I’m sorry that I’ve been MIA the last few days, especially with so much going on.  I was house/dog sitting for some friends and wasn’t able to get on the internet more than a couple minutes here and there.  With that I thought I’d just give a brief overview of what has happened since the weekend started to catch myself up and keep the site up to date.  I assume that most of this is old news by now.

Adrian Beltre opts for surgery

With all the talk of the severity of Beltre’s shoulder this time around, it wasn’t surprising to hear this news.  Beltre could be the toughest player in baseball but there is only so much he can take, especially if it’s lowering his level of play.

Beltre is out for 6-8 weeks which means he could be back for the stretch run, although the minor league teams could be done for the year by the time he’s ready for a rehab assignment, which would complicate things.

No word yet on who will fill the position over that span.  Chris Woodward looks like the guy right now, but if the team wants to stay in contention they’re going to want to upgrade.  I would have endorsed Eric Hinske but it looks like he landed with the Yankees over the weekend.

M’s acquire Ryan Langerhans

The Mariners didn’t take much time filling Endy Chavez’s spot on the roster by sending Mike Morse to the Nationals in exchange for Langerhans.

Langerhans is an above average defensive outfielder who struggles to make contact at the plate, but he hits lefty and has some power when he gets ahold of one.

I like Morse but he just doesn’t have a spot with the Seattle Mariners.  A change of scenery will do him good, and I would guess that he’ll be a candidate for Washington’s first base job once Nick Johnson is traded or becomes a free agent.

A very solid move for our Mariners.

Michael Saunders suffers mild hamstring strain

Not a big deal, but something to keep an eye on.  He probably doesn’t land with the big club until September anyway.

M’s still favorites for Pimentel

July 2nd is tomorrow, meaning a bunch of international signings will be announced.  Seattle has a big budget this year and are said to be the favorites for OF Guillermo Pimentel, who is a top 5 player this year in international free agency.  They had interest in OF Wagner Mateo, a top 3 talent, but it looks like he’s going to be a St. Louis Cardinal tomorrow.  I haven’t seen any other names connected to the Mariners yet, but they should be able to nab quite a few good players in the next few days.

What else did I miss?  My Google Reader was very clogged so I skimmed through most of it and probably looked over some news.