Austin Kitchen: Everything you need to know

The Mariners reassigned Kitchen to minor-league camp Wednesday. Kitchen made four relief appearances with Miami during the 2024 season before being claimed off waivers by Seattle in September. He finished the season on the Mariners' 40-man roster before being outrighted in January, so he never seemed to be a likely candidate to claim a spot in Seattle's Opening Day bullpen. Kitchen is expected to work in relief at Triple-A Tacoma to begin the upcoming season.

Kitchen cleared waivers Thursday and was sent outright to Triple-A Tacoma. Kitchen never made an appearance for the M's after being claimed off waivers in September, though he did make four appearances for the Marlins, surrendering 11 earned runs in just seven frames. He'll now serve as organizational depth in the Rainiers' bullpen.

The Mariners designated Kitchen for assignment Monday, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports. The transaction clears a spot on the 40-man roster for Donovan Solano, who was signed Monday. Kitchen was a September waiver claim of the Mariners and didn't make an appearance for them. He allowed 12 runs (11 earned) over seven innings with the Marlins in 2024.