Shawn Kelley optioned to Triple A.
I know the Mariners have a reason for doing this. I know they have a reason, and while I don't know what that reason is, it's probably a pretty good one.
I also know that, when you already have a bullpen like ours, sending Shawn Kelley to AAA doesn't make much of a difference. He's not one of our high leverage guys, and his spot isn't going to some steaming pile of crap.
But what I submit to you is that, given his ability to throw strikes, miss some bats, and pitch to both lefties and righties, you could make the argument that Kelley is our best reliever. I'm not saying you'd necessarily be right, but you could make that argument, and it would be reasonable. Shawn Kelley, in the Majors Leagues, has allowed a lot of fly balls, but he's also whiffed 48 batters and issued 11 unintentional walks in 53 innings. Brandon League's better when he's at his best, but he's not currently at his best.
Maybe the M's feel that Kelley wouldn't get enough playing time in the bigs, and would prefer to see him get regular multi-inning action in Tacoma. That would make sense to me. But I know that I would so, so much rather it be Sean White or Jesus Colome going away, because Kelley's lack of playing time so far has been of Wakamatsu's own doing, and getting him more innings would be an easy fix.
Again, without knowing why the M's are doing this, I can't say whether I think they're right or wrong. They clearly have a thing for Colome, which, whatever, I'll have to defer to them. I just really like Shawn Kelley. He's a good reliever. He should be in the Major Leagues.
Note: as Matthew points out, most of the bullpen can't be optioned. Shawn Kelley has options. Sean White has options. Jesus Colome has thrown six regular season innings since signing a minor league contract on February 10th.