Former SF Giants, Braves reliever lands with third team this season

Former SF Giants reliever Luke Jackson has latched on with his third organization for 2025. The veteran reliever has joined the Seattle Mariners on a minor league deal and been assigned to the Tacoma Rainiers, per the team's transaction log.

Former SF Giants, Braves reliever lands with third team this season

Jackson is not the only experienced pitcher to join the Mariners organization recently. Michael Fulmer also joined on a minors pact, and will be teammates with Jackson in Triple-A.

In a bit of a surprise, Jackson joined the Texas Rangers late in the offseason on a one-year, $1.5 million deal. He was coming off a down year split between the Giants and Atlanta Braves in 2024. That was the second year of a two-year, $11.5 million deal. This included a $7 million team option for 2025, with a $2 million buyout.

The Giants shipped Jackson to Atlanta, along with Jorge Soler, at last year's trade deadline. They acquired infield prospect Sabin Ceballos and veteran pitcher Tyler Matzek in the deal. The addition of Matzek was to offset some of the money going between teams in the deal.

Jackson pitched to a 5.09 ERA in 52 appearances split between the Giants and Braves last year. His team option for 2025 was not exercised, thereby making him a free agent.

Being a middle reliever can be a tough spot in free agency. Nevertheless, Jackson landed a guaranteed deal with the Rangers. Perhaps, even more surprising than that was that he was tabbed as the team's closer.

The Rangers had more reliable options in the bullpen. Jackson had a memorable moment earlier this year for Giants fans. Heliot Ramos hit a ball that traveled no more than a couple of feet, but a bevy of errors on defense led to Ramos scoring on that same play and ending the game.

Overall, he recorded a 4.11 ERA in 39 outings for the Rangers. This included nine saves in 11 opportunities. He was released by the Rangers at the end of July and made a couple of appearances for the Detroit Tigers earlier this month. He will now join a Mariners organization that is in a position to make a playoff run down the stretch.

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