Mariners Release Josh Wilson From Captivity

Earlier this morning, with the re-assignment of Chris Gimenez to minor league camp, the path to the final bench spot was cleared a little bit for Josh Wilson and Luis Rodriguez. Now it's been cleared even further, although not for Josh Wilson, because Josh Wilson has been released.

This comes as something of a surprise to me - not because I think Josh Wilson is a really good player, but because the M's seemed to value his versatility despite his lack of production. This is, after all, a guy who stuck around despite swinging one of the more punchless bats in the Majors. I kind of figured that, if the M's didn't want him on the roster, they'd try to sneak him through waivers and stash him in Tacoma. But instead, he's been released outright. Tacoma's got too many infielders already, and Wilson was sacrificed.

So this is temporarily good news for Rodriguez. With that said, there's still probably no way he's making this team, because he doesn't have any experience in the outfield, which I think the Mariners would like from their 25th man. But at least he's lasted this long. Not getting cut before Josh and Mike Wilson is a badge of honor, in a way.

We'll see. From here, either Rodriguez pulls off the unexpected, or the M's go outside the organization to add a versatile cheap right-handed bat. Either one would be sort of exciting.