So much for that Milton Bradley speculation. Last night we knew that Mike Wilson was coming up from Tacoma, but we didn't know who was going away. Now we know who's going away.
Mariners announce Langerhans dfa'd Wilson selected.
So the outfield is now:
RF: Ichiro
CF: Michael Saunders
LF: Milton Bradley, Mike Wilson
Saunders actually gains some job security with the move, as there's no longer a threat on the roster to take innings in the middle. And with Franklin Gutierrez unlikely to play every day whenever he comes back, Saunders could hang around for some time yet.
The selection of Ryan Langerhans here is a very mild surprise, if only because of the flexibility he offered. He can play every outfield position, he knows his role, and he's not entirely incompetent with the bat. But it seems the M's are just determined to get something, anything out of Bradley, and since they didn't want to jettison a reliever with a long stretch of games coming up, Langerhans was left as the guy to go. And it's not like he's a crippling loss. He hasn't done much since a hot start, and he could remain in the organization anyway assuming he doesn't get grabbed off waivers.
So Bradley's still alive for the time being. But even though he kept his roster spot, it does look like he's about to lose some playing time, as the M's aren't promoting Mike Wilson to sit on the bench and try to flick seeds into the back of Jack Wilson's pants. Wilson will probably spell Jack Cust at DH against a few lefties, but I'd also expect to see him in left field, and he'll get a chance to show what he can do. If he hits, he'll keep playing, and Bradley won't - or at least he won't as often as he has been.
Interesting times are ahead. Wilson immediately becomes one of the two or three strongest hitters on the team. Hopefully he shows it.