Seattle Mariners

Lots of wheels were turning today with the Mariners, and when they stopped, utility infielder Robert Andino was off the ballclub. He was designated for assignment, a move that cleared space on the 40-man roster for catcher  Jesus Sucre, who as expected was selected from Triple-A  Tacoma. Sucre now becomes the backup catcher to Kelly Shoppach with Thursday's demotion of Jesus Montero to Tacoma. Sucre was thrown right into the starting lineup tonight, catching Joe Saunders. With Andino gone, the Mariners needed infield help, so the next move today was recalling Carlos Triunfel. As an indication of how late these decisions were made, he had flown to Reno with Tacoma, and had to fly back to Seattle. Not sure if he's arrived yet, but he's expected to be in uniform for the game tonight with Texas. Triunfel was chosen over Nick Franklin for a couple of reasons, I'm sure: One, he's already on the 40-man roster, unlike Franklin. Two, he has more experience at third base than Franklin, allowing the M's to be covered in terms of a backup to Kyle Seager. And three, he's regarded as a better defensive player, particularly at shortstop, than Franklin. Triunfel also had playing time at second base in Tacoma, so he's a good fit in Andino's utility role. When we talk to Eric Wedge, we'll find out exactly what role he foresees for Triunfel, 23, who was hitting .300 (51-for-170) with 29 runs, 14 doubles, two triples, four homers and 19 RBIs in 44 games for Tacoma. In a related move, Brad Miller -- who many regard as the Mariners' shortstop of the future, ahead of both Triunfel and Franklin -- has been moved up from Double-A Jackson to Tacoma. Miller was hitting .294 with six homers and 25 RBI with Jackson. Andino was expected to give the Mariners some pop in the utility role, but he was hitting just .184 (14-for-76). Triunfel was a September callup last season, appearing in 10 games. He was 5-for-22 (.227) with a pair of doubles.

Well, this sure wasn't how the Mariners expected this day to go. The day began with the Mariners planning to take a minor leaguer off the 40-man roster in order to clear a spot for catcher Jesus Sucre. Instead, it has ended with Robert Andino being designated for assignment to free that spot as the result, it appears, of a news leak. When I spoke to GM Jack Zduriencik moments ago, he said he'd been mulling over whether to call up Carlos Triunfel from Class AAA for a while now. After thinking it over last night and again early this morning, he said, he met with his senior officials and they decided late morning to make a move. Here's the thing, though: Dave Cameron of FanGraphs/USS Mariner reported on his Twitter account that Andino had been placed on outright waivers and that he'd be freeing up the Sucre roster spot. If Andino had indeed been placed on waivers this morning, the team would have to wait 48 hours for him to clear or be claimed for that roster spot to be freed. So, under that plan, there was no way the roster spot could be used for Sucre. And as I've said, the plan was to take a minor leager off the roster as of this morning. So, what changed? Because the Mariners just designated Andino for assignment, which makes his roster spot immediately available. Well, what just transpired is either some really poor timing and planning by the Mariners, who had all day yesterday to decide on a DFA move, or could have held Triunfel up at the airport if they were hotly debating a move this morning. Or else, they were forced into the DFA move -- rather than the straightforward waiver outright move -- by the news leak Cameron put out. After all, the Mariners allowed Triunfel to board a plane to Reno with the Tacoma team this morning. It is not usual to allow a guy to do that, then turn around and have him fly back to Seattle that same day. Not unless there is some unforseen injury or something else unexpected that happens. That kind of move is a risky one to make if just part of routine planning, or a change of heart, because there is always the chance of travel delays or something else. What really looks to have happened is that Andino was placed on waivers today -- Zduriencik wouldn't confirm that, but did say that nothing procedurally had been done with him prior to today -- and the team was prepared to wait the 48 hours and free the roster spot for Sucre with a minor leaguer. Once news of the waiver move leaked, the Mariners knew they would be faced with the prospect of having a player dressing inside the clubhouse and possibly playing in tonight's game knowing that he'd be off the team in another 48 hours. That's not good. This is why waiver stuff is kept confidential. I'm not blaming Cameron for anything, he's just doing his job. But there was no way the Mariners could let Andino dress for tonight's game if he knew he was Dead Man Walking. Hence, the late DFA move today and Triunfel having to turn around and fly back to Seattle the same day he flew to Reno. Look, I don't expect Zduriencik to say he was forced into a DFA move based on a news leak. But I also have confidence that his front office usually handles things a little smoother than this for it all to have been part of some master plan. What happened today is hardly routine. In any event, the Mariners will now be forced to trade, outright or release Andino in the next 10 days. The only difference now is the hurried way they're pressing Triunfel into action after what will amount to a day of back-and-forth plane travel. Good thing Reno isn't all that far. As for the move itself, Zduriencik said it has more to do with Triunfel being ready for the bigs than Andino flopping in his stint here. "You get to a place where Triunfel, in our estimation, needed some time and that a little more seasoning would help him,'' Zduriencik said. "Now, having seen him play and listened and read all the reports on him, we

Yesterday, the Mariners made a major statement by optioning Jesus Montero to AAA. Montero has struggled mightily behind the plate this season, and the team seems to have finally given up on him as a backstop. Catcher Jesus Sucre replaced Montero on the 25-man roster. Yes no more catching! Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports However, the Mariners still needed to make a corresponding 40-man roster move, since Sucre isn’t on the 40-man and needs to be as a member of the big league club. As a result, Dave Cameron of USS Mariner, Fangraph and ESPN Insider has reported  on Twitter that Robert Andino will be DFA’d to make room for Sucre. Cameron believes that 40-man roster member Carlos Truinfel will replace Andino in Seattle. However, Geoff Baker is refuting Cameron’s claim, saying he believes the Mariners will still DFA a minor leaguer and Andino will remain with the team, as he said yesterday when the Montero news broke. Cameron asserts that he has had “multiple sources confirm“ that Andino is in fact on waivers. Most recently, Shannon Drayer dropped a big development on Twitter, tweeting that Brad Miller is heading to Tacoma from Jackson, likely indicating a middle infield move in between the AAA and MLB clubs. This is big, because Drayer is an insider. Baker, a fellow insider, had refuted the Andino news to this point and contradicted an outsider in Cameron. Despite all of these rumors, one thing remains clear for the Mariners: they need to end their losing streak. They return to the friendly confines of Safeco Field tonight and have the man born to pitch there on the hill with Joe Saunders making the start. They face a red hot Rangers team with a pitcher in Justin Grimm on the hill who has lost three of four starts. They appear to be rid of roster problems like catching Montero and bad-hitting Andino. It’s time to get off the schneid and save the season by snapping the streak.

The Mariners Invasion was repelled by its enemies, and now, broken and bloodied, they sail back to familiar shores. Their muscles ache, their helmets weigh heavy with shame, and a few men were lost in the campaign. And now, after a quiet day spent reflecting, unpacking, and drinking herbal tea, the fight is brought to familiar shores. Tonight, a battered and demoralized crew turns toward its leader: Joe Saunders. Joe Saunders, modern-day Agamemnon, a man whose quite rage twists his cheeks in paroxysm beneath that straggled, hand-cut beard. Joe Saunders, mythological beast-man, with the strength of a dozen middle infielders and a stomach that can hold several dozen of those little Dixie cups of Gatorade. Joe Saunders will save his team and his land, or will wake tomorrow in Valhalla. Facing Joe Saunders tonight: Justin Grimm, right-handed pitcher, whose life will never be recited from grandfather to father to son until time immemorial. Series Preview: Mariners v. Rangers Jon talks to Lone Star Ball about Toby Harrah and what it's like to have everything work out in life. Right now, the news about the Mariners is more interesting than the actual Mariners. People are lining up outside the team store for their Jesus Sucre shirseys and Carlos Triunfel chocolate bars (which were unfortunately produced back in 2008). Meanwhile, the team veterans held a closed-door meeting after last Wednesday's debacle. Raul Ibanez explained: "We just felt that it was a good time for it. It was a necessary thing to do." This, of course, means that everyone can mark off "veteran closed-door meeting" off their 2013 Mariners Bingo cards. Tonight is somehow both "College Night" and "Guy's Night Out." It's also unofficially the sneak preview of what's likely to be far too many Jurickson Profar Nights. Profar, the 20 year-old from Curacao, is filling in for an injured Ian Kinsler, and is amazing at just about everything. Pitching: Joe Saunders v. Justin Grimm. Time: 7:10 PST. Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 57 degrees Humdity: 65% Chance of Having Bud Light Spilled on You by Drunk College Student: 30% Location: Safeco Field, Seattle WA Television: ROOT Sports

Quick post here, but as first mentioned (at least that I saw) by Dave, the M’s waived IF Robert Andino today. They needed to make a 40-man roster move to bring Jesus Sucre up, so now the 40-man has the correct number of men enumerated. The move also left the M’s an infielder short, so there was some speculation that the M’s may bring up Nick Franklin or, less likely, Tacoma utility man Nate Tenbrink. Either of those two would require yet another 40-man move, and the M’s evidently decided they’d had enough for the day. Carlos Triunfel was already on the 40-man, and can play SS, unlike Tenbrink and kinda-sorta unlike Franklin. Triunfel had just flown with the Rainiers to Reno, and, upon landing, was instructed to get on the next plane back to Seattle. Odd morning, but I doubt he minds too much. The 23-year old was having a fine campaign in the PCL, though of course he started well last year before going on a several-month slump in the middle of the season. He’s hitting .300/.351/.476, showing more power than he has in his MiLB career. He’s hitting righties better than he has in years, and hasn’t made quite as many unforced errors in the field. His greatest tool is still his 70-75 grade arm, which hasn’t always been paired with 50-grade accuracy. Still, he opened some eyes this spring with solid play at 2B/SS, and obviously got his feet wet with the M’s last September. It’s a nice low-risk, medium-reward sort of a move. We’ll see if he’s in the line-up tonight or if he’s eligible to come off the bench, the way Jesus Montero did for Tacoma last night. Robert Andino has positional flexibility and a great back-story, so here’s hoping he lands with another team, but I don’t think any M’s fan is sad to see the Andino Era come to a close. -- This post came from: U.S.S. Mariner, and is copyright by the authors. This RSS feed is intended for the personal use of readers and not, for instance, spam blogs.Carlos Triunfel -> Seattle, Robert Andino -> Outright Waivers

Well, I was told yesterday that the Mariners would not be removing a player from the MLB roster in order to free up a spot for Jesus Sucre to join the team. Nothing has officially changed in that regard, but there have been high-level discussions going on all morning with the Mariners involving a slew of potential moves. There are rumors out there that Robert Andino has been designated for assignment. Also, that he has already been placed on waivers, which is a completely different thing. If on waivers, Andino could suit up and play for the Mariners tonight. If DFA, he cannot. With waivers, it takes 48 hours to clear and then the team can outright Andino to Class AAA. The reason you would do this is that is to free up a spot on the 40-man roster. As of right now, the plan is still to free up the Sucre roster spot with the DFA of a minor leaguer. But Mariners officials, like I said, have been meeting to go over options and could change those plans. For one thing, if Andino is on waivers and hasn't cleared or been claimed by tonight, then you can't use his spot on Sucre. But if Andino does clear or is claimed before tonight's game, then you don't have to sacrifice a minor leaguer off the 40-man roster in order to free up a spot for Sucre. As of now, nothing has been determined. It's a minute-to-minute thing. We've seen with last night's AAA pitching performance by Jeremy Bonderman how quickly things can change from day-to-day. In the era before Twitter, this stuff would routinely take place and the end move would be announced and would be straightforward for everybody. Now, we're in a situation where stuff gets made public in the middle of a fluid process and appears not to make any sense. That's why, it's entirely possible Andino is on waivers and could still play tonight. If he was DFA, then the team would have to call up an infield replacement from AAA -- either Nick Franklin or Carlos Triunfel -- and one of them would be in-uniform tonight. As of right now, that has not happened. But the game is still six hours away. So, stay tuned. It's safe to say there is stuff going on.

MARINERS (20-27) ΔMs RANGERS (30-17) EDGE HITTING (wOBA*) -8.9 (20th) -3.3 8.5 (10th) Rangers FIELDING (RBBIP) -5.9 (19th) -8.2 13.0 (5th) Rangers ROTATION (xRA) 8.8 (9th) -3.2 21.5 (4th) Rangers BULLPEN (xRA) 4.6 (9th) -1.0 -0.2 (16th) Mariners OVERALL (RAA) -1.4 (16th) -14.7 42.8 (3rd) RANGERS That was a two game series! A two game series and look what it wrought above. That was the Mariners team I feared coming into this season. It was some mediocre pitching but that’s not unexpected given it was the back end of the rotation. It was some mediocre hitting but that’s not unexpected given that I thought our offense was mediocre. It was horrendous, absolutely horrendous defense and that was my, and a lot of other people’s, big worry. The Mariners definitely traded away some defensive prowess this winter, ostensibly for enough offense to make it a net benefit. Many of us thought it wasn’t enough. It’s looking like it wasn’t enough. The 2013 Mariners aren’t making the playoffs. I’m pretty confident in that assumption. I never held out hope for that. I did hold out some hope for fake contention, the sort where the team hangs around .500 all summer to at least keep some interest alive as I bide my time waiting for the Seahawks to resume domination of their league. This series against the Rangers seems poised to KO the chances of that quasi-contention as it’s easy to see the Mariners down to 8 or 10 games below the .500 mark by the end. Luckily though, after these three games comes 10 contests versus other losing teams (Padres, Twins, White Sox), so the Mariners might be able to prop themselves back up again. Batter PA P/PA Slash line nBB K (sw) 1B/2B/3B/HR Sw- Ct+ Qual+ K Morales^ 52 3.7 .354/.404/.604 4 10 (8) 9 / 6 / 0 / 2 96 97 138 M Saunders* 50 3.4 .188/.240/.229 2 17 (15) 7 / 2 / 0 / 0 108 92 67 K Seager* 49 4.1 .250/.367/.450 8 6 (6) 6 / 2 / 0 / 2 86 105 116 M Morse 45 3.5 .293/.370/.415 4 8 (5) 9 / 2 / 0 / 1 103 98 97 J Smoak^ 44 4.5 .250/.386/.472 8 12 (11) 5 / 2 / 0 / 2 92 100 81 D Ackley* 40 3.9 .147/.275/.176 6 9 (3) 4 / 1 / 0 / 0 68 113 89 B Ryan 40 3.6 .297/.350/.432 3 9 (7) 8 / 2 / 0 / 1 116 96 116 R Ibanez* 36 3.4 .314/.333/.829 1 5 (5) 5 / 0 / 0 / 6 112 92 118 J Montero 26 3.5 .217/.308/.217 3 5 (4) 5 / 0 / 0 / 0 102 91 122 J Bay 24 4.2 .182/.250/.364 2 7 (7) 2 / 1 / 0 / 1 98 81 111 K Shoppach 23 3.6 .150/.261/.300 3 8 (6) 2 / 0 / 0 / 1 96 88 67 R Andino 20 4.4 .235/.350/.294 3 8 (3) 3 / 1 / 0 / 0 80 95 136 It appears that Robert Andino is on his way out from the Mariners. That’s no big loss at all. Carlos Triunfel would appear to be the likely replacement simultaneously filling Andino’s spot and leaving the 40-man roster slot open for Jesus Sucre. I’ll be interested to monitor Triunfel’s, if it’s him, playing time. Especially with Brendan Ryan’s recent offensive resurgence, and obviously superior defensive skills, perhaps Triunfel’s playing time will come more from second base than short stop. And in time maybe it paves the way for Ackley to get some Tacoma time as well. Batter PA P/PA Slash line nBB SO (sw) 1B/2B/3B/HR Sw- Ct+ Qual+ E Andrus 60 4.0 .283/.383/.340 7 10 (7) 13 / 1 / 1 / 0 88 108 70 A Beltre 56 3.4 .377/.411/.698 3 4 (3) 11 / 5 / 0 / 4 116 117 97 L Berkman^ 56 4.3 .294/.357/.451 5 7 (5) 10 / 3 / 1 / 1 95 107 81 M Moreland* 48 4.2 .295/.333/.727 3 11 (8) 3 / 5 / 1 / 4 95 102 74 N Cruz 47 3.7 .186/.213/.465 2 12 (9) 4 / 0 / 0 / 4 116 89 78 D Murphy* 42 4.1 .316/.395/.658 3 4 (3) 7 / 1 / 0 / 4 80 112 90 G Soto 32 4.4 .222/.375/.481 5 10 (6) 3 / 1 / 0 / 2 75 100 131 L Martin* 32 3.5 .344/.344/.625 0 5 (5) 6 / 2 / 2 / 1 124 98 87 I Kinsler 29 3.9 .192/.276/.269 3 4 (3) 3 / 2 / 0 / 0 89 104 84 C Gentry 22 4.0 .300/.455/.300 2 2 (0) 6 / 0 / 0 / 0 96 116 78 L Garcia^ 20 3.2 .250/.250/.250 0 6 (5) 5 / 0 / 0 / 0 115 88 91 Elvis Andrus in

From bizarrely anointed starter to the waiver wire, Robert Andino has been cut loose by the Mariners to make room for Jesus Sucre, according to Dave Cameron. Andino was a borderline disaster for the Mariners, compiling only a .184/.253/.237 line in 85 PA despite being paid $1.6 million to do so. This doesn't mean Nick Franklin is coming up. Jack Zduriencik's comments yesterday about Franklin indicate that he's not getting promoted yet. When asked specifically about Franklin, Zduriencik said he's happy with the way he's been playing in Tacoma but noted that he's young and not on the 40-man roster. "Timing is everything with these young kids, there's no question," he said. Source The addition of Sucre, who isn't on the 40-man roster, means that there's no spot remaining to add Franklin without another corresponding move. The Mariners are now short a player who can play all over the infield, and is already on the 40-man. Carlos Triunfel. Barring a trade for somebody new or Z to backtrack on his comments from last night , Triunfel looks like he'll get the call. Triunfel is enjoying a break-out season of sorts in AAA (.300/.351/.476), and is finally putting some things together at the age of 23, which is hard to believe. Triunfel's been in the system for what feels like a decade, and was a former top prospect who has always been all tools and little performance. He's played mostly SS in Tacoma, although he's gotten a bit of work at 2B. He may be asked to back up 3B if he does indeed get the call, despite only playing 2 career games there, or the team could shift Brendan Ryan around there, who played some 3B his rookie season in 2007. Either way, Seager isn't likely to get many days off going forward if this is the case. Maybe we can watch Ackley T-Rex some throws from across the diamond in a super duper emergency, now that would be entertaining. Triunfel is a questionable defensive player who's always been error prone (especially on throws) and isn't much for plate patience (3.8% BB) and will strike out at a decent clip (18.8%), and shouldn't really be expected to perform much better, or differently for that matter, than Robert Andino. Triunfel is hitting for more power than he has in the past (.176 ISO), and while his batting average is fueled by a career high .356 BABIP, Triunfel has ran higher BABIP over his minor league career. Triunfel isn't that exciting of a prospect anymore after he failed to progress much from 2008-2012, but the old tease of his former top prospect status (#62 in 2008) represents a glimmer of upside combined with his decent performance in Tacoma. It's the right corresponding move for the Mariners to make. With Nick Franklin not far behind and Brad Miller on his heels if everything goes according to plan, there may not be many chances for Triunfel to get a crack before he's a forgotten man. At the very least, they can evaluate him to see if he could be the team's utility infielder of the future, and there's always the hope that his leap in performance will translate into something positive at a higher level - even if it's not much. There's still actual upside to Carlos Triunfel - even if the likelihood of it is slim, it's something. This is all just speculation at this point since there's been no announcement of Triunfel - it just makes too much sense not to happen. If Triunfel doesn't get the call, then I've just wasted your time and you can stash this post away for when he does get called up. Until then, please revel in somebody terrible being subtracted from the Seattle Mariners.

My favorite thing about Tom Wilhelmsen is Tom Wilhelmsen's story. Everyone loves Tom Wilhelmsen's story, and everyone should love Tom Wilhelmsen's story, because it's not all that often that a twentysomething bartender turns into a major league closer. Tom Wilhelmsen's story is so incredible that I'm contractually obligated to mention it every time I write about him. Or I would be, if I had a contract. My second favorite thing about Tom Wilhelmsen is Tom Wilhelmsen's dance moves. On a scale of one to incredible, Tom Wilhelmsen's dance moves are a twelve. Behold: Hypnotic. My third favorite thing about Tom Wilhelmsen, unlike the first two, actually has to do with his pitching. I love Tom Wilhelmsen's curveball. If I could marry a pitch - no offense to King Felix's changeup, or Carter Capps' slider - it would be that curveball. The Bartender's curve is entertainment at its finest; it has that unusual combination of remarkable effectiveness and gut-busting hilarity that makes for unforgettable baseball cinema. I will always remember when Tom Wilhelmsen did this to Alexei Ramirez, and I will always remember when he did this to Asdrubal Cabrera. Tom Wilhelmsen's curve is maybe the best curve in the sport and definitely the most potent weapon in the Mariners' bullpen. Which is why it makes me a little bit sad to write this post. See, though Tom Wilhelmsen's results this year have been very good - he's got a 0.45 ERA and a 2.43 FIP - his peripherals are some cause for concern. The Bartender's strikeout rate has taken a serious hit so far in 2013, and the ERA is supported by an unsustainably high strand rate and an unsustainably low BABIP. Several of my fellow writers have commented on the seeming inevitability of Wilhelmsen's regression and expressed concern about his dropping K rate. Still, using only K% and BB% to analyze a pitcher's performance is pretty darn lazy, so I decided to go investigating. My investigation started, as most baseball investigations do, on Wilhelmsen's Fangraphs Player Page. And it was there that I discovered that Wilhelmsen's swinging strike rate hasn't really dropped all that much. It doesn't explain the big drop in K%, for sure. He's also started throwing more of his changeups and two-seamers, but those are still good pitches (the changeup in particular generates a bunch of ground balls), so that's not really a good explanation either. I was all set, then, to write an article about how you shouldn't be worried about Tom Wilhelmsen's strikeout rate. His peripheral peripherals, the core skill stats, say he's fine! Cheer up! Except, unfortunately, curiosity got the better of me and dragged me over to Wilhelmsen's Brooks Baseball player card. And so it was that I delved into the fourth level of the layer cake that is Tom Wilhelmsen's 2013 season, and discovered that it is not very tasty. Wilhelmsen's game, as you probably know if you've watched him, is a pretty simple one. He has a plus four-seam fastball that sits at 96 MPH, touching 99, and that devastating wipeout curve. He uses the four-seamer to filch strikes early in the count (over 50% of Wilhelmsen's fastballs in 0-strike and 1-strike counts go for strikes not in play). Once he's ahead in the count, he either blows hitters away with a high fastball or humiliates them with a low curve, sometimes mixing in a two-seamer and a change just to keep hitters on their toes. His change/curve repertoire means he gets a lot of ground balls while allowing fairly few home runs, and the four-seamer and curve combine to get him all the strikeouts he needs. Or, I suppose I should say, they have in the past. This is a chart I assembled using data from Brooks Baseball's player card for Wilhelmsen. I'd like to draw your attention to the Called Strike column. Notice how Wilhelmsen's percentage of called strikes on two-strike curveballs has gone through the floor this year? That's bad. And it's not Jesus Montero's fault, before you ask. Montero's pi

Well, that wasn't the type of start Jeremy Bonderman needed to have with Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik and others in attendance to watch Class AAA Tacoma on Thursday night. Bonderman gave up eight runs on 11 hits to Class AAA Nashville. Don't forget, the Mariners have until June 1 to add him to their roster or he can opt to become a free agent elsewhere. The Mariners were keeping their options open with Aaron Harang and Brandon Maurer due to pitch early next week. But after seeing that from Bonderman, they could very well just let both pitchers make another start and then regroup depending on what happens. Right now, we've seen Bonderman and Hector Noesi both hit hard within days of each other starting in AAA. Blake Beavan is also an option for the Mariners, but at this stage he might not be much of an upgrade over either Harang or Maurer. Remember, it was Harang who replaced Beavan because he wasn't good enough. The team's biggest rescue options -- Erasmo Ramirez and Danny Hultzen -- are both hurt and several weeks away from pitching in AAA again, never mind the majors. Thin times indeed. For those wondering about Rickey Nolasco of the Miami Marlins, he is set to be one of the prime mid-season trade targets for many teams. But that's mid-season. The Marlins aren't about to deal him in May when they can wait until July and get multiple clubs after him to drive up the price. At this point, the Mariners might be forced to wait. They can send Harang and Maurer back out, cross their fingers and hope they don't get shelled again. After that, they re-evaluate based on what they actually see. If Harang stops serving up elevated gopher-balls, it's possible he may have found something to take his game up a notch. If Maurer can have greater success with off-speed pitches against lefties, he too, might buy himself some time. But if one guy, or both, pulls another three-and-done, the Mariners would then be forced to do something. At that point, they would still have time to add Bonderman to the roster before June 1 rolls around. They could see how Bonderman looks his next scheduled start and base their decision off that. Same with Noesi. Same with Beavan. But the point remains the same. For a team that had so much written about the depth of its minor league pitching in recent years, the Mariners have almost zero options as of right now to replace two guys who can't make it beyond the fourth inning.