The Mariners have signed 29-year old righty reliever Chris Smith and 27-year old righty starter/reliever Charlie Haeger. Smith pitched in 3 games (0 starts) for the Brewers last season and he was 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. He has now pitched in 50 games (0 starts) in parts of three years in the majors and he is 1-0 with a 5.19 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Smith will have a shot to earn a spot in the bullpen next spring.

Charlie Haeger is a knuckleballer. He pitched in 9 games (6 starts) for the Dodgers last season and he was 0-4 with a 8.40 ERA and a 2.07 WHIP. Haeger has now pitched in 34 games (10 starts) in parts of 5 years in the majors and he is 2-7 with a 6.40 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP. Haeger won’t get another chance at the big leagues until he starts throwing strikes.

The Mariners have re-signed 27-year old outfielder Mike Wilson, 27-year old lefty reliever/starter Chris Seddon and 26-year old righty starter/reliever Yusmeiro Petit to minor league deals. Righty swinging outfielder Mike Wilson played in 117 games in AA+AAA-ball last season and he was 109 of 392 (.278 avg, .897 OPS) with 77 runs scored, 25 homers, 78 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. He has now played in 760 games in 9 years in the minors for the Mariners and he is 710 of 2,722 (.261 avg, .826 OPS) with 490 runs scored, 129 homers, 485 RBIs and 67 stolen bases.

Chris Seddon pitched in 14 games (0 starts) for the Mariners last season and he was 1-0 with a 5.64 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. He has now pitched in 21 games (4 starts) in parts of two years in the majors and he is 1-2 with a 7.03 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP.

Yusmiero Petit pitched in 24 games (6 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 4-2 with a 4.85 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Petit has also pitched in 71 games (36 starts) in parts of four years in the majors and he is 10-20 with a 5.57 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Wilson, Seddon and Petit will likely be stashed at AAA in 2011 for the Mariners.

The Mariners have signed 30-year old switch hitting infielder Luis Rodriguez to a minor league deal. Rodriguez played in 94 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 101 of 345 (.293 avg, .856 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 16 homers, 56 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He has also played five seasons in the majors. Rodriguez has played in 363 games in his major league career and he is 208 of 855 (.243 avg, .639 OPS) with 90 runs scored, 8 homers, 66 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Rodriguez can play 2B, SS or 3B so he will have value to the Mariners if they need him in 2011.

The Mariners have signed 25-year old lefty reliever Fabio Castro to a minor league deal. Castro pitched in 31 games (15 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 7-9 with a 4.93 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. He has also pitched in 30 games (1 start) in his major league career and he is 0-1 with 1 save, a 3.30 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Castro will have a chance to earn a spot in the pen next spring.

24-year old righty starting pitcher Felix Hernandez has won the 2010 American League Cy Young Award. He earned it by starting 34 games in which he was 13-12 with a 2.27 ERA (led A.L) and a 1.06 WHIP. I agree with this pick because King Felix was quite simply the best pitcher in the A.L. and it wasn’t even really that close. If he pitched on almost any other team in baseball he would have won 20+ games because the Mariners were pretty awful last season. Hernandez has now pitched in 172 games (all starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 71-53 with a 3.20 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. King Felix keeps getting better and that has to be scary for the rest of the American League.

UPDATE: (12/2/2010) - Felix Hernandez also finished 16th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award.