Matt Gage Released In Order To Claim Taylor Trammell Off Waivers

The Los Angeles Dodgers claimed Taylor Trammell off waivers from the Seattle Mariners and released Matt Gage in order to make room on their 40-man roster.

Trammell is a left-handed hitting outfielder who has spent parts of three seasons with the Mariners. He is a former top prospect who was drafted 35th overall in 2016, but has struggled to find his footing at the Major League level.

Trammell was ranked a top-100 prospect in baseball each season from 2018-2021 and twice participated in the MLB Futures Game. Seattle designated Trammell for assignment last week.

The 26-year-old has hit just .168/.270/.368 with 15 home runs, 45 runs scored, 29 RBI, four stolen bases and an 83 wRC+ over parts of three seasons in the Majors thus far. Trammell appeared in 116 games for the Mariners during that span.

One month after being drafted, the Cincinnati Reds sent Trammell to the San Diego Padres in a three-team trade that involved the Cleveland Indians. The padres then traded Trammell to the Mariners in August 2020.

Trammell is out of Minor League options, which means he’ll need to be added onto the Dodgers’ active roster or get DFA’d a second time this year. The Dodgers claiming Trammell comes in the midst of Jason Heyward dealing with a lower back injury that kept him out of the lineup Monday and won’t allow the veteran to play Tuesday night as well.

Dodgers release Matt Gage

The Dodgers acquired Gage and Christian Zazueta Jr. as part of a February trade that sent Caleb Ferguson to the New York Yankees.

Gage began the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City but didn’t appeared in a game and was on their seven-day injured list.

Gage made five appearances for the Houston Astros last season, striking out eight batters in 6.2 innings. He has been in the Majors for parts of two seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays (2022) and Astros (2023), allowing four runs in 19.2 innings for a 1.83 ERA with 20 strikeouts.

Heading into the 2024 Minor League season, the 30-year-old is a combined 47-44 with a 4.22 ERA with 663 strikeouts in 777 innings. He was originally picked by the San Francisco Giants in the 10th round of the 2014 MLB Draft.