The Mariners will be without starting catcher Kenji Johjima due to a broken toe that will cause him to miss the next 6-8 weeks. He has played in 25 games this season for the Mariners and he is 22 for 88 (.250 avg, .661 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 3 homers and 10 RBIs. Rob Johnson will take over as the starting catcher while Johjima is out of action. Johnson has played in 25 games this season for the Mariners and he is 16 for 76 (.211 avg, .563 OPS) with 6 runs scored and 8 RBIs. The Mariners have recalled 27-year old righty swinging catcher Guillermo Quiroz to replace Johjima on the active roster. He has played in 21 games in AA+AAA ball this season and he is 19 for 74 (.257 avg, .660 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 homers and 7 RBIs. Quiroz has also played in 95 games in his major league career in which he is 47 for 234 (.201 avg, .535 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 2 homers and 26 RBIs.

In 2008 Jose Lopez could do no wrong as he hit .297 with 80 runs scored, 17 homers and 89 RBIs. But, he’s off to a terrible start this season and it’s hurting the offense big time. He has played in 43 games this year for the Mariners and he is 37 for 166 (.223 avg, .577 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 3 homers and 21 RBIs. The Mariners need Lopez to start hitting the baseball because he has one of the biggest upsides of the Mariners’ hitters.

All the Mariners offered Russell Branyan was a chance to win a starting job for the first time in his major league career when they signed him. Branyan has definately been taking advantage of him opportunity in Seattle as he leads the team in runs scored, homers and he is 2nd on the team in RBIs. He has played in 38 games for the Mariners so far this season and he is 43 for 137 (.314 avg, 1.016 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 10 homers and 20 RBIs. Don’t expect Branyan to hit anywhere near the .314 he is right now as he has whiffed 42 times already this season. But, the Mariners will likely have no problem with Branyan if his average starts to fall some as long as he keeps hitting the longball and there’s no reason to think he won’t.

The Mariners have placed 25-year old righty reliever Shawn Kelley on the 15-day disabled list with a strained oblique muscle. This is a shame as Kelley was off to a outstanding start of the season. Kelley has pitched in 10 games (0 starts) for the Mariners this season and he is 1-1 with a 1.54 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. He has whiffed 11 batters in only 11 2/3 innings showing what kind of stuff he has. The Mariners have recalled 25-year old lefty reliever/starter Garrett Olson from AAA to replace Kelley on the pitching staff. Olson started 5 games in AAA-ball this season and he was 2-2 with a 3.08 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. He has pitched in 33 games (all starts) in his major league career so far and he is 10-13 with a 6.87 ERA and a 1.82 WHIP.

The Mariners have signed 28-year old lefty swinging Jerry Owens to a minor league contract. Owens played in 12 games for the White Sox this season before his release and he was 1 for 12 (.083 avg, .350 OPS) with 1 stolen base. He has now played in 129 games in his 4-year major league career and he is 103 for 393 (.262 avg, .624 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 1 homer, 18 RBIs and 36 stolen bases. It’s nice to have a player like Owens stashed in AAA in case the Mariners suffer some injuries to the outfield.