“In our situation, we needed an outfielder, we needed a pitcher, and we’ve been able to do the job for the most part,” Pazos said of himself and Gamel.

For Gamel, that opportunity came at the end of April when the Mariners’ starting center fielder, Leonys Martin, was struggling and the rookie outfielder Mitch Haniger strained an oblique. Gamel was called up from Class AAA Tacoma.

“He’s a tough little kid, he’s a firecracker,” said Judge, who played with Gamel most of the last two seasons in the minors. “He plays the game the right way, he’s always hustling, he’s always doing the little things that people don’t notice. That’s why I loved playing with him.

“I wish he was on our team, but I’m happy for him.”

When Gamel was called up by the Yankees last May, it was as an extra outfielder after Brett Gardner was hit by a pitch on his elbow and needed a few days to recover. Gamel went 1-for-8 while playing mostly as a defensive replacement. He came up in August for one game when the Yankees traded Carlos Beltran and were short an outfielder.

But when the Mariners summoned Gamel in April, he was thrust into the lineup — and has stayed there.

“His ability to hang in there against left-handed pitching has probably been the most impressive — and a lot of good lefties,” Servais said of Gamel, who is hitting .333 against left-handers and was in the lineup Friday against C. C. Sabathia.

“With the other team’s lefty bullpen guy coming in and your first reaction is, ‘Aw, why would you pinch hit?’” Servais added. “This guy is hitting better than a lot of the righties. So we’ve let him go and he’s handling everything we’ve thrown at him.”