PEORIA, Ariz. — It happens every spring in nearly every camp. Somebody comes out of nowhere to make the roster.
Somebody emerges as Cinderella.
With less than a week to go before the Seattle Mariners break camp, two right-handed relievers are vying to see whether the slipper fits: Donn Roach and Blake Parker.
Both are in camp as non-roster invites after agreeing in the off-season to minor-league deals as six-year free agents in hopes of finding opportunity in a new location.
“With the whole new front office,” said Roach, who bounded through three organizations last year after getting a two-month taste in the big leagues early in the 2014 season at San Diego.
“I felt it was a fresh start for everyone.”
The Mariners’ new administration wasn’t new to Roach, who spent three years in the Angels’ organization from 2010-12. The final two years came when Jerry Dipoto was general manager and Scott Servais ran the farm system.
“He was kind of a one-pitch guy,” Servais said. “Just a sinker. The secondary pitches were slow to come. We decided to trade him to make us better at the time. He’s matured. He’s found his secondary pitches, and he’s a different guy.”
Parker, 30, missed much of last year because of elbow surgery after spending parts of the three previous seasons with the Chicago Cubs, including 49 appearances in 2013 when he compiled a 2.72 ERA.
Released last May by the Cubs after nine years in the organization, he underwent surgery in mid-June and attracted the Mariners’ interest by making a few appearances last winter for Mexicali in the Mexican Pacific League.
Parker said he feels he’s back to where he was prior to the surgery but admits he’s still fine-tuning: “There are still a lot of adjustments to make.”
For the Mariners, the choice for the final spot in their bullpen isn’t necessarily between Roach and Parker. Right-hander Mayckol Guaipe has allowed just one run over 9 2/3 innings in his last six appearances.
The Mariners are also sifting through trade possibilities and will no doubt closely scan the waiver wire as other clubs trim their rosters in the final week before the regular season starts.
For now, though, Cinderella lives.
Parker, 30, and Roach, 26, each signed with the Mariners in December on deals that included an invite to big-league camp … and the likelihood that each would be Apriling in the South Sound at Triple-A Tacoma.
That could still happen.
Roach seemed to cement that outcome when he labored through a rocky 11/3 innings on March 7 when he allowed six runs (albeit four unearned) and nine hits against Arizona.
But Parker built a case with a series of five carefully spaced scoreless one-inning outings. The Mariners gave him at least two recovery days each time between assignments in order to ease the stress on his rebuilt elbow.
Club officials began paying closer attention.
“With Blake Parker,” Dipoto said, “it’s 89-92 (mph). He works ahead in the count, and he has a legitimate wipe-out split.”
When an injury to Evan Scribner created an opening for a right-handed reliever, Parker moved to the front of the line — at least until the Mariners brought him into a March 19 game against Arizona with only one day of rest.
Parker gave up two hits, two walks and two runs in just two-thirds of an inning. That stumble raised concerns regarding whether he’d be able to handle the necessary workload at the start of the season.
While that hiccup slowed Parker, Roach recalibrated his spring after a conversation with pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr.
“Just minor adjustments,” Roach said. “Getting on top of the ball and, since I throw a sinker, make sure it’s going down. I think my velo jumped a little bit, too, with the adjustments.”
The result was 101/3 scoreless innings over four appearances. Each outing was at least two innings as the Mariners sought to build Roach’s endurance in the event he still ends up in the Tacoma rotation.
“We’ve seen more power in his sinker,” Dipoto said. “He’s starting to use his split-finger, which he had back in college. Frankly, when we were in the Angels’ system, we didn’t see it a great deal.”
Parker rebounded from his one shaky outing with two scoreless appearances. The latest was 11/3 innings on Friday against the White Sox — and it was notable: it came with just one day of rest from his previous outing.
“He had a good outing last time, too,” Servais said. “It was just that one in-between that he scuffled a little bit. It was good to see.”
The looks will continue a little longer.
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