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25-man Roster Is Set

Catchers:
Miguel Olivo
Dan Wilson

Infielders:
Richie Sexson
Bret Boone
Willie Bloomquist
Adrian Beltre
Greg Dobbs
Scott Spiezio
Wilson Valdez

Outfielders:
Randy Winn
Jeremy Reed
Ichiro Suzuki
Raul Ibanez

Pitchers:
Jamie Moyer
Gil Meche
Bobby Madritsch
Aaron Sele
Ryan Franklin
Ron Villone
Shigetoshi Hasegawa
Jeff Nelson
Matt Thornton
JJ Putz
Julio Mateo
Eddie Guardado

Roster Moves:
Jeff Nelson and Aaron Sele were officially added to the 40-man roster today; to make room, Scott Atchison was sent to the 60-day DL and Abraham Nunez was designated for assignment. If he clears waivers, he'll go to Tacoma.

Ramon Santiago, Felix Hernandez, and Ryan Rowland-Smith were reassigned to minor league camp.

Chris Snelling, Joel Pineiro, and Pokey Reese were put on the 15-day DL to start the year. All three should be back in action by mid-April. Wilson Valdez was kept on the Major League roster as shorstop insurance with Reese hurt; presumably, he'll be DFA'd once Reese is ready to go.

For the first two weeks of the season, Willie Bloomquist and Wilson Valdez will be filling in at shortstop. I don't think words can adequately express my dismay.

To answer a question that's sure to come up: the Mariners grabbed Nunez because they saw some promise, and wanted to see if they could store him in Tacoma for a year to see if he turns into a competent baseball player. If he passes through waivers unclaimed, mission successful; if not, it's no big loss, because these players are everywhere.

As for Valdez, the team probably thinks that he's a better defensive shortstop than Ramon Santiago, which is why they're keeping the former as a stopgap and sending the latter back to the minors. When Pokey's healthy and ready to come off the DL, Valdez will be DFA'd just like Nunez, and he'll almost certainly wind up somewhere else, because there's no room for him in Tacoma. It should be noted that Valdez was only in camp for a day, and that the team couldn't possibly have made a thorough evaluation of his ability. That's a pretty good testament to how serious they are about having Lopez begin in the minors.

Don't get me started on Greg Dobbs or Matt Thornton.