Rainiers notes: Casali completes rehab assignment, Tacoma drops extended series

On the afternoon of Aug. 2, Curt Casali parked his car at Triple-A Sacramento’s team facilities. Then rehabbing a right oblique strain with the River Cats, Casali’s phone rang – it was Giants manager Gabe Kapler.

San Francisco had dealt both Casali and lefty pitcher Matthew Boyd to Seattle for a pair of prospects in the final hour of trade-deadline day. Suddenly, he was a Mariner.

“It was definitely a surprise,” Casali told reporters. “But a good surprise.”

Casali would continue rehabbing the oblique injury with the Triple-A Rainiers, Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto said in the hours after acquiring the 33-year-old.

Tacoma’s next stop on the Pacific Coast League circuit? That’d be a six-game set in Sacramento.

Casali wouldn’t board a plane just yet.

“(Curt’s) caught a lot of games in the big leagues,” Tacoma manager Tim Federowicz said Sunday. “He’s got a lot of experience under his belt. I know [Mariners catcher] Cal Raleigh will be able to lean on him a little bit, and just be able to talk back and forth about certain situations.”

Appearing in parts of nine major league seasons, Casali was Detroit’s 10th-round selection in the 2011 MLB Draft. He debuted for Tampa Bay in 2014 before stops in Cincinnati (2018-20) and San Francisco (2021-22), good for 447 career games.

Casali joined the Rainiers for five games to complete his rehab assignment, first in Sacramento from Aug. 5-7. He was 3-for-10 with a walk in three games against his former organization and later caught a pair of games amid Tacoma’s home series with Las Vegas last week.

“It was an interesting time to get traded, for sure,” Casali admitted. “But I’m happy to be here, and I’m hoping I can contribute in any way.”

Casali was reinstated to the major league roster on Wednesday to make his Mariners debut. He’ll catch in Seattle to provide Raleigh with adequate rest, given Tom Murphy’s season-ending shoulder surgery and Luis Torrens’ recent designation for assignment.

Mariners manager Scott Servais told reporters that Casali will face opposing southpaws and be a regular go-to when day games follow night contests.

“He carries himself like you would expect a veteran catcher (to),” Servais told reporters Friday. “He’s been around. He’s played on multiple teams. He’s been traded. … He’s spent a lot of time already, studying our pitchers and how they work their stuff.

“I kind of apologized up front. I can’t speak for all managers (Curt’s) played for, but I was a catcher, and we tend to be most critical of the guys who play the position that you played. I’ll ask questions, I’ll challenge you at times. Don’t take it the wrong way. I’m just trying to learn (about) you, and for you to learn what’s important to us. … You don’t have to babysit this guy.”

Casali’s response to Servais: “I love it.”

On Wednesday, he caught seven innings of Tacoma’s combined three-hitter in a shutout win over Las Vegas. Starter Chris Mazza posted five scoreless innings, surrendering only two hits, and four Rainier relievers capped a 3-0 victory.

“It was really special,” Federowicz said. “Our offense has been picking it up, and we’ve got a lot of really good hitters down here right now. But our pitching, too… they’ve really been our backbone the last few weeks.”

Casali’s presence on the big league roster adds an element of familiarity: the former Reds catcher built a rapport with new Seattle ace Luis Castillo across three seasons. They’re back together on the Mariners, hoping to break a 20-year-long postseason drought.

“I think that’s probably the main reason he’s here,” Federowicz said with a laugh. “If I had to guess, that’s probably why.”

Until Seattle’s series opener with Texas on Friday, Casali had yet to see any of Seattle’s pitching “up close,” but knew how “nasty” it was. He’s excited to catch a rotation featuring former-Cincinnati-teammate Castillo, plus a young bullpen sporting the league’s best earned run average since June 21, entering the weekend.

“I’ve seen a lot of great things,” Casali said upon reporting to the big league club. “There’s a lot of young guys in this clubhouse. There’s a lot of energy, which is really cool. It seems like the city is really behind the team.”

Casali debuted for the Mariners on Sunday, finishing 0-for-2 with a walk in the second inning.

“I’m really good friends with Adam Frazier. We work out together in the offseason in Nashville every day,” Casali continued. “Diego Castillo, I played with him in Tampa Bay. Jake Lamb, I was in the fall league with. I’ve definitely got some guys that I’m friends with, and can help me if I’ve got any questions. That’s a big help.”

PLENTY OF OFFENSE, BUT TACOMA DROPS FOUR OF SEVEN

A combined three-hitter from Tacoma’s pitching staff surely helped, but Evan White lifted Tacoma to victory with a two-run homer in the third inning of Wednesday’s 3-0 win, his first blast in over a year at any level.

White underwent surgery for a sports hernia in March, only to suffer a setback while rehabbing with Tacoma in June. His appearances with the Rainiers amid the homestand marks the 2020 AL Gold Glove winner’s first game action in roughly two months.

“I’m sure it was pretty relieving,” Federowicz said of White’s homer. “He’s going about his business every single day. It’s been a long grind for him to get back. I’m excited he’s back playing, and it’s always great to have that glove out there, too.”

A day prior, Las Vegas exploded for 16 hits and 10 runs in Tuesday’s blowout win, 10-4.

Following Wednesday’s shutout, Tacoma plated a dozen runs and beat the Aviators again on Thursday, 12-8. The Rainiers outslugged Las Vegas with 16 hits, featuring a seven-run sixth inning.

Outfielder Jarred Kelenic drove in three runs, and infielder Abraham Toro added a pair of hits. Outfielder Taylor Trammell doubled, and singled twice.

“Our offense got a lot better over the last week or so, and they’re putting good at-bat after good at-bat together,” Federowicz said. “We’re consistently producing in those situations, and (it’s) leading to wins.”

Las Vegas escaped with a 5-4 win on Friday, scoring all of their runs in the seventh inning. They swept Tacoma in a Saturday doubleheader – by scores of 9-4 and 5-3 in the night cap – and before Sunday’s series finale, had clinched the seven-game series.

“They’ve had a good team, but they’ve been really aggressive,” Federowicz said of the Aviators. ”We preach a lot about being in the zone early, so sometimes, it just doesn’t fall our way. They’ve been aggressive and been able to find the gaps.”

Tacoma salvaged a game Sunday, and in convincing fashion, to boot.

White launched a second home run for the week – a two-run shot in the third inning – and the Rainiers responded with nine runs for a win in the series finale. Konner Wade tossed six innings of one-run ball, and Tacoma improved to 50-61.

Kelenic was 1-for-4 on Sunday, plating Jonathan Villar with a seventh-inning double that pushed Tacoma’s lead to eight.

“He just wants to get back to playing, getting in there consistently,” Federowicz said. “Working through a couple adjustments he might need to make, just (getting) back to having some fun, and playing to win.”

SHORT HOPS

▪ Matthew Boyd made his season debut in Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader versus Las Vegas, twirling a scoreless seventh frame. Acquired by Seattle on trade-deadline day, the former Giant struck out his first pair of batters in Saturday’s appearance and incorporated a new changeup that Federowicz could only describe as “nasty.”

“He looked great,” Federowicz said of Boyd, who underwent flexor tendon surgery in Sep. 2021 and had yet to appear in a game since. “He’s always had that sneaky fastball. … It’s good to see him back on the mound.”

▪ Five arms on Double-A Arkansas combined for a no-hitter on Friday night, blanking Northwest Arkansas in a 6-0 win.

Prelander Berroa, Seattle’s No. 24 Prospect, jump-started the no-no with five scoreless innings before Blake Weiman, Jake Haberer, Rob Kaminsky, and Braden Shipley each posted hitless frames in relief.

The performance was the club’s second no-hitter, after Connor Jones tossed a seven-inning no-no on May 26.

“Berroa set the tone in a big way,” Travelers pitching coach Sean McGrath told Jacob Resnick of MiLB.com. “We’ve worked the bullpen pretty well all year, so most of those guys are in good spots. The nerves were building as the outs counted down, but it was really exciting.”

ON TAP

Tacoma receives Monday off before commencing a six-game set with Triple-A Albuquerque on Tuesday. The series caps a season-long 13-game homestand.