Sergio Romo cut by Mariners as Ken Giles joins bullpen

SEATTLE (AP) — Relievers Sergio Romo and and Roenis Elías were cut Monday by the struggling Seattle Mariners to make room for reliever Ken Giles and infielder Kevin Padlo.

Romo and Elías were designated for assignment, Giles was activated from the 60-day injured list and Padlo was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma.

Seattle has lost seven of its last nine games and is fourth in the AL West at 29-39, 13 games behind first-place Houston.

Romo, a 39-year-old right-hander known for his long beard, had an 8.16 ERA in 17 relief appearances and spent a month on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation. He allowed home runs to the Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout on Thursday and to the Angels’ Jared Walsh on Saturday.

An All-Star in 2013 and a three-time World Series champion with San Francisco, Romo has 137 saves in 15 major league seasons, going 42-35 with a 3.20 ERA in 810 relief appearances and five starts. He has pitched for San Francisco (2008-16), the Los Angeles Dodgers (2017), Tampa Bay (2017-18), Miami (2018), Minnesota (2019-20) and Oakland (2021).

Giles a 31-year-old right-hander, sprained his right middle finger during spring training and went 0-1 with a 14.21 ERA during eight games of a rehabilitation assignment at Class A Everett and Triple-A Tacoma.

He signed with the Mariners in February 2021, then had Tommy John surgery and missed the season. Giles’ last major league appearance was for Toronto at the New York Yankees on Sept. 15, 2020. He had 23 saves in 2019 and is 14-18 with a 2.74 ERA and 115 saves in seven seasons for Philadelphia (2014-15), Houston (2016-18) and Toronto (2018-20).

Giles punched himself in the face after allowing a go-ahead, ninth-inning home run to the Yankees’ Gary Sánchez in 2018.

Elías has a 3.52 ERA in seven relief appearances and is 22-24 with a 3.96 ERA in 54 starts and 79 relief appearances with with Seattle (2014-15, 2018-19, 2022), Boston (2016-17) and Washington (2019).

Padlo, 25, was traded from Seattle to San Francisco for cash on April 27, then claimed off waivers fro the Giants on June 11. He has appeared in 14 major league games over the past two seasons for Tampa Bay, Seattle and San Francisco and was 2 for 12 in four games for the Giants this year.

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