40-year old lefty swinging Ken Griffey will likely be the better half of a platoon with either Ryan Garko or Mike Sweeney. Griffey played in 117 games for the Mariners last season and he was 83 for 387 (.214 avg, .735 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 19 homers and 57 RBIs. The Mariners really hope that Griffey can bring his average up into the .270 range and it’s possible that he can do that because he has a career average of .285. Griffey still has good power as he averaged a homer every 20.4 at bats last season and a RBI every 6.79 at bats last season.

29-year old righty swinging Ryan Garko played in 118 games for the Indians & Giants last season and he was 95 for 354 (.268 avg, .765 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 13 homers and 51 RBIs. Garko mashed lefty pitchers last season to the tune of a .308 batting average with a .870 OPS in 117 at bats against them last season. He could also get some P.T. at 1B for the Mariners in 2010.

36-year old righty swinging Mike Sweeney showed that he still has some pop in his bat last year for the Mariners. Sweeney played in 74 games for the Mariners last season and he was 68 for 242 (.281 avg, .777 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 8 homers and 34 RBIs. Sweeney only hit .235 with a .752 OPS against lefty pitchers last season. But, he did crack 7 homers in 136 at bats against lefties last season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DH IN 2010: C

32-year old switch hitting Chone Figgins is the new starting 3B for the Mariners. He played in 158 games for the Angels last season and he was 183 for 615 (.298 avg, .788 OPS) with 114 runs scored, 5 homers, 54 RBIs and 42 stolen bases. Figgins also walked 101 times last season which will make him the perfect #2 hitter in the lineup for the Mariners. Figgins made 14 errors in 154 games for the Angels last season and he showed good range. I love the addition of Figgins because his addition really helps the Mariners while his loss will hurt the Angels.

29-year old lefty swinging Jack Hannahan will likely be the backup at 3B and 1B for the Mariners in 2010. Hannahan played in 51 games for the Mariners last season and he was 34 for 148 (.230 avg, .656 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 3 homers and 11 RBIs. He played in 103 games overall for the A’s and Mariners last season in which he was 57 for 267 (.213 avg, .623 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 4 homers and 19 RBIs. Hannahan made 7 errors in 84 games at 3B last season while showing good range.

23-year old righty swinging Matt Tuiasosopo played in 7 games for the Mariners last season and he was 5 for 22 (.227 avg, .689 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. He also played in 68 games in Rookie+AAA-ball last season and he was 70 for 253 (.277 avg, .861 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 12 homers, 38 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Tuiasosopo is one of the better prospects for the Mariners but it’s more likely that he will be trade bait in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2010: A-

32-year old righty swinging Jack Wilson will be the starting shortstop for the Mariners in 2010. He played in 31 games for the Mariners last season and he was 24 for 107 (.224 avg, .562 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 1 homer, 8 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Wilson played in 106 games overall last season for the Mariners & Pirates and he was 95 for 373 (.255 avg, .654 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 5 homers, 39 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Mariners are hoping that Wilson hits his career norms of a .268 batting average with a .684 OPS. Wilson played in 105 games at SS last season and he made 12 errors while showing good range. If Wilson stays healthy in 2010 for the Mariners he might win a Gold Glove because he is that good defensively.

28-year old righty swinging Josh Wilson played in 45 games for the Mariners last season and he was 32 for 128 (.250 avg, .692 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 3 homers, 10 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Wilson played in 72 games overall last season with the Mariners & D-Backs & Padres and he was 42 for 192 (.219 avg, .612 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 3 homers, 13 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Wilson made 6 errors in 55 games last season while showing good range.

33-year old righty swinging Chris Woodward will also battle for a roster spot this spring. He played in 20 games for the Mariners last season and he was 16 for 67 (.239 avg, .542 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 5 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Woodward played in 33 games overall for the Mariners & Red Sox last season and he was 17 for 79 (.215 avg, .520 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 5 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Woodward didn’t make any errors in 5 games at SS last season but he showed poor range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SS IN 2010: C

The Mariners have re-signed 36-year old 1B/DH Mike Sweeney to a minor league deal. Sweeney played in 74 games for the Mariners last season and he was 68 for 242 (.281 avg, .777 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 8 homers and 34 RBIs. Sweeney has now played in 1,398 games in his major league career and he is 1,502 of 5,037 (.298 avg, .854 OPS) with 738 runs scored, 207 homers and 883 RBIs. I’m not really sure where Sweeney fits into the Mariners’ plans this season but it never hurts to have a quality veteran like him around.

The Mariners have re-signed 26-year old lefty starter/reliever Chris Seddon and 28-year old righty swinging catcher Guillermo Quiroz. Seddon pitched in 25 games (24 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 9-8 with a 4.51 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. Seddon last pitched in the majors in 2007 with the Marlins. He worked in 7 games (4 starts) for the Marlins that season and he was 0-2 with a 8.83 ERA and a 1.96 WHIP. Quiroz will battle for the backup catcher job in 2010 but he will likely be starting the year in AAA. Quiroz played in 4 games for the Mariners last season and he was 4 for 14 (.286 avg, .571 OPS) with 2 RBIs. He has now played in 99 games in his major league career and he is 51 for 248 (.206 avg, .537 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 2 homers and 28 RBIs. It never hurts to have guys in AAA that have major league experience and that is where Seddon and Quiroz fit in for the Mariners.