Slow Goings...

So while last year saw exciting free agent signings and some notable trades, this year is going to be a lot less explosive. Last week, the M's resigned minor league pitchers Chris Seddon and Yusmiero Petit as well as outfielder Mike Wilson. They all have spring training invites and a reasonable chance at cracking the big league roster.

-Petit has pitched in 71 games at the big league level (36 starts) and has lifetime ERA of 5.57 over 229.1 innings, mostly with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He pitched in 24 games for Tacoma last year with an unremarkable ERA of 4.85, but his WHIP was 1.18 and he had a 3.43:1 strikeout to walk ratio. Comparably, he out-pitched Snell and RRS at this level and is only 26 years of age, so there is time to grow.

-Seddon was brought up late in the season and pitched 14 games for the M's. His numbers over 22 innings were below average (5.64 ERA, 1.38 WHIP), but other than 7 games pitched in 2007 for the Marlins, it's all the big league experience he's had. For Tacoma, he had a 3.38 ERA primarily as a starter with a couple of shutouts and a respectable 1.22 WHIP. He is also only 27 years old.

-Mike Wilson had his longest tenure at Tacoma, playing 88 games for the Rainiers after starting at Double-A. Between the two teams, he it 25 homers and drove in 78 runs. At 27, Wilson has yet to make a big league debut, but it seems like this will be the year for him. If not with the Mariners, due to a pretty full outfield, maybe Wilson will make up as appealing trade bait.

Additionally, the Mariners added pitchers Justin Miller, Charlie Haegar, Fabio Castro, and Chris Smith as well as infielders Luis Rodriguez and Sean Kazmar, minor league free agents from other organizations.

-Justin Miller has ample big league experience, having pitched in 216 games. Statistically, nothing sticks out about him and if anything, it looks like the M's will give him a chance based on his experience. Don't see any other reason to.

-Haegar has 34 games at the big league level with an ERA of 6.40 and a grotesque WHIP of 1.746. Not very remarkable at the Triple-A level for the Dodgers either. He throws a knuckle ball, so he has that going for him... I guess...

-Castro pitched for Texas and Philadelphia in the 2006-2007 seasons, posting a 3.30 ERA as a reliever. He pitched 31 games for the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate in Pawtucket and posted a 4.93 ERA, but managed to strikeout 102 in 104 innings. He's 26 at the start of 2011.

-Smith has the most big league experience with 50 games under his belt as what appears to be a garbage reliever for Milwaukee and Boston. His ERA of 5.19 and WHIP of 1.33 lifetime ain't pretty. He did pickup 26 saves for the Nashville Triple-A team while striking out 62 in 48 innings, so he could potentially work out as a good short reliever if he can translate those kinds of numbers in the big leagues.

-Rodriguez is a potential utility infielder off the bench. It has been noted that he banged out 16 homers for the White Sox Triple-A team last year and that potentially, he's found at power stroke at the age of 30. That would be a lot to hope for though, as his big league experience has not shown him to be much of an offensive threat. He appears to be an average fielder.

-Kazmar is a middle infielder and potential bench player. His big league experience amounts to 19 games for the Padres in 2008. He batted .275 for the Padres triple-A affiliate and appears to play about average defense. Josh Wilson better watch himself...