Muscle no help to M's reliever

An extra muscle lay undiscovered in his right elbow, pressing on nerves until his hand became too numb to throw a baseball.

That's when newest Mariners relief pitcher Chris Reitsma left the Atlanta Braves last summer and had season-ending surgery to repair damaged nerves and ligaments.

Doctors discovered the extra muscle, and now that it's been removed Reitsma feels stronger and can stretch his arm back farther in his windup than before.

It's a big reason the Mariners were prepared to guarantee the free-agent hurler $2.05 million to become their primary setup man for closer J.J. Putz next season.

"You certainly don't expect too much coming off surgery and with the way my year went," Reitsma said Friday at a news conference to announce his signing.

The move represents yet another offseason gamble for a Mariners team that had already acquired three other players returning from various ailments.

But the freakish nature of Reitsma's injury — his surgeon, the renowned James Andrews, actually made a case study out of it — has Seattle hoping its latest risk is a calculated one.

Andrews even told Reitsma that the only other person he'd ever seen with his condition was Kenny Rogers — the singer, not the pitcher.

"Chris is a proven, quality major-league pitcher and his ability and track record show that he can pitch at the end of games," Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi said after signing Reitsma to the one-year contract, which includes a $2 million team option for 2008 and a $700,000 buyout clause.

Reitsma takes the spot of former setup man Rafael Soriano, traded to the Braves for starter Horacio Ramirez during the winter meetings last month.

Reitsma, 29, was born in Minnesota, but since age 11 was raised in Calgary, Alberta, where he flew home to Friday night after passing a physical in Seattle to complete the deal.

Bavasi said he hopes Reitsma's 1-2 record and 8.68 earned-run average in 27 appearances for the Braves last season is an aberration.

In healthier years, the converted starter struck out three times as many hitters as he walked and used a hard sinker to record the types of groundball outs the Mariners believe will allow him to thrive in Seattle.

But as was also the case with new Mariners additions Ramirez, right fielder Jose Guillen and designated hitter Jose Vidro, the uncertainty over Reitsma's health is what made him available after the Braves declined to tender him a contract.

Seattle Times staff reporter Geoff Baker contributed to this report. Baker: 206-464-8286 or gbaker@seattletimes.com