Mariners Moose Tracks 4/3/22: Matt Brash, Wade LeBlanc, Justin Upton, and Baseball Rebels

The air smells of blossoms and the temperatures are warming up and Opening Day is less than a week away. Happy spring, everyone.

In Mariners news:

• ICYMI, Matt Brash has officially been named the team’s fifth starter after a successful outing last night against the Rockies’ A squad. Catch up with the recap here if you missed it.
• The Mariners made a few roster moves yesterday, re-assigning RHP George Kirby to minor-league camp after Brash captured the fifth starter role, along with reliever Sal Romano and INF Erick Mejia. They also released C Chance Sisco.
• Are we done talking about the Julio inside-the-parker? No, never.

In Wade LeBlanc news:

• The 37-year-old LeBlanc is planning to retire, per Jon Morosi. Happy Trails to the Wader Tot, who will always hold a special place in our coLLective hearts. Crafty Lefties don’t retire, they just get even more refined.

Around the League:

• The Rangers built some pitching depth and the Yankees shored up their catching situation a little more, as the Rangers sent C Jose Trevino to New York in exchange for RHP Albert Abreu and LHP Robby Ahlstrom. Abreu, who had an ERA of just over 5 in 36 innings last year with the Yankees, requires a 40-man spot, so Texas’s roster is now full.
• The Guardians have reportedly given fireballer Emmanuel Clase a five-year, $20M extension. Our pals at Covering the Corner have the details for you.
• The Cardinals have given outfielder Harrison Bader a deal worth almost ten and a half million, buying out his last two years of arbitration (through 2023). As someone now invested in Harrison Bader as my starting fantasy centerfielder, I say here’s hoping for a big year from the almost 28-year-old.
• While we’re talking about my fantasy team you don’t care about, more good news for team Ke’Bryan in the Club as Spencer Torkelson has been named to the Opening Day roster for the Tigers:

• Good news for weirdos and the people who love them: Hunter Pence will be an analyst on MLBN this season! And Jake Peavy, too, but he’s less fun. Sorry Jake.
• The Angels have DFA’d Justin Upton, to whom they will pay $28M this season to not play for them. The 34-year-old was showing signs of life in the first half of last season before taking a nosedive in the second half, and has been off to a solid start this spring, so it’s likely some team will pick him up as a free agent.
• If only we’d known all along this was all it took!

Kate’s pick:

If you don’t know who Jesse Hagopian is, he’s an award-winning educator, author, and activist right here in Seattle whose latest project involves working with Athletes for Impact. He’s also a Mariners fan and a baseball fan who alerted me recently to this book I’m excited to read:

You can order the book here (or if you’re in the Sno-Isle library system, check out the audiobook) and follow Jesse on Twitter here.