Mariners sign Kevin Correia to minor-league deal

The Seattle Mariners have agreed to sign veteran right-hander Kevin Correia to a minor league contract, according to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Per Divish, the 34-year-old Correia has already arrived at big league camp.

Correia has spent the past two seasons with the Twins after signing a two-year, $10 million deal with Minnesota prior to the 2013 season. He was successful in his first season with the club, posting a 4.18 ERA and 1.6 WAR in 185.1 innings. However, things took a turn for the worse in 2014, as his ERA rocketed to 5.44, and he put up a -1.3 WAR in 154.0 innings. Correia was dealt to the Dodgers in early August, where he completely imploded in a nine-game stretch, posting a 8.03 ERA. While Correia's 2014 performance was wildly disappointing, he did manage to put up a 4.67 FIP and xFIP, indicating that better performances may lay ahead.

There is no such guarantee that Correia will make the Mariners' big league club, especially considering he is probably a fifth starter at best at this point in his career. Seattle has a relatively strong crop of starters, with a starting rotation of Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, James Paxton, Taijuan Walker, and offseason acquisition J.A. Happ, and some other back-end options in Roenis Elias and Erasmo Ramirez. If there is no clear starting role for Correia by spring's end, manager Lloyd McClendon could also find a home for him in Seattle's bullpen as a long-reliever.

In many manners, Correia is similar to Chris Young last season, another veteran arm who Seattle picked up off the scrap heap last offseason. After not seeing any big league time in 2013, Young proceeded to post a 3.65 ERA and 1.9 WAR in a 165.0 inning campaign. Young recently signed a one-year, incentive-laden deal with the Kansas City Royals.