The Mariners have signed 27-year old righty reliever Wes Littleton to a minor league deal. Littleton pitched in 35 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 0-5 with a 6.50 ERA and a 2.06 WHIP. The Mariners likely looked past his minor league numbers last season as he has been effective in the majors. Littleton last pitched in the majors in 2008 with the Rangers. Littleton has pitched in 80 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 5-3 with 3 saves, a 3.69 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP.

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.

The Mariners have signed 32-year old righty reliever Jesus Colome to a minor league deal. He pitched in 21 games (0 starts) for the Nationals and Brewers last season and he was 1-1 with a 7.59 ERA and a 1.88 WHIP. Colome has now pitched in 329 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 19-26 with 6 saves, a 4.66 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. Colome has always had nasty stuff so the Mariners were smart to give him a chance this spring to show what he can do.

The Mariners have signed 29-year old righty reliever Levale Speigner to a minor league deal. Speigner pitched in 58 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 6-6 with 1 save, a 2.56 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors in 2008 with the Nationals. He has now pitched in 26 games (6 starts) in his major league career and he is 2-4 with a 9.19 ERA and a 2.08 WHIP. Speigner was worth taking a low risk flier on for the Mariners based on how well he pitched in the minors last season.