BASEBALL: Herb signs with Mariners
May 15—Tyler Herb is back in professional baseball.
Back with the organization that gave him his first shot.
The 29-year-old Williams Valley graduate agreed to a free-agent minor-league contract with the Seattle Mariners last weekend and was assigned to the Double-A Arkansas Travelers.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound right-handed pitcher will make his season debut Sunday as the Travelers' starting pitcher when they face the Springfield Cardinals in Little Rock, Arkansas.
"I'm excited," Herb said by phone Friday. "Honestly, I had the same reaction when they called me as when I signed my first contract, very similar to when I got drafted. I was by myself, in my car, when I got the confirmation. I screamed at the top of my lungs.
"I'm ready."
Herb returns to Little Rock, one of his most successful stops during a minor league career that spanned five seasons and saw him reach Triple-A with both the San Francisco and Baltimore organizations.
The Mariners were Herb's first professional organization, selecting the former Williams Valley three-sport standout in the 29th round of the 2014 Major League Baseball Amateur Player Draft after a stellar four-year career at Coastal Carolina University that saw Herb go 22-9 with a 3.40 ERA in 61 games, 46 of which were starts.
Herb played three-plus seasons in the Mariners' organization, advancing to Double-A Jackson in 2016 and starting the 2017 season at Arkansas. Herb was 7-3 with a 3.28 ERA in 15 games with 93 strikeouts in 85 innings for High-A Bakersfield to open 2016, then was promoted to Jackson.
The Mariners changed Double-A franchises to start 2017, and Herb went 6-4 with a 3.31 ERA and 88 strikeouts/30 walks in 98 innings over 16 games with the Travelers.
"It's cool," Herb said of being back with the Travelers. "It's kind of cool to see familiar faces and be in a familiar place. One of my best years was in 2017 when I was here.
"I hope I can recreate that magic. It's always nice to be back in a place that you're familiar with."
Herb was traded to the San Francisco Giants on July 8, 2017, as the player to be named later in an offseason deal for Chris Heston. He went 2-3 with a 2.76 ERA in 10 games for the Richmond Flying Squirrels in the Eastern League in 2017, striking out 48 and walking 18 in 65.1 innings.
Herb advanced to Triple-A Sacramento for the 2018 campaign, but a torn left oblique early in the season prevented Herb from a possible call-up to the majors. He was dealt to the Baltimore Orioles the following spring for outfielder Mike Yazstremski.
Herb pitched for both Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk in 2019, including a game against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders at PNC Field during which he surrendered a home run to Aaron Judge, who was on a rehab assignment. He was 4-2 with a 3.95 ERA in 10 games for the BaySox, and 4-8 with a 7.16 ERA in 16 games for the Tides.
Overall in six seasons in the minors, Herb is 38-44 with a 4.45 ERA in 142 games, with 585 strikeouts and 253 walks over 695 innings.
"I've been in every league in Double-A and I've been in both the (Pacific Coast League) and International League," Herb said. "I feel like I've been kind of everywhere.
"I definitely have fond memories here. It's nice."
Herb got married after the 2019 season and he and his wife Abrielle reside in Phoenix.
He went to spring training with the Orioles in 2020 and said he "threw well the two weeks he was there," but wasn't sent to the team's alternate site. He was placed on a call waiting list for the major-league season, but never got a call.
Herb became a minor-league free agent in November and hadn't received any offers until the Mariners called. He stayed in major-league shape by throwing two times a week at the Field Factory, a facility in North Phoenix used by several professional pitchers and hitters.
"It was kind of a blessing in disguise," Herb said. "I got to face hitters, very, very good hitters, without any consequences. I could ask them, 'What did you see here, what kind of spin was on that pitch.' It was a really cool environment to be around. The pitchers helped out the hitters and the hitters helped out the pitchers."
Herb said he was coaching a 14-year-old baseball club team in Phoenix in the offseason, a stint that proved to him that he still had the itch to play professionally.
He had agreed to come back to Pennsylvania and pitch for the Lancaster Barnstormers before the Mariners called. He thanked Ross Peoples and the Barnstormers for providing him with that opportunity.
Herb arrived in Little Rock on Wednesday around 4 p.m. and threw a bullpen session and visited the doctor for a physical Thursday.
After hanging in free agent limbo since November, Herb is thankful for the opportunity and ready to give his dream of reaching the major leagues one more shot.
"I didn't like the way I went out in 2019," Herb said. "I wanted to see what I still have.
"It's funny ... you know how they say you don't know what you've got until it's gone? The mound is my happy place. I'm happy to be back. I'm playing with house money from here on out."
Contact the writer: Lboyer@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6026: @Pubsportsboss on Twitter
