Former Yankees sidewinding reliever signs with Mariners

The Seattle Mariners are 3-7 in their last 10 games and will need a strong finish to the regular season to make the playoffs. 

They've lost each of the first two games of a three-game set against the New York Yankees. 

Amid the series, the Mariners have signed a former Yankees reliever to a minor league contract for bullpen depth. 

According to Seattle's Triple-A affiliate, right-hander Scott Effross has agreed to a minor league deal with the AL West organization. 

Effross, 32, has thrown 85.1 Major League innings since 2021, missing the entire 2023 season and most of 2024 due to Tommy John Surgery. 

"The underlying marks weren’t encouraging, as he only struck out 16% of opponents with a league-average 42% ground-ball rate," Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors wrote about Effross' 36.1 Triple-A innings for the Detroit Tigers. "The Tigers released him last week." 

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Effross features a funky sidearm delivery and doesn't light up the radar gun.

The best season of his MLB career came in 2022 with the Chicago Cubs and Yankees, posting a 2.54 ERA with 62 strikeouts and just three home runs allowed in 56.2 innings. 

The Yankees non-tendered Effross after he appeared in just 11 games during the 2025 season. He missed the first six weeks of the year due to a left hamstring strain. 

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