In fairly uninteresting news, the Mariners have activated Justin Smoak from the bereavement list, sending Carlos Peguero back down to AAA to make room. We all knew this move was coming, and while it's impossible to say anything about Smoak's situation right now without sounding cheap and contrived, it will be nice to have him back, and hopefully he'll be able to use baseball to occupy his mind. For Peguero, he got his two hits, which is honestly more than I was expecting him to get. Sure, he struck out a bunch, but he got his feet wet, he hung out in the dugout with Felix and Pineda, and he earned himself a five-figure paycheck. Not bad for six days. Maybe we'll see him later, and maybe we will not.
The more interesting half of today's transaction tandem is that Josh Lueke is going to Tacoma. It's hard to say Lueke didn't earn this. While his strikeout and contact numbers look okay, he's allowed nearly three baserunners an inning, his control has gone missing, and his fastball velocity is mysteriously down. A guy who could've been the team's best reliever has instead largely pitched like crap, and here's hoping he's able to find whatever's gone wandering off in the PCL.
Replacing Lueke will be Dan Cortes, who we saw very briefly last September. Cortes throws hard and he throws wild, and while he made a pretty lousy impression in Spring Training in front of the new coaching staff, this may be an opportunity for him to get on everyone's good side. Of course, all he really has to be is better than Tom Wilhelmsen and Chris Ray. If he can do that, he could stick around for a while.
With David Aardsma on the verge of returning to the Mariners, another bullpen move will be made shortly. But for the time being, Cortes - and Smoak - will be available for Tuesday's game in Detroit.