It’s been a busy day off the field for the Mariners, who didn’t stop with this morning’s roster moves. Manager Eric Wedge released his starting rotation this afternoon, and that followed the announcement that the Mariners have added non-roster infielder Adam Kennedy to the roster.
A lot of people could have guessed the rotation based on how the starters have lined up the past couple of weeks. Felix Hernandez will start the opener Friday at Oakland, followed by Jason Vargas, Doug Fister, Erik Bedard and Michael Pineda.
Here’s a recap of what’s happened so far today:
• Pitcher Luke French optioned to Class AAA Tacoma.
• Catchers Josh Bard and Chris Gimenez re-assigned to the minor-league camp.
• Non-roster relief pitchers Chris Ray and Jamey Wright added to the 40-man roster.
• Infielder Josh Wilson released.
• Non-roster infielder Adam Kennedy added to the 40-man roster.
What are the Mariners left with? More work to do, for one thing.
Assuming Franklin Gutierrez begins the season on the disabled list because of his stomach issues, there are 26 players for the 25 opening-day roster spots, and that includes 13 pitchers. I have a hard time thinking the Mariners will open with a 13-man staff, so the choice appears to be between right-hander Tom Wilhelmsen and left-hander Cesar Jimenez.
But then, maybe it’ll take 13 pitchers for the Mariners to get through the first 3 1/2 weeks of the season. They play 23 games in the first 24 days and, with Fister and Bedard in the middle of the rotation, chances are good they bullpen will be busy.
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