Baseball in Fort Wayne

Posts Tagged ‘Mariners’

I haven’t seen anything official from the Mariners yet, so take it however you will.

I came across this interesting post indicating that former DeKalb standout, Jarrett Grube has signed a Minor League deal with Seattle and will report to their Triple-A club in Tacoma tomorrow.

Grube had been playing with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. He joined the Blue Crabs mid-season last year after being released by the Colorado Rockies, who drafted him in the 10th round of the 2004 Draft from the University of Memphis. Although primarily used as a reliever in Colorado’s system, Grube was used mostly as a starter while with Southern Maryland.

In eight games with the Blue Crabs this season, Grube is 3-3 with a 2.06 ERA. He has 36 strikeouts while walking 15 over 48 innings pitched.

Related BBIFW Posts/Pages:

• Corunna Native, Grube to Host Camp
• Local Ties
• Half Way There: A Mid-Season Look at Local Ties

Random notes and signings involving Fort Wayne players and other local ties:

Former Wizard, David Pauley has signed a minor league deal with the Mariners. The 26-year-old spent 2009 in the Orioles system, posting a 4.37 ERA in 152.1 Triple-A innings. (h/t MLBTradeRumors)

The Padres have invited a slew of former WizCaps to spring training, including; Simon Castro, Ernesto Freiri, Mat Latos, Jackson Quezada, Wynn Pelzer, Wade LeBlanc, Steve Garrison, Cory Luebke, Mitch Canham, James Darnell, Lance Zawadzki, Matt Antonelli, Kyle Blanks, Luis Durango, Chad Huffman, and Will Venable. I don’t think this is an all inclusive list. You’ll also note that Michael Ekstrom and Greg Burke are on the list. Neither are with San Diego any longer. Ekstrom was snatched by the Rays off waivers and Burke has been placed on unconditional waivers and will likely be claimed or become a free agent.

Former Fort Wayne Wizards outfielder, Freddy Guzman broke the hammate bone in his right hand during Seattle’s intrasquad game yesterday. He was in the Mariner’s camp trying to win a bench role with the team. He will require surgery to remove the bone and will likely miss 4-6 weeks.

“I just swung, hit a foul ball and felt the pain,” Guzman said. “I knew something was wrong.”

The hamate bone is a wedge-shaped bone that is located near the wrist. Ken Griffey Jr. had a similar injury in his right hand in 1996 and returned in just three week’s time.

Guzman is a non-roster invitee of the Mariners this spring. Guzman was highly regarded by Baseball America for his game-changing speed when he came up in the Padres system. While playing in Fort Wayne during the 2002 season, he hit .279 with 53 hits and 39 stolen bases over 190 at-bats. He was San Diego’s #3 ranked prospect in 2004 and #2 in 2005. But he missed that whole season with an elbow injury and his prospect status dimmed.

The Padres brought him back on a one-year contract in 2006, but traded him along with Cesar Rojas that May to the Texas Rangers for Vince Sinisi and John Hudgins. A year later, the Texas Rangers traded Chris Shelton to the Texas Rangers for Freddy. Last year with Detroit, he stole 71 bases while splitting time between Double-A and Triple-A.

The Seattle Mariners have an opening for a manager. Former Wizards manager Randy Ready was named the Pacific Coast League’s “Best Manager Prospect” in August by Baseball America in their annual “Best Tools” Survey.

And now, he’s on the M’s short list of candiates. USA today is reporting that:

New Seattle Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik will hold seven interviews this week as he looks for a new manager.

Ready is on that list of seven. the others include former Seattle second baseman Joey Cora, Arizona third base coach Chip Hale, Boston third base coach DeMarlo Hale, St. Louis third base coach Jose Oquendo, Oakland bench coach Don Wakamtsu, and Boston bench coach Brad Mills.

Ready managed in Fort Wayne from 2004 through 2006 where he compiled a 208-209 record and reached the playoffs each season. He managed Double-A San Antonio to a 73-66 record and a Texas League championship in 2007. 2008 is his first stint as a Triple-A manager.

I believe Ready would be the first former Wizards manager to land the same role on a big league roster if he were to win the gig.

The Seattle Times also has a closer look at all the candidates.