Mike Morse, the utility player who played through spring training nervously wondering about his future with the Seattle Mariners, now knows where he’ll be playing.
The Mariners outrighted Morse to Class AAA Tacoma today. It means he has cleared the waiver process and now is off the 40-man major legue roster.
In addition, the Mariners returned left-handed pitcher Jose Lugo to the Minnesota Twins, who’d lost him in the Rule 5 draft. The Royals had taken him in the Rule 5 draft on June 11, just hours before the Mariners acquired him from KC for cash considerations.
Those moves, along with the placing of pitcher Cesar Jimenez on the disabled list with biceps tendinitis, leave the Mariners with 37 players on the 40-man roster.
Who’ll fil the final three spots? DH/first baseman Mike Sweeney for sure and probably right-handed pitcher Shawn Kelley, who the Mariners have raved about in camp. It also increases the chances for pitcher Chris Jakubauskas, a minor league invitee who has been one of the most impressive players in camp.
Morse was out of minor league options and there was a lot of sentiment that some team would grab him if the Mariners exposed him to waivers if they tried to send him down. That didn’t happen, and Morse remains in the system. After missing most of last year with a left (non-throwing) shoulder injury, Morse batted .275 with one home run and seven RBI this spring.
The Mariners liked Lugo, a hard-throwing left-hander who went 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA in 7 1/3 exhibition innings. However, under Rule 5 regulations, he’d have to remain with the big-league club all year or be offered back to the team that lost him in the Rule 5 draft. Unlike last year when the Mariners pulled off a trade with the Twins that allowed them to keep pitcher R.A. Dickey, the Twins gladly took back Lugo this time.
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