Mariners option José Marmolejos, Bryan Shaw, as rosters shrink to 28

The Mariners have demoted 1B/OF José Marmolejos and RHP Bryan Shaw to the Tacoma alternate site, bringing their active roster down to 28 as required today.

While this shrinking was planned, the second cut in two weeks to the new normal of 26 active players will not take place. The roster rules were adjusted this week in the wake of multiple teams having outbreaks of COVID-19, as well as a slurry of injuries to pitchers in particular. MLB and the MLBPA agreed to retain rosters of 28 players through the rest of the season, as well as increase the size of the taxi squad from three to five.

Marmolejos heads down having struggled to convert a strong spring/summer preseason into the regular season (imagine that!). Marmo’s numbers in the minors indicate he could still well transport his offense to the majors, but it’s hard to envision him having a better chance than the past couple weeks. While Daniel Vogelbach has struggled enough to be benched for several days to work on his swing, Vogdor’s 25.9% walk rate is a smidge more to work with than Marmolejos’ **squints** zero. Additionally, while Jake Fraley floundered in spring amid battling a stomach bug and Mallex Smith continues to look lost, Dylan Moore and Tim Lopes have done more to lay claim to reps.

As for Shaw, frankly, the less said the better. That he was successfully optioned indicates he signed a two-way contract, which is useful for Seattle, as a player with his service time otherwise wouldn’t be subject to optioning without first being given the option for free agency. Shaw’s ERA is somewhere on the slopes of Denali, and while the club has indicated a belief that there are tweaks Shaw can make to regain success, I am quite content having him make those adjustments against Austin Shenton and Cal Raleigh instead of Matt Chapman and Anthony Rendon.