Shortly after sources told MLB.com on Sunday night that the Mariners were bringing back Josh Naylor on a five-year free-agent contract, the club announced a separate transaction, acquiring left-hander Robinson Ortiz from the Dodgers. Going back to Los Angeles is Minor League right-hander Tyler Gough.
The move brought the Mariners’ 40-man roster to 39 players, and it will reach capacity when Naylor’s deal is official after he completes a physical on Monday.
The acquisition of Ortiz is obviously not as flashy as that of Naylor, but he nonetheless could emerge as an intriguing option for the Mariners’ bullpen — which general manager Justin Hollander said is a priority to upgrade this offseason. However, Ortiz has not yet pitched in the Majors.
Specifically, Seattle could use another lefty arm to pair with high-leverage Gabe Speier, now that Trade Deadline acquisition Caleb Ferguson has become a free agent. Ferguson also wasn’t nearly as productive as the club had hoped down the stretch, and in the postseason, he mostly pitched in only mop-up duty.
Ortiz, 25, finished the 2025 season at Triple-A Oklahoma City, after also spending parts of the season with the Dodgers’ High-A and Double-A affiliates. In 15 appearances (one start) at Triple-A, he went 1-0 with a 2.76 ERA (five earned runs, 16 1/3 innings) with nine walks and 14 strikeouts. Across 48 Minor League appearances in 2025, Ortiz was 5-2 with a 2.73 ERA (18 earned runs, 59 1/3 innings), with 33 walks and 72 strikeouts.
The 6-foot, 180-pound lefty has appeared in parts of six Minors seasons in the Dodgers’ organization (2017-19, ’21, ’24-25), during which he posted a career 17-12 record and 3.48 ERA with 109 walks and 238 strikeouts.
Gough, 22, did not play during the 2025 Minor League season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He appeared in 33 games (32 starts) with High-A Modesto from 2023-24, going a combined 8-7 with a 4.66 ERA, 62 walks and 123 strikeouts.
The 6-foot-2 righty was selected by the Mariners in the ninth round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of JSerra Catholic High School in California. He was ranked as the Mariners’ No. 25 prospect by MLB Pipeline.