Seattle Mariners deal pitcher who was in bullpen in '24

The Seattle Mariners made a minor deal Tuesday, shipping away pitcher Cody Bolton to the Cleveland Guardians for cash considerations.

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Bolton, who spent the first two months of the 2024 season in the Mariners’ bullpen, was with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers to begin this season. He has been optioned to Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate, the Columbus Clippers.

Seattle designated Bolton for assignment on Saturday from their 40-man roster to make room for Jesse Hahn, who was called up from Tacoma to add bullpen depth. Players must be on the 40-man roster in order to be added to the 26-man active roster, and Hahn was not as he was a minor league signing in free agency in the offseason.

A 26-year-old right-hander, Bolton appeared in 17 games for the Mariners in 2024. He had a 4.34 ERA, 1.446 WHIP and 17 strikeouts to nine walks with Seattle, registering a minus-0.1 fWAR. Bolton was on the Mariners’ active roster (save for a short stint on the injured list) from the start of the season until late May, and rejoined the M’s bullpen to make a pair of outings last June.

Bolton appeared in 33 games with Tacoma last year and another two this season. In 2025 at Triple-A, he has allowed three runs on three hits and three walks over two innings, with one strikeout.

Prior to joining the Mariners, Bolton debuted in the majors with Pittsburgh, appearing in 16 games for the Pirates in 2023. He was a sixth-round MLB Draft pick out of high school by Pittsburgh in 2017.

The Mariners are set to play the second game of a three-game series against the American League West rival Houston Astros at 6:40 p.m. Tuesday, with radio coverage beginning on Seattle Sports at 5:30 with the pregame show.