Seven non-roster invites and one 40-man player have been voted off the island. Catchers Steve Baron and Luis Oliveros, lefty starters Mauricio Robles, Chris Seddon, Ryan Feierabend and Nick Hill and right handed relievers Joshua Fields and Steven Shell are the first cuts of the spring for our Seattle Mariners.

No major surprises here.  Baron was only in big league camp because it was negotiated into his contract.  Oliveros was only around to help handle all the extra pitchers, but with six pitchers cut there was less of a need.

Robles hasn’t experienced baseball above A-ball, so he wasn’t expected to land a big league job, and was likely only up so the organization could get a closer look at one of their newest acquisitions and so he could get some big league instruction.  Seddon, Feierabend and Hill are all in the same general mold as the heavy favorites for the fifth rotation spot and possibly last bullpen spot– Jason Vargas, Luke French and Garrett Olson.

I thought Fields might get some more play, but as long as Sean White is healthy he has a stranglehold on that fifth bullpen spot, and right now he’s healthy.  Shell didn’t have a shot to make the team and will provide bullpen depth with Tacoma.  He apparently overhauled his mechanics with Rick Adair this spring.

That leaves the M’s with 54-players in big league camp.  Only 29 more cuts to go!