The Mariners released Ponce de Leon from his minor-league contract Sunday.
Ponce de Leon attended big-league spring training, but he never came particularly close to winning a spot on the Mariners' Opening Day roster and did little during his time at Triple-A Tacoma to make a case for a call-up. Over 16 starts in the Pacific Coast League, Ponce de Leon turned in a 7.95 ERA and 1.67 WHIP while striking out 80 and giving up 16 home runs over 71.1 innings.