Major League Baseball has suspended 25-year old righty reliever/starter Chaz Roe for the first 50 games of the 2012 season due to a positive test for amphetamines. Roe pitched in 33 games (10 starts) in AAA-ball for the Mariners last year and he was 0-7 with 2 saves, a 6.59 ERA and a 1.72 WHIP. He has now pitched in 159 games (136 starts) in his first 7 years in the minors and he is 42-45 with 2 saves, a 4.73 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. This is not much of a loss for the Mariners as Roe wasn’t expected to make their pitching staff in 2012.

The Mariners have signed 30-year old lefty starting pitcher Oliver Perez to a minor league deal. Perez pitched in 16 games (15 starts) in AA-ball last year and he was 3-5 with a 3.09 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. Perez last pitched in the majors back in 2010 with the Mets. Perez has pitched in 206 games (195 starts) in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 58-69 with a 4.63 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. Perez has only given up 1,019 hits in his first 1,111 2/3 innings so far in his major league career while whiffing 1,126 batters. But, he has also walked 628 batters which is way too many. If Perez is healthy and throwing strikes this spring, he could win a job at the back end of the Mariners’ starting rotation.

The Mariners have signed 37-year old righty starting pitcher Kevin Millwood to a minor league deal. Millwood pitched in 9 games (all starts) for the Rockies last year and he was 4-3 with a 3.98 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He has now pitched in 423 games (415 starts) in his first 15 years in the majors and he is 163-140 with a 4.10 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Millwood won the ERA title in 2005 (2.86) when pitching for Mariners’ manager Eric Wedge in Cleveland, so maybe he has a surprise season in store for the Mariners.

The Mariners have added more pitching than hitting this winter, so they still have some work to do before the 2012 season begins. They have went the trade route and to Japan (for free agents) to try to improve the teams so far this winter. Here is a look at the new guys the Mariners have brought in over the winter so far:

On the field: The Mariners made a big splash just a couple of days ago in dealing for DH/C Jesus Montero. He will be the full-time DH for the Mariners starting in 2012. The Mariners also dealt for lefty swinging catcher John Jaso to platoon behind the plate with Miguel Olivo in 2012. The Mariners also brought in outfielder Darren Ford and shortstop Munenori Kawasaki to compete for backup jobs this spring, and they both have decent upsides.

On the mound: The Mariners have signed Hisashi Iwakuma as a free agent from Japan and he will likely replace Michael Pineda in the starting rotation in 2012. Reliever George Sherrill will likely be the Mariners’ top lefty reliever in 2012 as he is coming off a solid year with the Braves in 2011. Righty Aaron Heilman will compete for a bullpen job this spring for the Mariners. Righty starter/reliever Hector Noesi was part of the return for Michael Pineda and he will either be in the rotation or the bullpen for the Mariners in 2012.

Overall: The Mariners didn’t want to spend too much money this winter, as they are not a legit threat to the re-loaded Angels or the Rangers in 2011. But, they have made some nice additions for the future.

The Seattle Mariners have acquired 22-year old righty swinging C/DH Jesus Montero and 24-year old righty reliever/starter Hector Noesi from the Yankees for 22-year old righty starting pitcher Michael Pineda and 19-year old righty starting pitcher Jose Campos. Jesus Montero came into the 2011 season as the Yankees’ #1 prospect according to Baseball America. He played in 18 games for the Yankees in his first taste of the majors last year and he was 20 for 61 (.328 avg, .996 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 4 homers and 12 RBIs. He also played in 109 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 121 of 420 (.288 avg, .814 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 18 homers and 67 RBIs. It’s not clear if the Mariners will play Montero at catcher or use him as the DH, but one thing is for certain……he’s going to be playing somewhere because they need his bat. Hector Noesi will get a shot this spring to replace Michael Pineda in the starting rotation. Noesi pitched in 30 games (2 starts) for the Yankees last year (his first taste of the majors) and he was 2-2 with a 4.47 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. He also pitched in 6 games (5 starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 1-1 with a 3.28 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP.

It was kind of shocking to me that the Mariners were willing to trade Michael Pineda. Pineda made the All-Star team last season and he was fifth in the voting for the A.L. Rookie of the Year Award. He pitched in 28 games (all starts) for the Mariners last year and he was 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He only gave up 133 hits in 171 innings last year while whiffing 173 batters as he has dominating stuff. Jose Campos pitched in 14 games (all starts) in A-ball last year and he was 5-5 with a 2.32 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. He pitched in 40 games (30 starts) in his first three years in the minors and he was 14-10 with 1 save, a 3.26 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.

This trade could help both teams as the Mariners were desperate for hitting while the Yankees needed help in the starting rotation. It took a lot of guts to trade a pitcher with Pineda’s upside.