Seattle Mariners announce Spring Training roster update

The entire baseball world is in a holding pattern, waiting to see when, or if, there will be baseball played this season. But this didn’t stop the Mariners from making a few roster moves today.

This morning, the Mariners and GM Jerry Dipoto, announced that they have trimmed their Spring Training roster from 49 players to 45. Donovan Walton (formerly Donnie), Patrick Wisdom, Taylor Williams, and Zac Grotz have all been optioned to AAA Tacoma.

There aren’t any major surprises on this list. Walton, who got a cup of coffee with the big club in September entered camp as a longshot utility man candidate. The soon-to-be 26-year-old Walton had a bit of a breakout 2019 season with the AA Arkansas Travelers, hitting .300/.390/.427 before appearing in 7 games late in September. Walton will likely continue to play multiple positions in Tacoma and should be amongst the first positional players recalled this season.

Wisdom entered the camp as a potential right-handed complement to Daniel Vogelbach at DH who could play some first, third and left field in a pinch. The Mariners liked him enough to give him a major league deal. Wisdom flashed in his first taste of the big leagues but struggles with strikeouts. He’ll get a lot of run in AAA and his bat will play well in the PCL.

Williams was claimed on waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers. The 28-year-old reliever has flashed good stuff, but command issues have plagued his career. Williams has Washington roots as he was born in Vancouver and attended Camas High School.

Grotz, who turned 27-years-old last month, threw the ball well for the Mariners 17.1 big league innings, posting a 2.69 FIP and racking up 18 strikeouts. He did struggle consistently throwing strikes, but should be back up with the big league club at some point this year.

The Mariners now have 45 players on their Spring Training roster including 32 rostered players, 13 non-roster invitees, and 1 player on the 60-day IL.