2013 season after he underwent his second Tommy John surgery of his career. Weirdly enough, Coffey did not get a call to the Mariners' major league team, even with his dominant stats in the minor leagues. The veteran right-hander recorded a 1.93 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 37 and 1/3 innings pitched with the Mariners' Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma.
In his major league career, Coffey has a 4.10 ERA and a 6.8 K/9 and a 2.8 BB/9. His tremendous 51.9 career percent ground-ball rate makes him very attractive to many contending teams.
Some contending clubs that could use his services are the Detroit Tigers, who have had a numerous amount of issues in their bullpen this season, along with the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, and the Pittsburgh Pirates, who would all love to add some relief help.
The team that had released him, the Mariners, are very much alive in the playoff race. Although they are in contention, the team seems to believe that they are better off without Coffey. The team's closer, Fernando Rodney has been superb this year, as he signed a two-year, $14 million deal this past winter. Also, Joe Beimel, Tom Wilhelmsen, Yoervis Medina, Dominic Leone, and Danny Farquhar all have ERAs that are below 2.50, and all of which have pitched at least forty innings out of the bullpen this season.