The Seattle Mariners announced on May 2 a change to their bullpen, selecting right-handed pitcher Nick Davila from Double-A Arkansas and optioning left-hander Josh Simpson back to Triple-A Tacoma.
This move comes after reliever Matt Brash was placed on the 15-day injured list with right lat inflammation. The Mariners had an open spot on their 40-man roster, so no additional corresponding move was necessary.
Manager Dan Wilson said, “From what we’ve heard, he’s really been filling up the zone and been attacking. And that’s what we love about our guys. It’s a chance for him to come up here and do it at this level.”
Davila will make his Major League Baseball debut when he first appears in a game for the Mariners. The 27-year-old has started the season strong at Double-A Arkansas with a 2.00 earned run average, a 0.78 walks plus hits per inning pitched rate, ten strikeouts, and one walk over nine innings pitched while holding hitters to a .182 batting average with no extra-base hits. He also appeared in seven Cactus League games earlier this year.
Davila relies mainly on his slider and sinker pitches but has used his breaking ball more than seventy percent of the time this season. His ground-ball rate stands out at nearly seventy percent.
Signed by Seattle just before Opening Day in 2023 after time in the Detroit Tigers organization as an undrafted free agent following the shortened MLB Draft in 2020, Davila is originally from Hialeah, Florida and played college baseball at both Hillsborough Community College and the University of South Florida.
Simpson did not pitch during his brief recall before being sent back down.
