Greg Halman to Tacoma, Looking at Options

The Mariners decided that Greg Halman’s hot start is officially over now that he’s sporting a not-so-sexy slash line of .230/.256/.345 in 91 trips to the plate. Only walking twice and striking out 32 times probably didn’t help, either.

So, who takes his spot on the roster? Ryan Divish places his bets on Trayvon Robinson, Geoff Baker and Greg Johns wager it’ll be Wily Mo Pena. Divish then checks in again with a little more certainty that it’ll be Robinson.

The move makes sense, especially with the club still needing Franklin Gutierrez insurance. Casper Wells could play a serviceable center but I imagine the team would like to limit how often Mike Carp is playing in left.

There’s another move looming, though. While I have every reason to believe Divish is reporting with sound sourcing, I’m left to wonder if there is a different direction the club would go (or, add a second move).

Shawn Kelley’s journey back from injury has seen him pitching in Tacoma recently. In three appearances (one inning each), he hasn’t given up single hit, run or walk while striking out four. Small sample yes, but it would appear he has little left to do before making the drive back up I-5.

The Mariners 40-man roster has been at 39 since the Erik Bedard trade, so activating Kelley and calling up Robinson would max out the 40-man and mean no further organizational cuts would have to be made. These moves may not both happen before tomorrow’s game, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the yo-yoing of Aaron Laffey between Seattle and Tacoma continue very soon.

As for Pena, he’s not currently on the 40-man roster. So while Baker may ponder why he’d be brought on to hang out in Tacoma, the club may not want to designate someone for assignment. There isn’t a clear cut choice like Chaz Roe hanging out anymore.