Mariners notebook: Another bullpen shuffle as Seattle begins life without Fernando Rodney

So did I miss anything Saturday?

I was off and heard, or to be more precise saw the news that the Fernando Rodney Experience had come to the end of the line on Twitter. It was hardly surprising news – the writing had been on the wall for some time and for whatever reason the move was made Saturday.

Both Rodney’s 40-man and 25-man roster spots have been taken by Logan Kensing. He along with Roenis Elias, who takes Danny Farquhar’s spot on the roster, are on their way from Colorado Springs, where the Rainiers were playing, and are expected to arrive in the early innings of the Mariners game.

Manager Lloyd McClendon is obviously familiar with Elias, however not so much with Kensing. His role in the pen is yet to be determined.

“Right now he’s our third righty,” said McClendon. “We’ve only got three, he’s the third one. We’ll see.”

Three righties in the pen is not ideal, but the situation is what the situation is right now. Kensing got the call and the roster spot because he was throwing the best in Triple-A, according to McClendon.

Elias for now is in the pen but it would appear he will be moved to the rotation in the coming days.

“Nuno pitched yesterday so I need somebody in the bullpen,” McClendon answered when asked why Elias was in the pen. “You could very well see Elias start very soon.”

Lineup!

Ketel Marte, SS
Austin Jackson, CF
Nelson Cruz, RF
Robinson Cano, DH
Franklin Gutierrez, LF
Kyle Seager, 3B
Mark Trumbo, 1B
Brad Miller, 2B
Jesus Sucre, C

Taijuan Walker, RHP

Notes

• Robinson Cano is getting a semi-rest day at DH. He did come up funny after sliding into home Saturday but it turns out that he just suffered some cuts on his knee, nothing serious. Mark Trumbo is back in the lineup after being a late scratch yesterday with a sore knee.

• Kyle Seager has been dropped in the lineup today. While he’s hitting lefties well this year he is on a bit of a slide going hitless on the homestand so far against a pair of southpaw starters. He is 2 for 12 career vs. Sunday’s starter and another lefty, John Danks.

• We saw a rare passed ball from Mike Zunino while catching Edgar Olmos Saturday. While it was a ball he ordinarily should have been able to block, McClendon understands why he didn’t.

“I think that was a situation that he was catching a guy that he doesn’t know and he cut a fastball,” he said. “It cut big time, just one of those things that took off on him. He hadn’t caught Olmos very much, you don’t expect a cut fastball, that cut and ran.”

• In Saturday’s game we also saw the Mariners lose a replay challenge when it was determined Adam Eaton was hit by a pitch from Nuno. The Mariners have won 19 of 28 (67.86 percent) challenges this year, good for second best in the AL. The Yankees lead the pack with a 72.73-percent success rate.

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