Mariners most likely will need to make 40 man moves

Last night’s loss was not fun for anyone. It is not fun to watch a rookie pitcher who was rushed to the big leagues because of need struggle like Anthony Vasquez did. Eric Wedge was not ready to answer the question of if Vasquez will be given another start. The Mariners are actually thin in the pen right now and six man rotation or no six man rotation whoever goes out there has to be able to give them innings and Vasquez may not be ready to do that. If he isn’t, some roster moves are going to have to be made beyond the normal September callups.

What has been a tight 40 man roster situation all year is even tighter now. In order to be called up even in September a player must be on the 40 man roster. Wedge has said that a priority will be to get help for the short pen and now it looks like they may need a starter as well. The problem is, that help isn’t there on the 40 man. Right now there are only three healthy pitchers on the 40 man that are not currently up with the big league team and one of those is Danny Hultzen who will not be called up for obvious reasons. That leaves Shawn Kelley and Yoervis Medina. Kelley we will most likely see. Medina, no. So if the Mariners need another starter a move will have to be made.

It doesn’t appear they would have much selection if they decided to make that move. There really is nobody knocking on the door ready to come up and the guys who have given this team innings in the past are sporting some ugly numbers right now. There isn’t an easy answer here.

Back to the 40 man roster. Who would they cut loose? The last two cuts have come from the big club with Chris Ray and Aaron Laffey being let go. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw another come from the 25 man roster if necessary. In addition to a pitcher Chris Gimenez could be brought back. Room for him too would have to be made on the 40 man as he is currently on the 60 day DL.

The problems with the 40 man won’t stop there however. When the season ends more moves will have to be made with two players coming off the 60 day DL. Adam Moore will be kept but do they keep David Aardsma? James Paxton will need to be added, how do they make room for him? How many other young players will they need to add ahead of the Rule 5 draft this winter? Something to keep an eye over the next two months but for now, I would expect a move or two in the next couple of days.