Wladimir Balentien Injured (UPDATED)

Wladimir Balentien, Seattle's top MLB-ready outfield prospect, injured himself in last night's ballgame while attempting to make a sliding catch. It is currently unknown exactly what he hurt, most likely his knee, but Ryan Divish reports that he slid into some sort of concrete barrier and had to be carried off the field.

There is no official report indicating the severity of the injury, but it's not looking to good. Jason A. Churchill of Prospect Insider is saying that the injury is "almost certainly a break or a tear," which obviously doesn't bode well.

With current Seattle right fielder Brad Wilkerson struggling at the plate, Balentien may have had a shot at a MLB starting role before the All-Star break. It is now more important than ever for Wilkerson to snap out of his season long slump.

Nothing is certain and hopefully the injury isn't as devastating as the initial speculation. I'll update this post when I learn more.

UPDATE 12:29 pm PST - Ryan Divish, now my favorite Mariner insider, has an update on Wlad. Mariner manager John McLaren told him that the x-rays were negative and that it's looking like a deep bone bruise.

It's okay, you can breathe now.

O'Flaherty to Minors; Dickey to MLB

There were rumors of this last night, and now it's official. Seattle sent struggling reliever Eric O'Flaherty to the minors and recalled knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Geoff Baker reports that O'Flaherty was optioned to AAA Tacoma, though USS Mariner says he's heading to AA West Tennessee. As I've mentioned before, this won't be a permanent fix.

Seattle's bullpen, as it stands now:

Mark Lowe, R
Sean Green, R
Roy Corcoran, R
Ryan Rowland-Smith, L
Cha-Seung Baek, R
R.A. Dickey, R

Seattle will want another lefty in there sooner than later, whether it is Cesar Jimenez, a healthy Arthur Rhodes or a mentally rehabbed Eric O'Flaherty, so someone will have to go. Having two long relievers is pointless, so either Baek will be traded or waived or Dickey will be sent back to AAA. This decision is for another day, and I assume it will be determined by how effective Dickey is. Baek hasn't pitched well in relief after a stellar spring, and Seattle may finally be willing to cut ties with him if Dickey does his job better.

GM Bill Bavasi should have traded Baek right after Spring Training while his value was relatively high.

Note (11:18 am PST) - If Baek and Dickey hang around the roster for longer than expected, I would have to say it's an obvious indication that Erik Bedard is gearing up for his first DL stint as a Mariner. Emphasis on first.

12 More Roster Cuts

Horacio Ramirez was the first to leave after being released yesterday. Seattle continued to slim down their roster today, announcing 12 more cuts.

(All stats for Cactus League games only. Anyone know where to find stats for the MiLB games?)

Optioned to AAA:
RHP Joe Woerman (1 G, 2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K)
2B Yung Chi Chen (10 AB, single, HR, 3 BB, 3 K)
1B Brian LaHair (20 AB, 5 singles, 3 doubles, 2 BB, 3 K, SB)

Re-Assigned to Minor League Camp:
RHP Phillipe Aumont (1 G, 0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, BB, 0 K)
RHP Brodie Downs (2 G, IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, K)
RHP Stephen Kahn (1 G, IP, 3 H, 3 ER, BB, 0 K)
C Jair Fernandez (no MLB appearances)
C Adam Moore (2 AB, double, BB)
C Brant Ust (4 AB, single)
OF Bronson Sardinha (16 AB, 4 singles, BB, 4 K)
INF Mark Kiger (13 AB, 2 singles, 2 doubles, BB, 4 K)

None of these cuts are very surprising, though I thought Chen would get a longer look. Seattle is obviously content with Jose Lopez as their second baseman. Tug Hulett is still around, but he's not going to be stealing anyone's job.

Now that there are three fewer catchers in camp, Jeff Clement should get some more playing time. I'm really hoping he'll give Jose Vidro a run for his money.

Brian LaHair certainly impressed, hitting .400. No spot for him this season, maybe he'll make the team as part of a platoon next spring. He should get his first callup this year.

Of the players still in camp, there are only 8 non-roster players left:

LHP Philip Barzilla
RHP Roy Corcoran
RHP Chris Reitsma
LHP Arthur Rhodes
LHP Jake Woods
2B Tug Hulett
1B Greg Norton
3B Matt Tuiasosopo

Minor News: Stark Comes Full Circle

posted by Jon

Seattle's latest minor league addition Denny Stark was a piece of one of the uglier trades in Seattle Mariners history when he was dealt alongside Brian Feuntes and Jose Paniagua to the Colorado Rockies for third baseman Jeff Cirillo in 2001. Cirillo, as we all know, was a complete bust.

Stark showed some promise in his first stint with the franchise. In 2001 he rattled off 14 wins and a 2.37 ERA in 24 starts with AAA Tacoma before being promoted to the big leagues. Stark had some success the following year pitching in the big leagues for Colorado, posting a 4.00 ERA over 128.1 innings.

Now 33, Stark is coming off of back-to-back Tommy John surgeries and trying to resurrect his career in the same place he began over a decade ago. Stockpiling cheap pitching is never a bad idea, and I hope Stark can find even more success this time around.