Important news first: the Mariners have signed Dodge to be the team's official automobile for the next three years. Let the string of HEMI jokes begin.
In other news, the Mariners claimed Wilson Valdez from the Mets and have...wait for it...added him to the 40-man roster, bumping Soriano to the 60-day DL to make room.
Valdez is a 27 year old shortstop with a career .289/.333/.359 line in the minors. He made his ML debut with the White Sox last summer, and didn't do particularly well for himself. He doesn't draw walks, nor does he hit for a lick of power, but he can run a little bit and handle himself with the glove, which makes him redundant with the 23485769824736234985 other AAA infielders floating around. The only time his bat has ever looked even close to palatable came in the first half of last season, when he was playing in the same place that made Abraham Nunez look good. Albuquerque's as high above sea level as Coors Field, and the fact that Valdez couldn't put up better numbers at that kind of elevation is a pretty good indication of his abilities.
PECOTA projects a .216 EqA in the Majors next year, and a .222 peak in 2007. A baffling and utterly worthless transaction.