The Mariners officially added two new relievers to their 40-man roster on Saturday night just days before the Major League Baseball winter meetings begin on Monday at The Gaylord Resort in National Harbor, Maryland.
The club announced the free agent signings of Marc Rzepczynski and Casey Fien. To make room for both on the 40-man roster, a pair of pitchers — lefty Dean Kiekhefer and right-hander Zach Lee — were designated for assignment.
The two signings are different in their purpose. Rzepczynski will be inserted into the Seattle bullpen as the late-inning left-handed specialist while Fien provides versatile organizational depth for the bullpen and another veteran right-handed arm with set-up man Steve Cishek unlikely to be ready at the start of spring training and possibly the regular season.