Mariners notebook: Bullpen on notice?

PEORIA, Ariz. – Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon is keeping his options for the bullpen open. Very open. He stated again Wednesday morning that having two lefties in the pen when camp breaks is not a guarantee.

“I just want to make sure we take the best possible team we can north,” he said. “Whether that’s a left-hander or a right-hander, I don’t know that. I would like to think that we are dynamic enough that we don’t just close the box and say it has to be a second lefty. Would I like a second lefty? Yeah, but it doesn’t just necessarily have to be a second lefty.”

Could we see a surprise in the pen? Possibly. While relievers typically come along slower in spring, McClendon has hinted that he would like to see more from his group. Some of the numbers – and I should stress here that spring relief numbers in particular tend to be the most meaningless of numbers that are generally pretty meaningless to begin with – are ugly. Dominic Leone is sporting a 13.50 ERA, Tom Wilhelmsen an 8.31. Both have been slowed by spring soreness and are a little behind the others. Then there is Yoervis Medina, who has allowed one earned run in 8 1/3 innings. He got the 2014 Erasmo Ramirez treatment from the skipper this morning.

“He hasn’t pitched well to this point in the spring,” McClendon said when asked what he had seen from the righty. “We had couple of bullpen sessions with him and hopefully we will see better today.”

McClendon then – while noting that Medina and the rest of the bullpen did a nice job last year – put the entire group on notice.

“One thing I expressed to the guys in our bullpen, Rodney’s etched in stone, nobody else,” he said. “Whether you like it or you don’t, it’s just a fact. I think this organization is at a point now where we don’t have to take guys to the big leagues out of necessity. We are at a point now where we take guys because they are the best ones to take. There’s a lot of competition. We probably have nine or 10 legit people for a seven-man bullpen. Decisions are going to be tough.”

Relievers McClendon will see following Felix Hernandez today in Peoria include Medina, Danny Farquhar, Charlie Furbush and Tyler Olson.

Lineups!

Split-squad action today.

Mariners vs. Royals in Peoria

Rickie Weeks, LF
Brad Miller, SS
Kyle Seager, 3B
Mike Zunino, C
Nelson Cruz, DH
Alex Jackson, RF
Endy Chavez, CF
Dan Paolini, 1B
Shawn O’Malley, 2B

Felix Hernandez, SP

Mariners at Brewers in Maryvale

Austin Jackson, DH
Seth Smith, RF
Robinson Cano, 2B
Logan Morrison, 1B
Justin Ruggiano, CF
Carlos Rivero, 3B
Dustin Ackley, LF
Willie Bloomquist, SS
Jesus Sucre, C

Roenis Elias, SP

Good to see Weeks back in the field today. Maybe something finally will be hit to him. Both A. Jacksons are playing with Alex Jackson – the Mariners’ first-round pick last year – staying back in Peoria so the home fans can get a look at him. Don’t hold your breath for when we could see him in Peoria, however. McClendon is going out of his way to temper fan expectations of an arrival date for the 19-year-old.

“I’m not taking a look-see if that is what you are asking,” McClendon responded when asked if there was a reason Jackson was getting a start. “We’ve got a split-squad and we have got to have bodies and he is one of the guys.”

“It’s nice to see the young talent,” McClendon said. “He’s not the only one coming over. Hell, he’s hit three home runs – that doesn’t mean he’s coming to the big leagues this year. He’s got a long way to go.”

Yes, but we will see how quickly he covers that distance. Today will be a nice look-see for all.

Notes

• McClendon is still not ready to announce the fifth starter but assured the media this morning that we would be the last to know. He did acknowledge that Taijuan Walker has had a nice camp.

“He’s done okay,” McClendon said. “He’s made a lot of progress, thrown the ball extremely well. I think his focus is where it needs to be. He just needs to continue to compete and continue to stay consistent.”

• Upcoming probables: Friday at Kansas City, Paxton vs. Ventura; Saturday vs. Giants, Iwakuma vs. TBA; Sunday at San Diego, Happ vs. TBA; Monday vs. Anaheim, TBA.

• If you missed “The Cactus League Report” last night you missed a fun one. Since it was a night game we pre taped the interviews. Rick Rizzs sat down with Robinson Cano, Aaron Goldsmith chatted with Nelson Cruz and I was on Felix duty. All three are fun interviews and fear not, we have a podcast.

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