The Mariners have designated 29-year old righty swinging C/1B Chris Gimenez for assignment. He played in 24 games for the Mariners last year and he was 12 for 59 (.203 avg, .585 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 6 RBIs. Gimenez has now played in 97 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 39 for 228 (.171 avg, .551 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 5 homers, 21 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Mariners needed Gimenez’ roster spot for lefty reliever Hong-Chih Kuo. The Mariners shouldn’t miss Gimenez too much as he’s not much of a player.

UPDATE: (2/14/2012) - Chris Gimenez has elected to become a free agent instead of accepting an outright assignment to AAA.

The Seattle Mariners have signed 36-year old righty reliever Shawn Camp to a 1-year deal. Camp pitched in 67 games (0 starts) for the Blue Jays last year and he was 6-3 with 1 save, a 4.21 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. He has now pitched in 432 games (8 starts) in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 25-26 with 10 saves, a 4.40 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Camp will pitch in middle relief for the Mariners in 2012.

UPDATE: (3/21/2012) - The Mariners have released Shawn Camp.

The Mariners have signed 30-year old lefty reliever Hong-Chih Kuo to a 1-year deal. Kuo pitched in 40 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers last year and he was 1-2 with a 9.00 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP. He has now pitched in 218 games (14 starts) in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 13-17 with 13 saves, a 3.73 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. He has only given up 228 hits in his first 292 1/3 innings in the majors while whiffing an impressive 345 batters, as he is downright nasty when he has his head on straight. If he gets his act back together, the Mariners are going to have a steal in him He will team with George Sherrill to give the Mariners’ a nice pair of lefties in the pen if all goes well. I like this signing for the Mariners.

UPDATE: (3/19/2012) - The Mariners have released Hong-Chih Kuo.

The Mariners have signed 36-year old switch-hitting 3B/2B/DH Carlos Guillen to a minor league deal. Guillen played in 28 games for the Tigers last year and he was 22 for 95 (.232 avg, .633 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 3 homers, 13 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Guillen started his major league career with the Mariners from 1998-2003 in which he played in 488 games in which he was 439 of 1,665 (.264 avg, .718 OPS) with 264 runs scored, 29 homers, 211 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Guillen has now played in 1,305 games in his first 14 years in the majors and he is 1,331 of 4,673 (.285 avg, .798 OPS) with 733 runs scored, 124 homers, 660 RBIs and 74 stolen bases. Guillen might get a chance to compete with Chone Figgins for the starting 3B job this spring, but he will likely be used as a bat off the bench. I like this signing for the Mariners.

UPDATE: (3/6/2012) - Carlos Guillen has decided to retire.

The Mariners have signed 37-year old righty reliever Brian Sweeney to a minor league deal. He pitched in 33 games (9 starts) in AAA and Independent ball last year and he was 6-5 with 1 save, a 4.21 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors back in 2010 with the Mariners. Sweeney has pitched in 29 games (0 starts) in his first two years with the Mariners and he is 1-2 with a 2.91 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. He has now pitched in 73 games (2 starts) in his first four years in the majors and he is 4-2 with 2 saves, a 3.38 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Sweeney will have a good shot of winning a spot in the Mariners’ pen this spring.