This was mentioned in the last post, but I figured it could use its own post.

The Mariners got rid of all but four lefties today when they returned Jose Lugo, DL’d Cesar Jimenez and sent down Garrett Olsen.  That leaves Erik Bedard, Jarrod Washburn, Ryan Rowland-Smith and Tyler Johnson.  Bedard is a lock as the teams #2, Washburn will anchor back of the rotation, Johnson is recovering from injury and most likely will start the season on the DL/minor leagues/extended Spring Training, and RRS is competing for the final rotation spot.

Unless Johnson surprises everyone and is ready for Opening Day (he’s still trying to make his first spring game appearance), then Seattle’s bullpen looks quite lefty-less.

Apparently Chris Jakubauskas has pitched his way in to the 5th starter discussion.  Most of us thought he was still around in hopes of nabbing the long or middle relief spot, but he’s performed well enough to gain consideration in a more prestigious role, which could really muck things up.

Based on who is still around, here are the three most likely scenarios in my mind:

Scenario A (discussed in last post): Jakubauskas steals the #5 spot from RRS, RRS becomes the teams lone lefty in the bullpen.

The idea behind this would be to give Seattle a proven lefty in the pen while adjusting the ratio of RH to LH in the starting rotation.

This works only in terms of roster balance; slice it any other way and it makes little to no sense.  RRS doesn’t have big upside as a starting pitcher, but at least he’s shown that he can hold down the back of the rotation.  Swapping him out for someone with similar/lower upside and far less experience just to balance things out would not be a smart move, especially when the rotation is expected to have significant holes going into next season.

Scenario B: RRS makes the rotation, team carries no lefties in bullpen.

I could be wrong, but I think manager Don Wakamatsu has brought up the possibility of going north without any lefty relievers, instead sticking it out with righties until Johnson is healthy.  I thought Lugo would at least be around to mix things up occasionally, even if the team had no late inning lefties, but now that he’s gone the team would have to go with seven right handers in the bullpen.

I’m fine with this as long as Johnson continues to progress and RRS stays in the rotation.  Your Opening Day bullpen might look something like: Brandon Morrow, David Aardsma, Mark Lowe, Jesus Delgado, Shawn Kelley, Roy Corcorcan, Miguel Batista/Chris Jakubauskas.

Scenario C: Jakubauskas pushes RRS to the bullpen, but only until Johnson is recovered.

In this scenario RRS would go to the bullpen but only until Johnson is ready to go.  When he is, Jakubauskas is optioned to AAA and RRS reclaims the #5 spot in the rotation.

This could work, but it seems like more trouble than it would be worth.  RRS’ arm goes on a roller coaster ride as he transitions from starter to reliever to starter in a fairly short amount of time.  Then there is the possibility that Johnson keeps having setbacks and RRS ends up in the ‘pen all year, which turns this into Scenario A.

I’m not sure what else the team could do outside of acquiring a LOOGY last minute.   Is there any other obvious solutions that I’m missing?  Of these three I’ve got to go with B, but could deal with C.

If RRS is going to be pushed to the ‘pen I would rather it be by a higher upside pitcher than Jakubauskas, someone like an out of options Jeff Niemann via trade from the Rays or of course our own Brandon Morrow.