As the Mariners pull a Dave Niehaus and fly away from spring training, their roster still isn’t settled.
The most pressing concern is the bullpen — not that it’s a concern, but just who’ll round out the six or seven relievers the Mariners will keep.
Will Brandon Morrow, who’s had shoulder trouble much of the month, start the season with the Mariners? Will knuckleball pitcher R.A. Dickey, the Rule 5 draft pick who pitched well this month and should be even better in the heavier air in Seattle, stick with the club or be offered back to the Twins? Will the Mariners keep Cha Seung Baek, who’s out of options, and hope what some call a glass arm can provide meaningful innings in long relief? And will the guy who’s pitched better than anyone, left-hander Ryan Rowland-Smith, make the team or will he go down because he has minor league options left?
Oh the drama.
After listening to manager John McLaren this morning, it seems more likely that Morrow will stay behind and work his arm back into shape. He had good velocity in his last outing, a minor league game, but horrible control with his fastball. He also isn’t ready to pitch in back-to-back games, a must.
if the Mariners decide to open with a 12-man pitching staff, then the bullpen is set with Morrow staying behind. Dickey, Baek and Rowland-Smith make it and the Mariners postpone their tough decisions for another day — like when Arthur Rhodes, Morrow and Chris Reitsma (wherever he is now) are ready in mid-April.
If it’s an 11-man pitching staff, then Dickey and Baek might be a little nervous. There are scouts who love Baek’s arm and the M’s probably would lose him if they tried to send him down, but he just doesn’t seem to be a good fit in the bullpen. There are concerns about his durability, that if he pitches three innings today, he’ll need three days to recover from it. The Mariners can’t have that.
But even if the M’s start with 12 pitchers, won’t they have to make a tough decision with one of their bench players? Yep, but I’d rather find myself needing a bench guy down the road than a pitcher. Willie Bloomquist and Miguel Cairo are locks to make the team, as is backup catcher Jamie Burke. It puts Mike Morse, Greg Norton and Charlton Jimerson on the bubble. Morse is out of options, so they’ll probably lose him if he doesn’t make it.
I’d keep Morse no matter what. He may clunk a ball in the outfield (won’t Bloomquist be out there anyway?), but the kid is a hitter. If the M’s go with 11 pitchers, I’d give Jimerson the extra bench spot. He can fly on the bases, and oh do the Mariners need that. Yeah, they’d be giving up on the pinch-hitting prowess of Norton, but how many times will the Mariners use a pinch-hitter anyway? McLaren himself said earlier this month that he coudn’t envision using a pinch-hitter very often.
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