OAKLAND There will be no late surprises to the Seattle roster to open the 2011 season.
Surprises, yes. Late surprises, no.
The Mariners locked up their 25-man roster to start the season late Wednesday night with the announcements that outfielder Ryan Langerhans and infielder Luis Rodriguez were the final two additions to the roster, both men elevated from the ranks of non-roster status.
The Mariners had been holding out finalization of the roster, in part, because of the chance of making a late waiver claim, but that never came to pass.
Rodriguez wasnt given much of a chance to make the roster at the start of the spring, but he joins rookie pitchers Tom Wilhelmsen and, to a lesser degree, Josh Lueke, as the surprises of the final 25.
One other rookie joins Wilhelmsen and Lueke on the pitching staff, but starter Michael Pineda was given a decent chance to make the club and his spring performance, in addition to the elbow surgery that has sidelined lefty starter Nate Robertson, secured him a slot.
Other moves that helped to solidify the roster included the placing of center fielder Franklin Gutierrez (stomach gastritis), infielder Matt Mangini (strained right quad) and right-handed pitcher David Aardsma (left hip surgery) on the 15-day disabled list and left-handed pitcher Mauricio Robles (left elbow surgery) on the 60-day disabled list.
The moves with Gutierrez and Mangini were both made retroactively, meaning they will be eligible to come off the disabled list on April 6. Gutierrez is the only one of the two whos headed for Seattle in the short term, but hell need some minor league games once hes healthy enough to get back into game shape before joining Seattle.
Seattle has a 2 p.m. workout Thursday in the Oakland Coliseum (the As work out at 4 p.m.) and the two teams open the season Friday at 7:07 p.m. with Felix Hernandez going for Seattle and Trevor Cahill for the As.
This is the Opening Night roster:
Starters: RHP Felix Hernandez, LHP Jason Vargas, RHP Doug Fister, LHP Erik Bedard and RHP Michael Pineda.
Bullpen: RHP Brandon League, RHP Chris Ray, LHP Aaron Laffey, RHP David Pauley, RHP Jamey Wright, RHP Josh Lueke and RHP Tom Wilhelmsen.
Catchers: Miguel Olivo and Adam Moore.
Infielders: 1B Justin Smoak, 2B Jack Wilson, SS Brendan Ryan and 3B Chone Figgins along with backups Adam Kennedy and Luis Rodriguez.
Outfielders: RF Ichiro Suzuki, CF Michael Saunders, LF Milton Bradley and OF Ryan Langerhans.
Designated hitter: Jack Cust.
Projected disabled list: RHP David Aardsma (15 day), CF Franklin Gutierrez (15), RHP Shawn Kelley (60), 3B Matt Mangini (15), LHP Nate Robertson (15), LHP Mauricio Robles (60).
Twitter: @JHickey3
1 Comment
no surprises on 2011 roster? The surprise would have been fielding a MLB caliber team instead of focusing on the circus promotions to con people into going to games because they sure aren’t under any illusions of this team winning anything anytime soon.