Amid wisecracks in the media workroom this morning as the Ken Griffey Jr. watch continues — “Thought I saw Junior this morning. Turned out it was just Obama.” — there was indeed a new face in the Mariners’ clubhouse.
They’ve added minor league catcher Israel Nunez to the big-league camp, aiding a catching corps that was thin to start spring training and thinner after only four workouts. Nunez, 23, played 59 games at Class A Wisconsin last year, batting .244. This is his third pro season.
The Mariners have six catchers in camp. Kenji Johjima is in Japan preparing for the World Baseball Classic and Luis Oliveros went down this week with a knee injury that will require surgery. The Mariners also need to monitor Jeff Clement’s workload after he had offseason knee surgery.
As for the big guy who arrived in town yesterday, it indeed was Obama, who is speaking this morning in Mesa.
Other notes from this morning as the Mariners prepared for the first full-squad workout:
-The right side of the Mariners’ infield already is a little tender. Third baseman Adrian Beltre’s left shoulder is tight, the byproduct of offseason surgery, and while he’s not limited in any drills the Mariners want to make sure he doesn’t push too hard too soon. And shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt has a tight hamstring, which manager Don Wakamatsu said first bothered him while fielding ground balls early this week.
-Former Mariner Luis Sojo, who will manager Venezuela’s team in the World Baseball Classic, visited the Mariners’ camp to check on several players who may be on Venezuela’s WBC roster. The biggie is Felix Hernandez, who hasn’t hidden his entusiasm for pitching in the tournament next month. “He didn’t get to pitch in ‘06. But when my pitching coach talked to him this winter, he was so excited. Felix said, ‘There is no doubt, I’m going to play for Venezuela this year.’”
– The first full-squad workout was missing two players. Outfielder Wladimir Balentien, from Curaco, was having visa issues and first baseman Mike Carp was delayed because of an auto accident while traveling to Peoria from Southern California.
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