Mariners Preview

[Baseball Guru]

SPRING CLEANING


1. Will left-hander John Halama regain a spot in the rotation?
The 30-year-old left-hander, who has been a starter in 77 of his 105 MLB appearances and prefers a starting role, actually performed much better as a reliever last season (4-1, 1.84 ERA) than he did as a starter (6-6, 5.78). Those numbers and an injury to Norm Charlton may force the Mariners to put Halama in the bullpen. But it might be a challenge convincing Halama that relieving is best for him and the team.

2. Will Ichiro work on his home run swing?
The reigning Most Valuable Player hit eight home runs last season, but former Orix Blue Waves teammate Shigetoshi Hasegawa says Ichiro is capable of hitting at least 30 homers in a season. The Mariners, though, probably would rather have Ichiro lead the league in batting average and stolen bases again.

3. Who will consume the 215 innings Aaron Sele logged last season?
The signing of free agent James Baldwin gives the Mariners another veteran for the rotation and he should be in position to gobble up a large chunk of the innings. Look for right-handers Joel Pineiro and Ryan Franklin to compete for the No. 5 starting job and toss more than 100 innings, but Pineiro has pitched more than 160 innings only once in the past five years.

4. Will Gil Meche and/or Ryan Anderson compete for a place on the pitching staff?
Both are coming off surgeries that prevented them from throwing a pitch last season but have received promising medical news going into camp. Each will be monitored closely during Spring Training as the organization takes a better-safe-than-sorry approach. Neither is expected to earn an Opening Day roster spot, but if one or the other has a tremendous camp, things could change.

5. Can Dan Wilson fight off Ben Davis as the starting catcher?
Wilson has been the No. 1 catcher for the past eight years and ended a yearly batting slide last season when he batted .265 -- his highest average in four years. Wilson is entering the final year of his contract and Davis is the catcher of the future. Davis, who turns 25 on March 10, is eight years younger than Wilson and needs to improve on his offense. The smart money says Wilson will emerge as the starter, but if he falters, the switch-hitting Davis will be waiting in the wings.

NEW FACES


OF Ruben Sierra -- The Mariners would be more than happy if the 36-year-old switch-hitter duplicates his remarkable 2001 comeback season, when he batted .291, hit 23 home runs and drove in 67 runs for the Rangers. He will share the position with Mark McLemore this season, starting against left-handed pitchers.

3B Jeff Cirillo -- Based on what he already has done with the Brewers and Rockies -- being an All-Star for each team -- Cirillo is arguably the best third baseman the Mariners have had. He should hit for a high average because of the spacious gaps at SAFECO Field and his defense is Gold Glove-caliber. He begins his Mariners career with a string of 85 consecutive errorless games.

C Ben Davis -- This figures to be a learning year for the switch-hitter -- learning the Mariners pitching staff and opposing AL pitchers. The majority of his playing time will be against right-handed starters.

RHP James Baldwin -- If he can stay healthy -- Baldwin had shoulder surgery during the 2000 offseason -- the Mariners could reap the benefits of having another veteran starter in the rotation. The 30-year-old has won 10 or more games and logged more than 150 innings in each of the past six seasons.

RHP Shigetoshi Hasegawa -- A workhorse reliever for the Angels the past five seasons, averaging nearly 60 appearances a season, Hasegawa can be used as a long, middle or setup reliever, making sure Jeff Nelson stays rested and strong through the season.

INF Alex Arias -- The nine-year MLB veteran acquired from the Padres will spend his first season in Seattle as a backup infielder.

INF Desi Relaford -- The six-year MLB veteran is coming off his best season, batting .302 for the Mets in 112 games, including 69 starts. The versatile Relaford played 54 games at second base, 20 games at third base and 25 games at shortstop for the Mets. He figures to be used virtually the same way by manager Lou Piniella.

INF Luis Ugueto -- The 23-year-old switch-hitter must make the 25-man roster coming out of camp or be offered back to the Florida Marlins for $25,000. Ugueto was a Rule V draft pick from the Marlins by the Pittsburgh Pirates, who then sent him to the Mariners. He will compete for a backup infield role.

[Baseball Guru]

LONG GONE


RHP Aaron Sele -- A mainstay in the Mariners rotation the past two seasons -- compiling a 32-15 record -- the right-hander faltered badly in the postseason and Seattle didn't make an effort to re-sign him. Sele's postseason history (0-6 record) and high salary ($7.5 million last season) made him expendable.

RHP Jose Paniagua -- After a sensational 2000 season, when he went 3-0 with a 3.47 ERA in 69 relief appearances, the right-hander struggled big-time in '01 and was traded to the Rockies. His ERA climbed to 4.36 and his walk-strikeout ratio went from 38-71 in 80 1/3 innings in 2000 to 38-46 in 66 innings last season.

OF Al Martin -- His career in Seattle was short and not at all sweet. The veteran outfielder, who took with him from San Diego on July 31, 2000 a $5 million-a-year contract, batted .237, hit just 11 home runs and drove in 51 runs in 417 at-bats for the Mariners.

3B David Bell -- He personified class during his three-plus seasons with the Mariners and played superb defense at third base. His glove work had much to do with the overall improvement of Seattle's pitching staff, and he also was one of the team's top clutch hitters.

OF Jay Buhner -- Life in the clubhouse won't be quite the same without the 13-year MLB veteran, who is synonymous with the franchise's rise from the doldrums in the mid-1990s. He ranks among the franchise leaders in virtually every offensive category and provided the team with steady veteran leadership.

OF Stan Javier -- Of the players on the 25-man ALCS roster that aren't returning, Javier could be the most difficult to replace. He started 66 games at four different positions in 2001 and committed just one error all season. Javier also provided solid pinch-hit work with a .294 average (5-for-17).

C Tom Lampkin -- The offseason trade that sent Lampkin to the Padres left the backup catcher speechless. The former Mariners batboy absolutely loved his job with the Mariners, but his production fell off the past two seasons. After batting .291 with nine home runs and 34 RBIs in 76 games in 1999, Lampkin batted .225 with five home runs and 22 RBIs in 79 games last season.

RETURNING FROM INJURY

SS Carlos Guillen -- Team physicians report that Guillen has completely recovered from his bout with pulmonary tuberculosis late last season.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

OF Scott Podsednik -- He made a memorable MLB debut last summer when he delivered a bases-loaded triple against the Diamondbacks in his first big-league at-bat -- as a pinch-hitter. His lack of power is the most glaring drawback.

RHP Jeff Heaverlo -- The son of former MLB pitcher Dave Heaverlo has developed a quality change-up to go with two kinds of sliders and a fastball, making him highly regarded in the organization. He probably will be a fixture in the rotation, but that isn't likely until next season.

ON THE REBOUND


Edgar Martinez -- It is stretching it a bit, but the best designated hitter in history batted "only" .306 last season, 13 points below his career average and the lowest since his .285 mark in 1994, when he played in just 89 games.

THE BOTTOM LINE


The defending AL West champions go into Spring Training with the Opening Day roster virtually set. They lost nine players off of last season's 116-win team, but the nucleus returns for another run at the World Series. Starters return at seven of the nine positions, the bullpen is only slightly different and the rotation has one major change -- James Baldwin replaces Aaron Sele. Manager Lou Piniella and his coaching staff's primary mission in camp is to make sure the players are healthy and ready for the regular-season opener on April 1 against the Chicago White Sox at SAFECO Field.

Jim Street covers the Mariners for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.