34-year old righty swinging 1B/OF Mike Kinkade has signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners. Kinkade last played in the majors in 2003 with the L.A. Dodgers. He has played in 222 games in his major league career and he is 110 for 429 (.256 avg, .749 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 13 homers and 48 RBIs. Kinkade will be a long shot to make the Mariners roster at any point of the season.

The Mariners have three solid catchers that will be in camp this year. 32-year old righty swinging Kenji Johjima will be the starting catcher again in 2008 for the Mariners. He played in 135 games last season for the Mariners and he was 139 for 485 (.287 avg, .755 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 14 homers and 61 RBIs. Johjima threw out an outstanding 39% of the runners that tried to steal on him last season but Mariners pitchers had a 5.07 ERA when he was catching. Look for Johjima to have another solid season for the Mariners.

36-year old righty swinging Jamie Burke had an outstanding year as Johjima’s backup in 2007. Burke played in 50 games last year and he was 34 for 113 (.301 avg, .761 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 1 homer and 12 RBIs. Burke only threw out 12% of the runners that attempted to steal on him but Mariners pitchers liked to throw to him as they had a 3.75 ERA with him behind the plate.

24-year old lefty swinging Jeff Clement is one of the best prospects in the Mariners system but they will be patient with him. He will likely start the season in AAA unless Johjima or Burke is injured. Clement played in 9 games for the Mariners last season and he was 6 for 16 (.375 avg, 1.287 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 2 homers and 3 RBIs. Clement played in 125 games in AAA last season and he was 125 for 455 (.275 avg, .867 OPS) with 76 runs scored, 20 homers and 80 RBIs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR 2008 SEASON: B

The Mariners have signed 31-year old, lefty swinging outfielder Bubba Crosby to a minor league contract. Crosby last played in the majors in 2006 with the Yankees. Crosby has now played in 205 games in his major league career and he is 54 for 250 (.216 avg, .555 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 4 homers, 20 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Crosby will be a really big long shot to make the Mariners out of spring training.

The Seattle Mariners have claimed 26-year old righty reliever Anderson Garcia off waivers from the Phillies. Garcia only pitched in 1 game for the Phillies last season and he worked 2/3 of an inning and he allowed 2 hits and 1 earned run. Garcia pitched in 51 games (1 start) in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 1-7 with a 4.68 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Don’t expect miracles out of Garcia in 2008.

The Mariners have signed 35-year old switch hitting Greg Norton to a minor league contract. Norton played in 75 games last season for the Devil Rays and he was 49 for 202 (.243 avg, .705 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 4 homers and 23 RBIs. Norton has now played in 895 games in his major league career and he is 540 for 2,147 (.252 avg, .762 OPS) with 283 runs scored, 82 homers and 296 RBIs. This was a good move for the Mariners as Norton has a good stick off the bench.