Mariners notebook: Bullpen market could begin moving soon

If you are not on Twitter (and you should be, follow me @shannondrayer) or you don’t follow Yahoo’s Jeff Passan (and you should @JeffPassan), then you missed a tweet that Mariners fans who have been following the offseason moves most likely were relieved to see. Yes, it has been over a FULL WEEK since Jerry Dipoto has acquired a player, but if what Passan says is true, we could see that change soon.

Sources: The middle-relief market is starting to sort itself out. There should be a number of signings within the next week.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 15, 2016

Not the power bullpen arm or starter that Dipoto is looking for, but with names coming off the board and time ticking down to spring training, things should start to sort themselves out fairly quickly. For now, here are some news, notes and links from the past week:

• While there haven’t been any player acquisitions, there have been a couple of players lost as two recent DFAs did not clear waivers: utility man Richie Shaffer was claimed by the Phillies and minor-league pitcher Zach Lee by the Padres. Lefty reliever Dean Kiekhefer, who was designated for assignment on Dec. 3 along with Lee, cleared and was outrighted to the minors.

• David Rollins who was DFA’d by the Mariners in mid-November, was DFA’d by the Phillies on Wednesday. The trip Rollins has been on this month looks like a Mariners’ road trip scheduled by MLB – Seattle to Chicago to Texas to Philadelphia.

• M’s doing good. Again, if you are not on Twitter, you missed this from Connecticut native Evan Scribner:

Another successful clinic over the weekend in Sandy Hook. These kids are studs! And they love… https://t.co/klXZw3RmD7

— Evan Scribner (@evanscribner) December 13, 2016

Also, if you are not familiar with Mariners 2015 third-round draft pick Braden Bishop, who starred at UW, this story and others will no doubt have you rooting for him to get to Seattle soon.

• Baseball Prospectus has released their Mariners Top 10 prospects list. It looks a lot like Baseball America’s list, but with a flip-flop at the top, a little higher on some players and lower on others.

• Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) noted via the minor league transactions that the Mariners have released the following players:

Adalfi Almonte, DSL
Joseph Peele, AZL
Nick Halamndaris, AZL
Jose Leal, Everett
Dylan Silva, Clinton
Nick Kiel, Clinton
Patrick Peterson, Clinton
Gus Craig, Clinton

Leal is the name on the list that stands out. Signed as a 16 year old out of Venezuela for a reported $1.925 million in 2011, I remember the day he along with the late Victor Sanchez were brought to Safeco Field after signing their contracts. Sanchez was the big arm and there was hope that Leal would be a big bat. He did not play above Everett. There of course are no guarantees with 16 year olds.

• The deadline for eligible Hall of Fame votes to be returned is December 31. If you have been following along with @NotMrTibbs, who has been tracking the ballots, you will see that Edgar Martinez has been picking up a significant number of momentum. Click here to see where he and others stand on Ryan Thibodaux’s updated tracker.

• One last note, and it is a personal one. Those of you who have been in the area for a while no doubt remember New York Vinnie, who was a major voice of sports in the region, both on radio and television, from 1993 to 2009. In 1995, Vinnie worked tirelessly in the fight to keep the Mariners in Seattle and is what I would call a great baseball person. Recently Vinnie has been very sick and had to be hospitalized in Pittsburgh. His family has set up a fundraising page to offset some of his medical expenses. Vinnie is a great person with a huge heart who has done many good things for many people. If you would like to help, here is the link to his gofundme page.

Follow @shannondrayer