Mariners Recall LHP Justus Sheffield from AAA Tacoma
Seattle designates for assignment RHP Shawn Armstrong
SEATTLE, Wash. — Mariners General Manager Jerry Dipoto announced today the following roster moves:
· Justus Sheffield, LHP, recalled from AAA Tacoma.
· Shawn Armstrong, RHP, designated for assignment.
Sheffield (#33) will be in uniform and available for tonight’s (7:10 pm) game vs. the Texas Rangers at T-Mobile Park.
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Seattle has 7 days to trade, release or outright the contract of Armstrong to the minor leagues.
Sheffield, 22 (turns 23 on May 13), has made 4 appearances (3 starts) with Triple-A Tacoma this season, going 0–1 with a 3.93 ERA (8 ER, 18.1 IP) with 11 strikeouts and 14 walks. In his last start, April 17 at El Paso, 5-foot-10, 195-pound left-hander worked 6.2 innings and allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 3 hits (1 home run) while striking out 6 and walking 3.
Sheffield entered the 2019 season as the №1 prospect in the Mariners organization, according to Baseball America and MLB.com. He was acquired by the Mariners from the New York Yankees, along with Erik Swanson (rhp) and Dom Thompson-Williams (of) in exchange for James Paxton (lhp) on Nov. 19, 2018. He spent most of the 2018 season with Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre in the Yankees organization, where he went 6–4 with a 2.56 ERA (25 ER, 88.0 IP) with 84 strikeouts and 36 walks in 20 games (15 starts). He also made 5 starts with Double-A Trenton, going 1–2 with a 2.25 ERA (7 ER, 28.0 IP) with 39 strikeouts and 14 walks. The native of Tullahoma, TN, made his Major League debut with the Yankees on Sept. 19, 2018 vs. Boston. He was the 6th-youngest player in the American League in 2018, including the 2nd-youngest pitcher. Overall, he made 3 relief appearances with the Yankees last season.
Sheffield was originally selected by Cleveland in the 1st round (31st overall) of the 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Tullahoma High School (Tullahoma, TN). He has been a top-10 organizational prospect according to Baseball America since making his professional debut in 2014. Over 6 minor league seasons in the Indians (2014–16), Yankees (2016–18) and Mariners (2019-c) organizations, Sheffield has a career record of 36–25 with a 3.11 ERA (175 ER, 506.0 IP) with 518 strikeouts and 198 walks in 107 career games (97 starts). He has an overall strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.62 (518 K, 198 BB), while averaging 9.21 strikeouts-per-9.0-innings (518 K, 506.0 IP). In his minor league career, he has allowed only 0.64 home-runs-per-9.0-innings (36 HR, 506.0 IP).
Armstrong, 28, went 0–1 with a 14.73 ERA (6 ER, 3.2 IP) with 3 strikeouts and 3 walks in 4 relief appearances with the Mariners this season. He was placed on the 10-day Injured List with a left oblique strain on March 20 (retroactive to March 27). After making 2 appearances on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma, he was reinstated from the IL on April 12.
The native of New Bern, NC, was acquired by the Mariners from Cleveland in exchange for international slot money on Dec. 13, 2017. He made his Major League debut with the Indians in 2015 after being selected in the 18th round of the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of East Carolina University. In parts of 5 Major League seasons with Cleveland (2015–17) and Seattle (2018–19), Armstrong is 1–2 with a 3.65 ERA (25 ER, 61.2 IP) with 56 strikeouts and 23 walks in 57 career games.
