As expected, the Seattle Mariners optioned struggling shortstop Chris Taylor to Triple-A Tacoma on Monday in order to clear roster space for a fresh bullpen arm in Mayckol Guaipe.
Taylor was batting .159 with a .220 on-base percentage in 20 games since his May 4 recall from Tacoma. He had started only one of the previous six games.
“I’ll tell you exactly what I told Chris Taylor,” Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon said. “I love the kid. I said, ‘I think you’re going to be a tremendous shortstop in this league. But at the same time, I can not allow you to continue to swim uphill.’
“It’s tough to straighten things out at this level.”
Optioning Taylor to Tacoma returns Brad Miller to duty as the club’s regular shortstop. Miller shifted to a super utility role when the Mariners recalled Taylor. Willie Bloomquist again serves as the roster’s primary utilityman.
Guaipe, a 24-year-old right-hander, got word of his promotion Monday just prior to the Rainiers’ game against Round Rock. A Venezuelan native, he was signed in 2006 as a non-drafted free agent but prior to Monday, had never pitched in the majors.
“I’ve been waiting for this call for a long time,” said Guaipe, who made his major-league debut Monday night. “This is what you look forward to for all of these years.”
Guaipe was 0-2 with three saves and a 4.58 ERA in 16 games at Tacoma.
“The Cleveland series was a little tough for us,” McClendon said. “It gives us the chance to manipulate the roster a little bit. He’s a power arm with a power slider, and he throws strikes.”
How long Guaipe stays in the majors an open question since the Mariners are likely to option a reliever to Tacoma on Tuesday to clear roster space for pitcher Mike Montgomery. The choice is expected to be between Guaipe and Dominic Leone.
McClendon confirmed that Montgomery, a left-hander, will be recalled Tuesday to start the second game of the series against the Yankees. Montgomery replaces injured James Paxton in the rotation.
But the Mariners are already hedging their bets: Reliever Danny Farquhar will start Tuesday for Tacoma against New Orleans at Cheney Stadium and will, tentatively anyway, remain in the Rainiers’ rotation.
Morrison put in leadoff spot
So this is what happens following a rough weekend that saw the Seattle Mariners lose three times in four games to Cleveland in large part because of a flat-lining offense.
Manager Lloyd McClendon shook up his lineup for Monday’s series opener against the New York Yankees by placing first baseman Logan Morrison in the leadoff role.
“We’re just trying to shake things up a little bit,” McClendon said. “Listen, you go to a fishing hole, and you don’t catch any fish, at some point you’ve got to change holes.”
McClendon gave Morrison a heads-up before posting the lineup.
“He called me in the office,” Morrison said, “and he wrote me down as the first name (on the lineup), and I was like, ‘Oh…’”
Morrison said he’d never batted leadoff in his life.
“I’ve always been a bigger kid,” he said. “Not plus speed. So I’ve never led off. But you only lead off one time in a game. Otherwise, it’s the same.
“I’m excited. We’ll see how it plays out, but it’s not going to change my approach. You’ve still got to get a good pitch to hit and put a good swing on it.”
Cruz still leads
Nelson Cruz continues to lead the American League All-Star balloting at designated hitter, but his edge over ex-Mariner Kendrys Morales, now with Kansas City, slipped over the past week by 26,352 votes.
Cruz totaled 2,108,584 votes in the latest release from Major League Baseball and leads Morales by 280,854 votes. Cruz’s lead was 307,206 a week ago.
No other Mariners are among the leaders at their positions. MLB releases vote totals for the top 15 outfielders and top five players at all positions except pitchers.
Updated National League balloting will be released Tuesday.
Balloting is being conducted solely online this season for the first time. Fans can cast votes through MLB.com and all 30 club websites through 8:59 p.m. PDT on July 2.
The All-Star Game is July 14 in Cincinnati.
Minor detaials
Tacoma shortstop Ketel Marte, one of the organization’s top prospects, is expected to miss six weeks after suffering a broken left thumb in Sunday’s victory over Round Rock at Cheney Stadium.
Marte, 21, had been viewed, prior to the injury, as a possible promotion candidate to replace Taylor as the Mariners’ starting shortstop.
Marte was batting .343 in 51 games, which ranked second in the Pacific Coast League. He was ranked No. 3 prior to the season in the TNT list of the organization’s Top 10 prospects..
Looking Back, Part I
It was 25 years ago Tuesday — June 2, 1990 — that Randy Johnson pitched the first no-hitter in Mariners’ history in a 2-0 victory over Detroit at the Kingdome.
Johnson struck out eight but walked six. He ended the game by striking out Mike Heath in front of a crowd of 20,014.
The Mariners scored on an RBI grounder in the first inning by Jeffrey Leonard, and a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning by Harold Reynolds.
Looking Back, Part II
It was 28 years ago Tuesday — June 2, 1987 — that the Mariners selected Ken Griffey Jr. with the first overall pick in the draft.
It was five years ago Tuesday — June 2, 2010 — that Griffey announced his retirement. He will be eligible this winter for election into the Hall of Fame.
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