Mariners closer J.J. Putz believes he’s throwing more like himself again.
Putz, who missed much of April because of inflammation in his right side and has struggled with his control since coming back, threw in the bullpen Monday afternoon.
“Today’s bullpen was wonderful,” said Putz, who worked solely on his fastball. It’s a pitch he couldn’t locate Thursday against the Indians, when he blew a save.
That outing, Putz’s second since he came off the disabled list, made it clear he needed consistent work in order to corral the fastball. He likened it to a golfer trying to find his swing after a long layoff.
His bullpen session Monday was his third since he last pitched in a game.
“It went great,” Putz said. “It’s something that I knew would come. I wasn’t worried about it.”
Norton traded: Greg Norton, who got 16 at-bats last month before the Mariners designated him for assignment on Wednesday, appears to have landed in a better place: the National League.
The Mariners traded Norton to the Atlanta Braves on Monday in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.
Norton, a 35-year-old pinch-hit specialist, lost his job with the Mariners — along with right fielder Brad Wilkerson — last Wednesday when the M’s called up Jeff Clement and Wladimir Balentien from the Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers.
The team had 10 days to trade, release or assign Norton and Wilkerson to the minors, and Monday they swung a deal with the Braves for Norton. Friday will be the 10th day for Wilkerson.
Norton played in six games, batting .438.
Relax: Clement entered Monday’s game batting .214 and Balentien .167, and manager John McLaren had one word of advice for them: Relax.
“They’re going to be fine,” McLaren said. “When you come up, you want to make an instant impact. When it doesn’t happen right off, you start pressing a little bit. I think this is what’s happening.
“We talk to them a lot. We think very highly of both of them. We tell them, ‘Just be yourself. Just hit good pitches like you always have.’”
Of note: The Mariners held a moment of silence before Monday’s game in honor of Buzzie Bavasi, the legendary former Dodgers general manager who is the father of Mariners GM Bill Bavasi and former Everett Giants/AquaSox owner Bob Bavasi. Buzzie Bavasi died Thursday at age 93. … Willie Bloomquist created a moment of levity when he walked into the clubhouse Monday after early batting practice wearing a child-sized Felix Hernandez jersey, which was given to fans during the previous homestand.
Kirby Arnold, Herald Writer
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