De Fratus, who was removed from the Phils’ 40-man roster back in October, elected to become a free agent at that time. He has reportedly signed a one-year, $750,000 contract with the Mariners, which would be a quarter-million dollar raise from the $528,000 which he earned in 2015 with the Phillies.
The righthander who turned 28 years of age just last month was originally an 11th round selection of the Phillies in the 2007 MLB Amateur Draft out of Ventura College in his native California.
At first a starter, De Fratus was converted to the bullpen during the 2009 season while with the A-level Lakewood BlueClaws, and has been used almost exclusively in that role ever since.