Mariners notebook: More moves and another to come

The Mariners all of a sudden have a new look bullpen, plus news and notes.

BY SHANNON DRAYER

Jul 4, 2015, 1:14 PM Updated: Jul 6, 2015, 1:02 pm

Seattle optioned right-handed reliever Tom Wilhelmsen to Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday. (AP)

(AP)

OAKLAND – In the cramped quarters of the visiting clubhouse at O.co Coliseum, the small hallway between the manager’s office and clubhouse is lined with the enormous traveling trunks filled with whatever equipment might be needed by the team on any given trip. Additional cardboard boxes filled with the Fourth of July caps the Mariners would wear Saturday sat on two of those trunks.

On Saturday morning the equipment manager scurried around making sure all of the players had the right caps, in the right size, with their numbers written in permanent ink on the bill. Players, staff, coaches and even the young son of a coach who was visiting received their caps.

As I stood in that hallway waiting to talk to Lloyd McClendon, the equipment manager opened one of the big trunks and put a carefully folded Tom Wilhelmsen jersey on top of one of the compartments and took a James Jones jersey out of another. He then closed the lid.

You see nameplates disappear, new equipment put in lockers, new faces walk through the door with bat bags, but I had never seen a move illustrated as strongly and quickly as this. It’s really nothing dramatic or traumatic for that matter. Wilhelmsen has things to work on and Jones most likely will find his uniform back in the other compartment in two days when Hisashi Iwakuma is added to the 25-man roster, but I had never quite seen a move in this context before so it was a bit of a wow moment I suppose. Jersey in, jersey out, and get on with things.

So Wilhelmsen, Roenis Elias and Vidal Nuno have been replaced by Jones, Mayckol Guaipe and David Rollins. Jones, as I noted above, is most likely here just for the next two days. As for Rollins and Guaipe, they will step into the pen and be left- and right-handed options McClendon can call upon.

“He pitched extremely well,” said McClendon of Rollins, who is coming off a suspension and rehab assignment. “He’s a power left-handed arm. Hopefully he will fit quite nicely into our bullpen.”

With Guaipe, who pitched 2 1/3 hitless innings with two strikeouts in his only big league appearance earlier this season, the situation is a little different.

“I think it had more to do with Tommy’s struggles,” McClendon said. “Obviously Guaipe is a talented young man that has got a bright future, but I think we all admit that Tommy had not been pitching up to par, pitching the way he is capable of pitching so that move is made out of necessity.”

While Wilhelmsen and Nuno were the two relievers who were most capable of going more than two innings per outing, McClendon believes he has enough guys in the pen who can go multiple innings if needed. It’s a different mix that perhaps will be more successful than the previous mix. One thing is for certain – the pen looks a lot different than it did at the beginning of this season with only Charlie Furbush, Carson Smith and Fernando Rodney remaining from the Opening Day roster.

Lineup!

Logan Morrison, 1B
Austin Jackson, CF
Robinson Cano, 2B
Nelson Cruz, RF
Kyle Seager, 3B
Seth Smith, LF
Mark Trumbo, DH
Brad Miller, SS
Jesus Sucre, C

Felix Hernandez, RHP

Notes

• Sucre is getting just his fourth start behind the plate since being recalled June 4. Mike Zunino is currently third in baseball in games caught behind Yadier Molina and Salvador Perez.

• Iwakuma will be a full-go Monday with no special pitch-count restrictions.

• While the rotation for the homestand has yet to be announced, it should fall in line behind Iwakuma with Taijuan Walker going Tuesday, J.A. Happ on Wednesday, Felix Thursday and Mike Montgomery Friday.

• One more roster move today – Julio Morban was outrighted to Double-A Jackson. With this move the 40-man roster is now at 39.