Opening Day is a mere 11 days away, and Eric Wedge appears to have taken a page from Jack Zduriencik’s playbook. In other words, very little regarding definitive roster decisions has slipped from the skipper’s lips these days. Here’s the roster speculation floating around the blogosphere at the moment:

• The battle for rotation spots #3-5 is heating up, with Erasmo Ramirez, Blake Beavan, Brandon Maurer, Jeremy Bonderman, and Jon Garland in the mix. Although no names have been selected so far, Shannon Drayer believes Maurer is making a convincing case for his time in the sun. Following Tuesday’s win over the defending San Francisco Giants, she quoted Eric Wedge: “We feel strongly he is going to be able to get major league outs […] It’s just a matter as we prep everything out decisions we have to make and we have to take everything into consideration. The experience level, what the other guys have done and match that up to what he he done.”
• Seattle Times’ Geoff Baker seems to have other thoughts. In a nutshell, his opinions leave Maurer out in the cold: “If Garland makes it, Maurer has no chance. The team would give the final spot to either Blake Beavan or Erasmo Ramirez. In fact, even if Garland doesn’t make it, I think the team would give the final two remaining spots to Beavan and Ramirez. Not to Maurer.”
• On Tuesday, Dustin Ackley batted eighth. Is this a sign of things to come? According to Greg Johns and Eric Wedge, it very well might be. “Wedge said afterward that Ackley could well wind up down in that area during the regular season given the addition of the middle-of-the-order veterans and improvement of some of the young core players,” Johns writes. He added that Franklin Gutierrez is likely for the leadoff spot, while Kyle Seager could take his place if Guti fails to stay healthy.
• The Mariners roster has been pruned to 37 after another round of cuts.

Players reassigned to minor league camp:
Logan Bawcom
Andrew Carraway
John Hicks
Jhonny Nunez
Ronny Paulino
James Paxton
Stefen Romero
Taijuan Walker
Mike Zunino

Players sent to Triple-A:
Vinnie Catricala
Bobby LaFromboise
Alex Liddi
Danny Hultzen
Yoervis Medina
Hector Noesi
Eric Thames
Carlos Triunfel

Players optioned to Double-A:
Francisco Martinez
Julio Morban

Next game: @ Rockies | March 16 | 1:10pm

No home run hoarders here: To date, 21 different Mariners have rung up a home run in Cactus League play. Of those 21, 12 players have logged multiple homers, with Michael Morse (5), Franklin Gutierrez (3), Carlos Peguero (3), and Justin Smoak (3) leading the pack.

Guti back under scrutiny: Franklin Gutierrez has been sidelined for six days of Cactus League games with tightness in his legs. According to Greg Johns’ report, the center fielder appears unconcerned, and believes he will be back on the field soon.

Opening (Day) acts: When April 8th rolls around, here’s one Safeco Field debut you can count on—that of Pickwick, a Seattle-bred folk band. Their first self-released record, Can’t Talk Medicine, can be heard on iTunes or at the band’s official website.

If you need even more incentive to attend the Opening Day festivities, single-game tickets will be available for purchase through Mariners.com beginning at 10am tomorrow morning.

40-man roster gets trimmed again: Four more cuts were made from Seattle’s major league camp this afternoon. Here’s the current list of players who have been sent down or reassigned so far:

Reassigned to minor league camp:

• John Hicks
• Jhonny Nunez
• Ronny Paulino
• James Paxton
• Stefen Romero
• Taijuan Walker

Sent to Triple-A:

• Alex Liddi
• Danny Hultzen
• Hector Noesi

Currently, the roster stands at 47 players.

According to online reports from Greg Johns, the Mariners have moved five players from their spring training camp today.

Hector Noesi and Danny Hultzen have been reassigned to Tacoma, while Jhonny Nunez, Taijuan Walker, and James Paxton have been sent to minor league camp.

Of the Big Four—LHPs Hultzen and Paxton and RHPs Walker and Maurer—only one will remain in the major league camp with a legitimate shot at the rotation. From Shannon Drayer’s blog post:

“So the one remaining pitcher from the group of four is Maurer and this is not a surprise. I have said for some time now that he was my pick to be the first up because he is more polished. I assumed this before I saw him in person from things I had heard, the numbers I saw and his history. He has come up through the organization. He has pitched professionally for over four years. What I have learned since I have seen him is his stuff is better than I imagined it to be. He’s not just a guy who knows how to pitch. He’s got weapons.”

As both Drayer and Johns point out, all four are expected to make their major league debuts fairly soon, and all have shown progress and varying levels of readiness this spring. With 51 players left in the Mariners camp, more cuts will follow shortly.

The Mariners’ 2013 25-man roster is far from finalized, but the media is already starting to buzz with possible starters for the season. Here’s the latest:

• Yesterday, Larry Stone revealed the 16 players he believes are locked into starting positions come April. Those who fall into the “probable, but not guaranteed” category are denoted with asterisks.

Catchers: Jesus Montero, Kelly Shoppach*

First basemen: Justin Smoak, Kendrys Morales

Second baseman: Dustin Ackley

Shortstop: Brendan Ryan

Third baseman: Kyle Seager

Utility infielder: Robert Andino

Outfielders: Michael Morse, Michael Saunders, Franklin Gutierrez, Raul Ibanez

Starting rotation: Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, Joe Saunders

Bullpen: Tom Wilhelmsen, Charlie Furbush, Oliver Perez*, Josh Kinney*

• As for the Big Four, they are still four question marks in the rotation. Stone thinks that Taijuan Walker is the furthest from claiming a spot, while Danny Hultzen has shown the most promise so far. Currently, Hultzen is sidelined with a minor hip strain, but is expected to bounce back within the week.
• Shannon Drayer reports that Michael Morse may see more time in right field than originally expected: “Despite saying that Morse would play mostly left this winter Wedge has had him in mostly right. He has been about what I think most of us expected out there.”
• Wedge has also been tinkering with the leadoff spot, slotting Franklin Gutierrez at the top of the lineup three times this week. “We have been messing around with him up top a bit and we will see how it plays out,” Wedge told Drayer on Saturday.

I really hate pushing the news of an imminent(?) Felix extension down by one post, and feel more than welcome to completely skip this and scroll down a bit, but there was another little tidbit of information passed on by one Ken Rosenthal today via Twitter, who tweeted that the “Mariners are in agreement with [Joe] Saunders on one-year contract, pending a physical.”

Many Mariners fans were pleading for the club to add to the pitching rotation before Spring Training got under way, and though nothing is official yet, it looks as if Jack Z. will do just that by bringing in Joe Saunders. Before I proceed, remember that Saunders was the main piece the Anaheim Angels sent to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Dan Haren, so Saunders must be pretty awesome.

Just kidding. He’s not awesome, but I wouldn’t call him atrocious. Saunders should basically fill the void created in the rotation when Jason Vargas was traded for Kendrys Morales. Matthew over at Lookout Landing wrote a great piece about the similiarities between Jason Vargas and Joe Saunders. He’s a lefty who throws mostly fastballs and changeups and who will probably pitch 180+ not-horrible innings. I would imagine Eric Wedge will slot him into the #3 spot in the rotation behind Hisashi Iwakuma and the probably RECENTLY EXTENDED KING FELIX HERNANDEZ! YEAH!

Sorry.

But the best thing about the possibility of bringing in Joe Saunders: he’s not Hector Noesi. Noesi WAS atrocious last year, and it looked as if he was going to see some time in the rotation this season short of one of the three heads of Cerberus breaking camp with the big club. With Saunders in the fold, the rotation might look like this:

Felix, Iwakuma, Saunders, Ramirez, Beavan

That rotation is probably lacking a legitimate #2 starter that pushes one of Beavan or Ramirez out, but it would look a whole lot worse with Noesi anywhere near it. It lacks something, but also leaves room for growth, which could be another signing, a trade, or one of Danny Hultzen, Taijuan Walker, or James Paxton proving they’re ready.

No, Joe Saunders on a one-year deal certainly shouldn’t hurt.*

*Edit: Especially at the reported $6.5MM price tag. Apparently incentives can make it $7.5MM, but that’s still pretty darn cheap. I like this move.

Looking for something to do between now and February 12? Not only do the Mariners broadcast highlights from the 2012 season on ROOT Sports every Monday night, but the 710 ESPN Seattle crew hosts their Hot Stove League show throughout the offseason. Tune in from 7-9pm tonight to hear interviews with Shawn Kelley, Mike Zunino, Mike Brumley, Dave Hansen, and Larry LaRue.

• Kevin Millwood has announced his intention to retire from Major League Baseball. MLB.com’s Zack Meisel reported the following:

“Millwood reportedly told his agent, Scott Boras, that he only wanted to pitch if he could do so for the Braves or Rays, two teams closest to his home in Gainesville, Ga. Neither team expressed interest.

“I feel like I can still throw it well, and going out on a high note is a big deal,” Millwood told the newspaper. “I just felt it was time to be closer to home and be around the kids more often.”

Millwood finished his career with the Mariners, posting a 4.25 ERA and 4.42 xFIP in 28 starts and 161 IP. He made two especially memorable appearances during his time in Seattle, kickstarting a 6-man no-hitter in June and commanding a 2-hit complete game shutout in Colorado just a month prior.

• This week, ESPN’s Keith Law ranked the top 100 prospects in MLB, as well as the farm systems of each team. Here’s how things shook out for the Mariners:

Top prospects: Taijuan Walker (#4), Mike Zunino (#15), Danny Hultzen (#66), Nick Franklin (#69).

Organizational ranking: #8. With their promising band of starting pitchers, the Mariners fell just behind the Cardinals, Twins, Rays, Astros, Cubs, Padres, and Pirates.

Honorable top prospect mention was given to RHP Brandon Maurer.

• According to Corey Brock, the Mariners are making progress with their 40-man roster, having signed over half to contracts for the upcoming season. Last week, ten players signed deals: Blake Beavan, Lucas Luetge, Francisco Martinez, Julio Morban, Carlos Peguero, Chance Ruffin, Kyle Seager, Justin Smoak, Eric Thames, and Casper Wells.
• Interested in working with the Mariners? The club has opened up several job openings for the 2013 season. You can find descriptions and applications for their full-time and part-time positions by clicking on the links below:

Game Day Staff
Navigators Team Member
Team Store Sales Associate
Sales Account Manager
Finance Intern
Aramark Cleaning Crew

News is scarce with FanFest still a week and a half out, and spring training a good four weeks away. In lieu of actual news, here are some ruminations on failed trade proposals and reflections on past Mariners.

The Mariners Still Need a Starting Pitcher — While Taijuan Walker, James Paxton, Danny Hultzen, and Brandon Maurer’s arrivals in Seattle are greatly anticipated, they may not be ready to tackle a full major league season just yet. Brendan Gawlowski suggests a list of pitchers who can fill out the rotation while the Mariners wait on their prospects’ development.

Mariners Sign Jhonny Nunez: Scouting Report — Clint Hulsey profiles the Mariners’ latest acquisition, a 27-year-old RHP who spent 2012 with Tampa Bay’s Triple-A club.

Justin Upton’s Trade Value — After last week’s hit and miss on Justin Upton, I consoled myself with the fact that the Mariners still got to hang onto top prospects Taijuan Walker and Nick Franklin. What looked like overpay, however, may have been closer to a sensible deal for both sides. Dave Cameron weighs Upton’s value against Walker and Franklin’s upside, using prospect valuation tools developed by Victor Wang, Kevin Creagh, and Michael Valencius.

Out-Of-Character Season: American League West — Among the anomalies found in the 2001 Mariners, their 116 wins included, was second baseman Bret Boone. Jeff Sullivan attempts to explain just why Boone was so valuable to the club in his tenth career year, surpassing the recently-departed Alex Rodriguez and helping fuel the team’s MLB-best year.

What have you read this week? Share it with us on Twitter or in the comments below!

Credit: @RealKingFelix

This weekend, the Mariners are rocking College Navy and Action Green as the Seattle Seahawks battle the Atlanta Falcons for a berth in next week’s NFC Championship game. In case you were wondering, that’s Felix’s game face.

And now for some baseball news…

• The Baseball Writers’ Association of America failed to elect a single member of the 37-man ballot to the Hall of Fame this year. Edgar’s percentage of the vote jumped to 35.9% from 32.9% in 2011. While induction may be a few years away, he is still well above the cutoff mark (less than 5%) and eligible for entry again in 2014.
• Baseball Canada has reported that Michael Saunders will represent Canada in this year’s World Baseball Classic. The official roster will be released on January 17. From the announcement:

“Of the 23 players, 8 were part of the World Baseball Classic in 2009 which includes Phillippe Aumont, Crain, Chris Leroux, Martin, Lawrie, Morneau, Pete Orr and Saunders.”

• Jack Zduriencik struck out for the second time this season when Justin Upton turned up his nose at a trade proposition from the Mariners last week (h/t MLB Trade Rumors). The proposed trade involved noted Seattle prospects Taijuan Walker and Nick Franklin, as well as relievers Stephen Pryor and Charlie Furbush. While the trade is not entirely impossible to pull off, should Upton change his mind in the face of less appealing offers, such a move is deemed highly improbable at this point.
• The Mariners announced 18 non-roster invitees to their spring training camp, scheduled to open on February 12. The list, via Greg Johns:
  • RHP Jonathan Arias
  • RHP Logan Bawcom
  • RHP Jeremy Bonderman
  • RHP Andrew Carraway
  • RHP Danny Farquhar
  • LHP Danny Hultzen
  • RHP D.J. Mitchell
  • LHP Brian Moran
  • RHP Jhonny Nunez
  • LHP James Paxton
  • RHP Carson Smith
  • RHP Taijuan Walker
  • C Jesus Sucre
  • C Mike Zunino
  • SS Nick Franklin
  • 1B Mike Jacobs
  • IF Brad Miller
  • IF Stefen Romero

Merry Christmas, Mariner fans.

Yesterday, Jack Zduriencik made his first trade of the offseason, swapping No. 2 starter Jason Vargas for the Angels’ first baseman and designated hitter Kendrys Morales.

Over 33 starts in 2012, Jason maintained a 3.85 ERA over 217.1 IP, his lowest since 2010. Vargas struggled to keep the ball in Safeco Field, accounting for 35 home runs in what was once a pitcher’s park. When he was good, he was very good, finishing the season with a sparkling seven inning performance against Oakland, granting the soon-to-be playoff contenders five hits, a run, and seven strikeouts. When he was bad, things got ugly—for instance, his season-low performance in Arizona, where he sent the Mariners spiraling after giving up nine hits, ten runs, five home runs, and two walks in just 4.1 IP.

In Kendrys Morales, the Mariners find the missing middle-of-the-order hitter they had hoped to secure with the Michael Pineda-Jesus Montero trade last winter. Morales has somewhat successfully bounced back from two injury-laden seasons, caused in part by his new home team.

“That injury occurred when he landed awkwardly while jumping into a group of teammates at home plate after hitting a walk-off grand slam off Mariners closer Brandon League in Anaheim on May 29, 2010.” — Greg Johns, Mariners.com

Last season, Kendrys batted .273/.320/.467 in 522 PA with 22 home runs and a .339 wOBA. Morales peaked in 2009, with a .306 average, 4.0 bWAR, and fifth place in the MVP award voting. According to Greg Johns’ wrap-up, the 29-year-old has fared well in Seattle so far, managing seven home runs, a .292 average, and .904 OPS over 34 games. One can only hope that the shortened fences will work in his favor, while Jason finds the spacious dimensions of Angel Stadium more to his liking.

By this time next year, both Vargas and Morales will be free agents. Last season, Vargas fed on a $4.85M contract, while Morales topped out at $2.98M.

With a potential power hitter gracing the Mariners’ lineup, the team turns to its rotation once again. Rumors cropped up early in the offseason, hinting that Jack Z put another starter on his Christmas wish list. Today, it is a pressing need, lest we see Eric Wedge throw Hector Noesi back in the mix. Although much remains to be tested and proven in the months to come, Jack and Wedge are looking at a rotation captained by King Felix and followed by a combination of Hisashi Iwakuma, Erasmo Ramirez, Danny Hultzen, Taijuan Walker, James Paxton, or Brandon Maurer.

Jack may still have a few more surprises up his sleeve this winter, but at least through the holiday weekend, Mariner fans can finally sleep peacefully.

With the end of No Shave November approaching this weekend, another beloved tradition faces its final test: the Mariners’ Movember Madness. It’s time to take sides between the skipper’s handlebar mustache and Brendan Ryan’s facial topiary. You can cast your vote here, or simply enter to win a baseball autographed by Eric Wedge.

• As the winter meetings draw ever closer, Jack Zduriencik offers a glimpse at his offseason plan—and it’s not quite what you might expect. From Greg Johns:

“Offense would be a focal point, but if there are other avenues, if we could add a starting pitcher, who knows what might present itself both for this year and with the bigger picture in mind.”

While the Big Four (Danny Hultzen, Taijuan Walker, James Paxton, and Brandon Maurer) have shown considerable progress in the past season, Jack Z appears to be holding a short leash so far.

• Minor league Mariner and second baseman Stefen Romero was elected to Topps’ 2012 Double-A All Star Team. He joins the outstanding cast of Darin Ruf (PHI), Jurickson Profar (TEX), Mike Olt (TEX), Ali Solis (SD), Oswaldo Arcia (MIN), Alfredo Marte (ARI), Oscar Taveras (STL), and Chris Heston (SF).
• Three Mariners cracked the list of the 2012 AFL Top 25: catcher Mike Zunino (#3), shortstop Nick Franklin (#10), and lefty James Paxton (#25).
• The Mariners are officially on the hunt for a suitable Miguel Olivo replacement. Their latest target? Yankee backstop Russell Martin, who posted a slash line of .211/.311/.403 in 2012. Via MLB Trade Rumors:

“Free agent catcher Russell Martin is receiving significant interest from the Pirates and Mariners, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Yankees remain the favorites to sign Martin, but it appears that they’ll have to duke it out with the Bucs and M’s in addition to the Rangers.”

• Ken Rosenthal also appears fairly certain that the Mariners will make significant efforts to boost their offense, potentially including Mike Napoli and other, non-Josh Hamilton hitters. The biggest draw for Napoli, Rosenthal says, would be a legitimate shot at consistent playing time.
• The team released its 2013 spring training schedule yesterday, with pitchers and catchers slotted to begin workouts on February 13. The full list of Mariners’ Cactus League games can be found here.