The Mariners signed 39-year old lefty swinging Ken Griffey Jr. to handle left field in 2009. But, when they sent down Jeff Clement it opened a lot of DH at bats for Griffey. Griffey played in 143 games for the Reds and White Sox last season in which he was 122 for 490 (.249 avg, .777 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 18 homers and 71 RBIs. Griffey played in 91 games in RF last season making 5 errors while showing below average range. He also played in 32 games in CF showing poor range but making no errors. Jr. will likely get more playing time at DH than LF in an attempt to keep him healthy.

When Griffey is DHing the Mariners will likely platoon lefty swinging Endy Chavez and Wladimir Balentien in LF. The 31-year old Chavez is a defensive whiz. He played in 52 games in LF for the Mets last season and he didn’t make any errors while showing outstanding range. Chavez played in 133 games for the Mets last season in which he was 72 for 270 (.267 avg, .638 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 1 homer, 12 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. 24-year old righty swinging Balentien has really tested the Mariners’ patience to this point. He played in 71 games for the Mariners last season and he was 49 for 243 (.202 avg, .592 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 7 homers and 24 RBIs. Balentien has a whiffing problem however as he K’d 79 times for the Mariners last season. Balentien only played in 5 games in LF last season for the Mariners and he didn’t make any errors while showing outstanding range. He also played in 35 games in RF last season for the Mariners making 2 errors and showing good range.

27-year old righty swinging Mike Morse is still around for now. He played in 5 games for the Mariners last season and he was 2 for 9 (.222 avg, .697 OPS). Morse has never really gotten much of a chance to show what he can do in his career with the Mariners. He has played in 107 games in 4 years with the Mariners and he is 90 for 300 (.300 avg, .762 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 3 homers, 37 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: C-

The Mariners have acquired 29-year old righty swinging IF/OF Chris Burke from the Padres for either a player to be named later or cash. Burke played in 15 games this spring for the Padres in which he was 9 for 32 (.281 avg, .752 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 3 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Burke didn’t play too well for the D-Backs last season appearing in 86 games in which he was 32 for 165 (.194 avg, .583 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 2 homers, 12 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Burke has now played in 445 games in his major league career in which he is 286 for 1,185 (.241 avg, .681 OPS) with 168 runs scored, 22 homers, 106 RBIs and 36 stolen bases. Maybe Burke can get his groove back and help the Mariners’ bench in 2009.

The Mariners have released righty reliever Tyler Walker. Walker pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the Mariners this spring in which he was 0-0 with a 4.76 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. With Brandon Morrow switching to closer the Mariners didn’t feel that they needed Walker around any more.

The Mariners have claimed 25-year old righty reliever Jesus Delgado off waivers from the Marlins. Delgado was the #21 rated prospect in the Marlins’ minor league system according to Baseball America. He pitched in 2 games (0 starts) for the Marlins last season and he was 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP. He also pitched in 48 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA ball last season in which he was 5-2 with 1 save, a 4.76 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. This was a good move for the Mariners as you can never have enough quality arms.

25-year old lefty hitting catcher Jeff Clement will get the first shot to be the starting DH for the Mariners in 2009. He was once one of the most highly thought of prospects coming to the majors but he fell on hard times when the Mariners gave him some playing time last season. He played in 66 games for the Mariners last season in which he was 46 for 203 (.227 avg, .655 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 5 homers and 23 RBIs. He dominated in AAA-ball again last season playing in 48 games in which he was 58 for 172 (.337 avg, 1.137 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 14 homers and 43 RBIs. The Mariners clearly want Clement to get most of the at bats at DH in 2009.

The Mariners signed 35-year old righty swinging Mike Sweeney during the winter to give Clement some competition this spring. Sweeney played in 42 games for the A’s last season and he was 36 for 126 (.286 avg, .728 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 2 homers and 12 RBIs. If healthy Sweeney could produce his normal career line of a .299 batting average with a .857 OPS. Ken Griffey Jr. could also get some at bats here in 2009 for the Mariners.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: C