The Mariners have traded 29-year old righty swinging utility man Chris Burke back to the Padres but it’s unclear as of now what they got in return for him. Burke played in 10 games in AAA-ball for the Mariners this season and he was 9 for 38 (.237 avg, .724 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer, 3 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. This will be no loss for the Mariners who have a very deep infield.

The Mariners have placed starting catcher Kenji Johjima on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring. Johjima has played in 7 games this season for the Mariners and he is 6 for 24 (.250 avg, .500 OPS) with 1 run scored. Johjima will be replaced on in the starting lineup at catcher by rookie Rob Johnson. The 25-year old righty swinging Johnson is the Mariners’ #13 rated prospect according to Baseball America. Johnson has played in 4 games for the Mariners so far this season and he is 3 for 13 (.231 avg, .539 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 3 RBIs. Johnson should do a good job for the Mariners while Johjima is out of action. 37-year old righty swinging Jamie Burke has been brought up from AAA to back up Johnson. He has played in 98 games the last two seasons for the Mariners and he was 58 for 205 (.283 avg) with 29 runs scored, 2 homers and 20 RBIs. Burke should do a solid job when called upon by the Mariners while Johjima is out.

19-year old righty swinging SS/2B Carlos Triunfel has had surgery to replace a ankle that he broke last weekend. He will be out 4-6 months putting the 2009 season in question. Triunfel played in 1 games in AA-ball this season before his injury and he was 2 for 6 (.333 avg, 1.000 OPS) with 1 run scored and 2 RBIs. In his first two seasons in the Mariners’ minor league system, Triunfel played in 204 games in which he was 235 for 807 (.291 avg, .723 OPS) with 126 runs scored, 8 homers, 88 RBIs and 37 stolen bases. The Mariners think that Triunfel will eventually be a impact player for them at the major league level.

The Mariners have placed lefty starting pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith on the 15-day disabled list with triceps tendinitis. He started 1 game this season for the Mariners and he is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 2.40 WHIP. He allowed 4 hits and walked 4 batters in only 3 1/3 innings in that start. He is a solid pitcher though based on his career stats so the Mariners could miss him. Rookie righty Chris Jakubauskas will replace Rowland-Smith in the starting rotation. He has pitched in 3 games (1 start) for the Mariners this season and he is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. He looked good in his first start so the Mariners are hopeful that he can handle the job. Righty reliever Sean White has been recalled from AAA to replace Rowland-Smith on the pitching staff. He pitched 2 shutout innings in his debut for the Mariners this season.

The Seattle Mariners have signed 36-year old righty reliever Jeff Zimmerman to a minor league deal. Zimmerman last pitched during the 2001 season with the Texas Rangers. Two Tommy John surgeries almost ended his pitching career but the Mariners decided to give him a shot to show them if he has anything left. Zimmerman has pitched in 196 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 17-12 with 32 saves, a 3.27 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. This was a nice low risk signing for the Mariners as Zimmerman used to be a pretty good pitcher.