The Mariners have re-signed 27-year old lefty swinging 1B Brad Nelson to a minor league deal. Nelson played in 78 games in AAA-ball for the Mariners last season and he was 68 for 275 (.247 avg, .773 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 15 homers and 45 RBIs. He also played in 21 games for the Brewers last season and he was 0 for 21 (.000 avg, .087 OPS). Nelson has played in 28 games in his major league career and he is 2 for 28 (.071 avg, .304 OPS). The Mariners will just stash Nelson in AAA and call him up in the need arises.

The Mariners were truly awful their first few seasons in the major leagues but 1B/OF Tom Paciorek gave the fans a reason to watch them play. He played 4 years for the Mariners appearing in 403 games in which he was 410 for 1,384 (.296 avg, .803 OPS) with 164 runs scored, 39 homers, 197 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. Those numbers might not look that impressive but Paciorek wasn’t using any steroids and the Mariners didn’t have much help for him in the line-up. He did make the All-Star team in 1981 for the Mariners when he played in 104 games in which he was 132 for 405 (.326 avg, .888 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 14 homers, 66 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. 1981 was a year marred by a baseball stike which makes his numbers that season all the more impressive.

The Seattle Mariners will have the best defensive team in all of baseball in 2010 but the big question is whether or not they will score enough runs. Here is the way the line-up would look if the season started next week:

C-Adam Moore/Josh Bard
1B-Casey Kotchman
2B-Jose Lopez
SS-Jack Wilson
3B-Chone Figgins
LF-Milton Bradley
CF-Franklin Gutierrez
RF-Ichiro Suzuki
DH-Ken Griffey Jr.

The Mariners have been discussing trading Jose Lopez for pitching with the idea of then signing a player like Orlando Hudson to replace him thus tightening the defense up even more for 2010. The bigger need right now is a righty swinging DH to platoon with Griffey. Guys like Ryan Garko, Jonny Gomes, Marcus Thames, Gary Sheffield or Fernando Tatis fit the bill and the Mariners wouldn’t have to break the bank to sign any of them.

The Mariners have acquired 26-year old lefty swinging 1B Casey Kotchman from the Red Sox for Bill Hall, a minor league player to be named later and cash. Kotchman played in 126 games for the Red Sox and Braves last season and he was 103 for 385 (.268 avg, .721 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 7 homers and 48 RBIs. He has now played in 520 games in his major league career and he is 450 for 1,674 (.269 avg, .742 OPS) with 195 runs scored, 40 homers and 233 RBIs. Kotchman is nowhere near the hitter that Russell Branyan was for the Mariners but he will tighten up the defense even more for the Mariners as he is really slick with the glove on his hand. The Mariners shouldn’t miss Bill Hall too much. He played in 34 games for the Mariners after coming over in a trade with the Brewers last season and he was 24 for 120 (.200 avg, .578 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 2 homers and 12 RBIs. This was another solid move for the Mariners making the team better for 2010.

The Mariners have brought back 33-year old righty swinging SS Mike Woodward on a minor league deal. He played in 20 games for the Mariners last season and he was 16 for 67 (.239 avg, .541 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 5 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Woodward has now played in 640 games in his major league career and he is 405 for 1,677 (.242 avg, .667 OPS) with 208 runs scored, 33 homers, 191 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Woodward is a nice guy to have stashed in AAA and that is where he will likely start the 2010 season getting a call to Seattle when the need arises.