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.

As Opening Day draws near, here’s where the Mariners currently stand on their 25-man roster:

• Kendrys Morales is poised to fill the DH spot when the season kicks off. From Greg Johns:

“Right now the plan coming in is we see him getting the bulk of his at-bats at DH,” Wedge said, “but we want him to get reps at first base because that’s an option for him as well.”

• As mentioned on Wednesday, Justin Smoak has been appointed the starting first baseman in 2013. According to Geoff Baker, Wedge is more inclined to evaluate starters based on previous performances than spring training developments. The job is Smoak’s to lose.
• Larry Stone speculates that Kelly Shoppach is the frontrunner for the backup backstop position. Ronny Paulino, Shoppach’s competition, arrived late to camp this week after working out some kinks with his visa in the Dominican Republic.

We’ve officially cleared the two-week mark until Mariners pitchers and catchers report to Peoria for spring training. If you haven’t already, stop by Mariners.com for the complete schedule and ticket information—with sunshine and Mariners baseball, could you ask for a better way to pass the rest of the offseason?

• Yesterday, San Francisco Giants’ pitcher Barry Zito became the 48th recipient of the Hutch Award, given by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to the MLB player who exemplifies the humanitarian efforts and character quality of Seattle Rainier Fred Hutchinson. Safeco Field opened its gates to Mariners media and fans for a lunch on the field, silent auction, and keynote address by former Seattle Mariner Lou Piniella.
• While Zito received his award, another pitcher made the trip to Safeco Field: veteran reliever Kip Wells. MLB.com reporter Evan Dellich tweeted that the former Padre arrived in Seattle to throw a bullpen session for the Mariners yesterday afternoon. In 2012, Wells posted a 4.58 ERA and 5.49 xFIP over 37.1 IP with San Diego.
• Kelly Shoppach, veteran catcher and a potential back-up backstop for Seattle, has stopped by the Mariners facilities as well. A deal depends on the results of his physical, which he was scheduled to take yesterday at Safeco Field. Shoppach split his playing time with the Red Sox and Mets in 2012, batting .233/.309/.425 in 76 games and 245 PA.
• According to Greg Johns, Shawn Kelley avoided arbitration with the M’s and signed a one-year contract for $935,000. Potential performance bonuses could boost this number to $1.1M if Kelley notches 150 days with the club.
• On Tuesday, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo released the Top 100 Prospects list for 2013, including five of the Mariners’ up-and-coming stars. Taijuan Walker ranked 5th, followed by Danny Hultzen (18th), Mike Zunino (23rd), Nick Franklin (47th), and James Paxton (61st). From Greg Johns:

“Based on a point system giving 100 for the No. 1 overall prospect, 99 for No. 2 and so on down the line, the Mariners received 351 points for their five prospects among the Top 100. The Cardinals were second in that scoring system with 340 points, followed by the Rays (310), Twins (295) and Marlins (281).”

• Single-game tickets for the Mariners’ 2013 season will go on sale March 16 at 10am. Interleague match-ups include the Padres, Cubs, and Brewers. You can find the promotional calendar here, and sign up for an exclusive pre-sale opportunity on Mariners.com.

Final score: Red Sox 2, Mariners 1

There is little more exciting than bonus baseball. Aside from your perfect games, your no-hitters, your best cleanup hitter arriving with the bases loaded and two outs, watching a game roll into extra innings keeps you on the edge of your seat for each at-bat.

The Mariners battled with the Red Sox for this series, going back and forth with Felix’s 13-strikeout complete game, a 4-home run parade by the Sox, and a Chone Figgins walkoff sac fly in an 11th inning rally. Tonight, they dragged a 1-1 game into 10 innings, finally surrendering on a sac fly by David Ortiz.

Part of me wants to rejoice that the Mariners held their own against a team not currently scraping the bottom of any MLB division. Part of me is excited that the Red Sox had to fight for this series in the first place, even with Erasmo Ramirez’s elbow injury and Franklin Gutierrez’s face getting smashed on a pickoff throw to first. And then part of me remembers tonight’s game and is reminded why the Mariners are only headed as far as third place in the AL West this season.

First, the positives. Jason Vargas crafted his strongest start since the beginning of May, lasting 8 innings with 5 hits, an earned run, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts. After seven scoreless innings, he lost his shutout bid on a 1-0 fastball to Dustin Pedroia. Tom Wilhelmsen boosted his streak to 18.2 innings without allowing a run, closing the door with a Kelly Shoppach strikeout to end the 9th.

And then Brandon League happened.

In the 10th, League needed just four pitches to put runners at the corners. Lucas Luetge entered with one out and promptly induced a fly ball from David Ortiz, handing League a loss to set next to his blown save from Boston’s Friday night shutout.

And then the offense happened; or rather, didn’t happen.

I realize that it’s a tired bit. The Mariners’ offense has been lackluster at best, spreading 20 hits and 5 runs over 39 innings. Still, with the 7 walks graciously handed to the team tonight, it’s not unreasonable to believe they could have made more of their opportunities. In 30 at-bats, they hacked at first pitches 10 times for 5 outs. Jesus Montero stranded 6 runners and induced the last out in 4 separate innings. With a mere one-run deficit to overcome, the Mariners saw just 5 pitches from Alfredo Aceves in the 10th.

Tomorrow, the Orioles arrive to close out the last homestand before the All-Star break. Because I can’t think of anything positive to say about that match-up, I’ll end this wrap with a hearty congratulations to Felix Hernandez, who was named an American League All-Star this morning and has announced his intention of appearing in the game next Tuesday.

Next game: vs. Orioles | July 2 | 7:10pm

Final score: Red Sox 6, Mariners 1

On a day where the Yankees beat the Orioles, the Rays dominated the Blue Jays, and the pecking order of the AL East is slowly being restored, the Mariners were put in their place by Jon Lester and the rest of the Red Sox.

Lester surpassed a career milestone of 1,000 IP by the middle of the 1st inning. He kept a perfect game through 3 innings, allowing 8 hits and a single run in his second win and first complete game of 2012.

Jason Vargas, on the other hand, was slightly less impressive. In 6 IP, he allowed a season-high 5 runs, 3 of which arrived on home runs from Daniel Nava and Kelly Shoppach in the 4th.

After 8 shutout innings by the Sox, the Mariners finally made it all the way home on a Kyle Seager RBI groundout. Justin Smoak had his fourth productive night in a row, going 2-for-4 with a base hit and a double.

The only other player with a multi-hit night was Ichiro, breaking up the no-no with a single in the 4th and leading off the 9th with a second base hit. Overall, Seattle has gone 5-for-29 in their last five games, scoring just 11 runs in 37 hits.

Tomorrow, the Mariners look to split the series against RHP Josh Beckett. Blake Beavan will take the mound for his seventh start of the season; with any luck, he’ll find enough run support to put up his first win since April’s Opening Day weekend.

Next game: @ Red Sox | May 15 | 1:05pm