Roster Moves Galore

There were roster moves made by the Mariners today that involved a grand total of seven players. The biggest are at the AAA level, which says all you need to know about the way this season is going. Nonetheless, here are brief looks at all the moves:

• Sean White demoted to AAA Tacoma - White hasn't been very good this year, to say the least. So he goes down to Tacoma where he won't be bad for Seattle until he's back.
• Chad Cordero became a free agent - The Mariners didn't release Cordero. They gave him the chance to go to AAA, but he elected for free agency. Chad has been nowhere close to his pre-injury self, which isn't surprising. He was a nice story, but a remarkably hittable reliever that got by mostly with guts and poise. I hope he catches on somewhere else, but I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't.
• Chris Seddon called up - Remember last year, when Jason Vargas was a fringy, soft-tossing left-hander? Chris Seddon is the new Jason Vargas, except with cooler hair. I think Seddon looks kind of like Tim Lincecum from the back, or maybe like a bizarro version of him, since Chris throws left-handed.
• Jamey Wright signed - Who can forget Wright's glorious spring training campaign with the M's back in 2003? Wright reminds me of Brett Tomko - always has had an intriguing arm, but the results have never been what was expected. He is the definition of a veteran journeyman at this point, and I think he is only here until Erik Bedard and/or Shawn Kelley are healthy anyway.
• Edward Paredes, Anthony Varvaro, and Dustin Ackley all promoted to AAA Tacoma - The most interesting move today is definitely the Ackley promotion. It seemed logical after the Cliff Lee deal, or more particularly, after the M's announced that Matt Lawson, from the Lee deal, was going to AA. Rumor on the twittersphere is that Ackley homered in his first AAA at-bat! Paredes and Varvaro are also prospects, but in the bullpen, so not the same sizzle as Mr. Ackley. I would still rate their promotions as more interesting than the MLB moves though, aside from perhaps Seddon.

Pretty soon I am going to put together a post diving into 2011 a little deeper, but it makes all the sense in the world to push some of the guys standing out in AA up into AAA for the second half of the year. The 2011 roster is deeper if the current AA group is able to step up and provide organizational depth, even if they figure to be more important pieces down the road. This organization is definitely shifting to more of an assessment mode.