M's Claim Anderson Garcia; Notes

Anderson Garcia, a right-handed reliever, was claimed off the waiver wire from the Philadelphia Phillies. He has been added to the 40-man roster.

Garcia has bounced around from organization to organization for the last seven seasons, but has made just one major league appearance. He has had some mixed numbers in the minors, but overall carries a career 3.93 ERA over 207 games (31 starts). The 26-year-old effectively throws a fastball in the mid-90s, but doesn't have the secondary pitches to be successful.

Garcia will be used to boost competition, but is a long-shot at best to make the ballclub. He will likely start the season in AAA.

In other news, former 2-time Mariner Bret Boone has come out of retirement to sign a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals. The 39-year-old will join his brother and father in the organization. Boone signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets for the 2006 season, but retired before the regular season started. I find it hard to see him starting anywhere at this point in his career, especially in Washington where they already have Ronnie Belliard and Felipe Lopez.

Not a lot going on besides that. Most of the position players are in camp a day early. Kenji Johjima can't do anything catch R.A. Dickey's knuckleball at this point. There is a theory that if Dickey makes the team Jaime Burke will catch him most of the time. This is a problem, however, since Dickey will be coming out of the bullpen. Either way, I don't see Dickey making the club. I would think that Horacio Ramirez and Cha Seung Baek will be given more of an opportunity. Only time will tell, and I promise that position battle will be covered in more detail at a later date.