Rounding Out The Roster

The Mariners game against the Indians Tuesday did manager Don Wakamatsu zero favors. While Wak is attempting to make the final decisions on who will make the 25 man roster to start the season, the recent performance of those players on the bubble is offering no help. Ronny Cedeno broke out the rye bread and mustard, Wladimir Balentin was 3-4 with 2 RBI and Chris Woodward was 2-5 with 2 runs scored. All this while Chris Jakubauskas was busy throwing 5 solid innings, giving up 1 run, while striking out 4 and walking none.

Bench players that seem to have a position secured based on their performance this spring include Mike Sweeney and Cedeno. The M's will need a backup catcher, which could go either way. Rob Johnson has looked decent offensively and is strong behind the plate. On the other hand, Jamie Burke is familiar with the staff, is a solid veteran option, and has even shown the ability to jump on the bump when times get tough(snicker). While the M's appear to be going with a 12-man bullpen, this essentially leaves one roster spot to fight for, and a good sized handful of players that can make a strong case for themselves.

The obvious choice would appear to be Balentin, but not so fast. Woodward has come on in the past couple of days and offers Willie Bloomquist-like utility potential. Mike Wilson did himself a solid yesterday with a 2 HR/5 RBI day, and all Chris Shelton has done is hit .460. Unfortunately, this leaves perennial odd man out Mike Morse without a home. Morse is out of options with the Mariners, and it's too bad. He seems like a player that just needs to get on a roster and get some innings, but it won't happen here. Wak has talked about playing the game right, which in baseball code, usually means more of a National League style of play, so it wouldn't surprise me to see Woodward be the final selection. He offers a little more versatility than Balentin off the bench, and would more well suited for pinch hitter/runner situations late in a game. Balentin is more of a starting outfielder/occasional DH that needs playing time, and those spots are a little jammed up right now. Look for him to head to Tacoma and become the first player called up when someone goes on the DL.

With the arms, it seems to be more of a crapshoot. Chris Jakubauskas has come out of nowhere to be the most impressive arm in Mariners camp this spring. Finding him a spot, especially after his 5 strong innings today, has to be strongly considered. He's a 30 year old journeyman who looks like he would fit nicely as a long relief/spot start option. The starting rotation seems to be set, after a combination of Morrow declaring himself a reliever and Ryan Rowland-Smith's strong outing yesterday. Garrett Olson hasn't been worthy of much talk this spring, which is disappointing, as he was potentially a nice fit for lefty long relief. This bullpen is going to be a last minute call. I say line 'em up in Vegas and have Nicole Zaloumis announce who's in and who's out, American Idol style. FSN's always looking for another reason to show her off anyway.