Mariners Option LHP Josh Simpson, RHP Troy Taylor to Triple-A Tacoma
Josh Simpson's 7.34 ERA from his MLB debut didn't scare Seattle off — they acquired him anyway, then sent him to Tacoma just weeks later.
Less than a month after the Seattle Mariners acquired him from the Miami Marlins, left-hander Josh Simpson has been optioned to Triple-A Tacoma as part of a spring training roster reduction that trimmed the club's camp to 55 players. Right-hander Troy Taylor was sent to Tacoma in the same round of cuts on March 13.
Simpson's path to the Pacific Northwest was accelerated by circumstances in Miami. The Marlins designated the 28-year-old southpaw for assignment on February 12 after signing left-handed reliever John King, and Seattle moved quickly, acquiring Simpson four days later for cash considerations. To clear a 40-man roster spot, the Mariners placed right-hander Logan Evans on the 60-day injured list. Evans had undergone surgery to repair a torn UCL and will miss the entire 2026 season.
The numbers Simpson put up in his 2025 major-league debut with Miami were not encouraging on the surface. In 31 appearances, he posted a 7.34 ERA and 1.83 WHIP across 30.2 innings, walking 22 and striking out 36. But buried inside that line is a split worth noting: left-handed batters hit just .207 against him, while right-handed hitters tagged him at a .328 clip. For a team carrying him specifically as a situational lefty option, that platoon gap matters.
His Triple-A numbers with Jacksonville in 2025 tell a more favorable story. In 29 appearances for the Jumbo Shrimp, Simpson posted a 3.41 ERA, 1.019 WHIP, and 29 strikeouts against 16 walks over 34 and a third innings. He also closed the season on a strong run, allowing no earned runs across his final seven appearances from August 24 through September 23 while striking out 21 batters in 10.1 innings. The season included a detour to the 7-day minor league injured list on May 9, and he did not return to action until July 8, with a brief rehab stop at Single-A Jupiter.
The 6-foot-2 Simpson was a 32nd-round draft pick by Miami in 2019 out of Columbia, and his minor-league career totals across 156 games show a 4.33 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and 318 strikeouts over 226.2 innings. His acquisition gave Seattle four left-handed relievers on the 40-man roster heading into spring: Gabe Speier, Jose Ferrer, Robinson Ortiz, and Simpson. Of that group, Speier was the only carryover from last season's roster and the only lefty who was consistently effective out of Seattle's bullpen in 2025. Ferrer, Ortiz, and Simpson all arrived as offseason additions.
Simpson will open 2026 with the Tacoma Rainiers but remains on the 40-man roster, keeping him within quick recall range if Seattle needs a left-handed arm out of the bullpen during the regular season.
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