MLB ROUNDUP

M’s add RHP Stanek, Nats get OF Eddie Rosario on minor-league deal

The Seattle Mariners have signed reliever Ryne Stanek to a one-year contract, and the minor league deals are official for outfielder Eddie Rosario with Washington and first baseman Joey Votto with Toronto.

Stanek brings plenty of postseason experience to the Mariners, who are trying to get back to the playoffs after losing the AL Division Series to Houston in 2022, when the Astros beat Philadelphia in the World Series.

The 32-year-old right-hander has 23 postseason appearances, all but two of them with Houston the past three seasons. He was 3-1 with a 4.09 ERA in the regular season last year after going 2-1 with a 1.15 ERA in 2022. It was the lowest ERA in Houston history for a pitcher with at least 50 innings.

Stanek spent his first three seasons with Tampa Bay and was one of the first relievers used as an opener. His 56 starts of two or fewer innings are the most in major league history.

The 32-year-old Rosario is a left-handed hitter who has played nine seasons in the majors with the Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves.

Rosario was the NL Championship Series MVP during Atlanta’s run to the 2021 World Series title, but the club declined a $9 million option for this season.

The 40-year-old Votto is joining his hometown team in Canada after spending all 17 of his previous big league seasons in Cincinnati. The 2010 NL MVP became a free agent last fall at the end of a $251.5 million, 12-year contract with the Reds.

“I feel like a boy. I feel like a kid,” Votto told reporters in Florida. “I think this goes back to the 15-year-old version of me who just wanted to make it, who fell in love with the sport and with competition, with being my best self. All of the achievements along the way are nice, but this is still the core of me.”