38-year old righty reliever Miguel Batista has not been worth the money the Mariners are paying him. He has pitched in 53 games (0 starts) this season for the Mariners and he is 7-4 with a 4.19 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. Since the Mariners signed him to a huge contract three years ago, Batista has pitched in 130 games (52 starts) in which he is 27-29 with 1 save, a 4.87 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP. The Mariners will likely pitch Batista in relief again next year which will be the last year of his horrid contract.

22-year old righty swinging outfielder Greg Halman was the Mariners’ top prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. He played in 124 games in Rookie+AA ball this season and he was 98 for 468 (.209 avg, .698 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 25 homers, 74 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Halman is a hacker with not much plate discipline yet as he has whiffed 191 times and walked 31 times this year. The Mariners will have to take is slow with Halman who has a lot of power but also a lot of holes in his swing.

36-year old righty swinging 1B/DH Mike Sweeney has really made the most of his playing time with the Mariners. He has played in 69 games for the Mariners this season and he is 64 for 228 (.281 avg, .774 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 7 homers and 30 RBIs. The Mariners would probably bring Sweeney back next season unless he gets a good offer from another team.

The Mariners always knew that Jose Lopez was a good hitter but this season he’s hitting with more power and the Mariners needed that. Lopez has played in 141 games for the Mariners this season and he is 151 for 563 (.268 avg, .766 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 24 homers and 91 RBIs. Lopez is just entering his prime so he could even hit for more power next season for the Mariners.

The Mariners have traded 37-year old righty swinging catcher Jamie Burke to the Nationals for cash considerations. Burke played in 13 games for the Mariners this season and he was 5 for 41 (.122 avg, .358 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 homer and 1 RBI. In three years with the Mariners, Burke played in 111 games in which he was 63 for 246 (.256 avg) with 30 runs scored, 3 homers and 21 RBIs. With Kenji Johjima and Rob Johnson handling the catching duties the Mariners didn’t need Burke around anymore. At least he’ll have a good chance to play for the Nationals the remainder of this season.