Mariners set 30-man roster for opening day, officially sign RHP Bryan Shaw

The Mariners’ 30-man roster is set ahead of Friday’s opener.

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Shortly after the 9 a.m. deadline for teams to submit their opening day rosters to MLB, the Mariners announced a number of moves. First, the team that will travel to Houston to start the season. Included in that group is veteran reliever Bryan Shaw, who was announced as officially signed shortly before the roster was finalized. More on him here.

• Starting pitchers

Marco Gonzales (LHP)
Taijuan Walker
Yusei Kikuchi (LHP)
Kendall Graveman
Justus Sheffield (LHP)
Justin Dunn

• Relievers

Dan Altavilla
Brandon Brennan
Carl Edwards Jr.
Zac Grotz
Matt Magill
Yohan Ramirez
Bryan Shaw
Nestor Cortes (LHP)
Nick Margevicius (LHP)
Anthony Misiewicz
Taylor Williams

• Catchers

Austin Nola
Joe Hudson

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• Infielders

J.P. Crawford (SS)
Shed Long Jr. (2B)
Kyle Seager (3B)
Daniel Vogelbach (1B)
Evan White (1B)

• Outfielders

Kyle Lewis
Mallex Smith

• Utility

Dee Gordon
Tim Lopes
Jose Marmolejos
Dylan Moore

• Injured list

Austin Adams, RHP
Gerson Bautista, RHP
Yoshihisa Hirano, RHP
Tom Murphy, C
Mitch Haniger, OF

In addition to the th-man roster, the team has set the three-man taxi squad, players who will travel with the team and be available should a player on the active roster need to be replaced.

• Taxi squad

Taylor Guilbeau, LHP
Sam Haggerty, UT
Joe Odom, C

Odom, who caught at Double-A last year and is regarded as one of the best pitch framers in the minor leagues, was added to the 60-man pool Thursday morning but is not currently on the 40-man roster.

As for the remainder of the 60-man pool, we have the following assignments and moves.

• Optioned to alternate training site (players on the 40-man roster)

Erik Swanson, RHP
Guilbeau (taxi squad)
Jake Fraley, OF
Haggerty (taxi squad)

• Reassigned to alternate training site

• Pitchers

Isaiah Campbell
Sam Delaplane
Emerson Hancock
Joey Gerber
Logan Gilbert
George Kirby
Ljay Newsome
Juan Then
Aaron Fletcher
Brandon Williamson

• Catchers

Brian O’Keefe
Cal Raleigh

• Infielders

Tyler Keenan
Noelvi Marte
Kaden Polcovich
Austin Shenton

• Outfielders

Zach DeLoach
Jarred Kelenic
Julio Rodríguez

• Previously optioned to Triple-A (in spring training)

Art Warren, RHP
Donovan Walton, IF
Patrick Wisdom, UT
Braden Bishop, OF

As for surprises, there are few. Coming into camp I would have expected Jake Fraley to be on the team but he struggled badly at the plate, recording just three hits in Summer Camp. While he was hardly the only hitter to struggle the last three weeks – Daniel Vogelbach had just two hits before going 3 for 3 in Wednesday’s intrasquad finale – Fraley has zero track record at the big league level. More importantly, the Mariners most likely want to set him up for success, allowing him to get his timing and swing before seeing time at the big league level rather than trying to get it going with the pressure of playing in games that count.

On the pitching side, I thought there was a good chance that we would see Joey Gerber make the team out of Peoria had the season started in March. Gerber had a terrific spring training but not quite as good of a Summer Camp. Like Fraley, it could be a matter of getting him on track. Or like Sam Delaplane, who did not allow a run in the last three weeks, the Mariners might want to wait and see what kind of a start the team gets off to before starting their clocks in a shortened season.

When looking at the roster it is also a good idea to keep in mind that it will not have 30 players for the entire season. Teams must cut down to 28 players two weeks after the start of the season, then to 26 after 14 days.

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