27-year old lefty starting pitcher Jason Vargas has been a nice surprise for the Mariners this year. He has started 9 games this season for the Mariners and he is 3-2 with a 3.12 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. He only has given up 44 hits this year in 57 2/3 innings while whiffing 38 batters so he’s looking good. Vargas was once one of the Marlins’ better prospects so he might just be getting everything together right now. Vargas came into this season pitching in 54 games (34 starts) in his major league career and he was 9-14 with a 5.43 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. For some reason lefty starting pitchers usually take more time to develop but I don’t see any reason to think Vargas can’t keep pitching well.

The Mariners have placed 32-year old switch hitting catcher Josh Bard on the 15-day disabled list with a calf strain. Bard has played in 8 games for the Mariners this year and he is 6 for 22 (.273 avg, .916 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. This is a bad break for Bard who was getting a lot of P.T. for the Mariners. The Mariners have brought up 31-year old righty swinging catcher Eliezer Alfonzo to replace Bard on the roster. Alfonzo has played in 25 games in AAA-ball this year and he is 24 of 90 (.267 avg, .727 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 3 homers and 10 RBIs. Alfonzo has played in 155 games in his major league career and he is 113 of 475 (.238 avg, .662 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 15 homers and 54 RBIs. Despite him showing some power in the majors he has whiffed 135 times which is quite a lot.

The Mariners have designated 30-year old lefty swinging 1B/3B Jack Hannahan for assignment. Hannahan has played in 27 games in AAA-ball this year and he is 19 of 100 (.190 avg, .567 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 2 homers and 14 RBIs. He played in 51 games for the Mariners last year and he was 34 of 148 (.230 avg, .656 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 3 homers and 11 RBIs. It will be interesting to see if Hannahan accepts a minor league assignment or if he rejects it so he can become a free agent.

The Mariners need to make a trade or two to help the offense or this season is going to go down the drain and they can’t wait for it. The Mariners could go for the gusto and offer the Brewers Adam Moore, Matt Tuiasosopo, Michael Saunders, Ryan Rowland-Smith, Casey Kotchman and Shawn Kelley for Prince Fielder and Mat Gamel. If they don’t want to give up quite so much they could call the Astros and offer them Adam Moore, Matt Tuiasosopo and Sean White for Lance Berkman. I think the better idea would be to try to get two of Luke Scott, Travis Hafner, Cody Ross and Jose Guillen. Hafner would be the cheapest as the Indians would send the Mariners a ton of money to get back Matt Tuiasosopo and Ryan Rowland-Smith. Jose Guillen would likely also be sent to the Mariners with a bunch of cash for Shawn Kelley and Sean White. Cody Ross would likely cost Michael Saunders and Sean White while Luke Scott would likely cost Michael Saunders and Shawn Kelley. With all things considered I would probably try the Travis Hafner and Cody Ross route so that the Mariners would get to keep Shawn Kelley.

26-year old righty starting pitcher Doug Fister is pitching out of his mind so far this season for the Mariners. He has started 8 games for the Mariners this season and he is 3-2 with a 1.96 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. Fister has only given up 40 hits in 55 innings as he consistently is missing bats despite not having great stuff. He has been very aggressive in the strike zone as he has only walked 10 batters while whiffing 25. He has been helped a lot by the defense of the Mariners but I just have a feeling that Fister won’t be able to keep up his wizardry over A.L. hitters much longer due to the fact that he’s not missing bats.