Mariners Claim Yusmeiro Petit

The offseason is here! I'll provide a more in-depth look at it over the weekend, but the Mariners have already been active. Yesterday, they claimed Yusmeiro Petit off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Petit is a starter, with a mostly unspectacular career to this point. However, he had some success in the minor leagues, and it's reasonable to think Safeco field will help out his home run rate. He adds to the mix of options at the back end of the rotation, and in long relief. Personally, I've irrationally liked him for several years. Maybe it's the name (I think it's just cool), so I'm happy to see the M's give him a chance.

Also, in the midst of the playoffs, the Mariners booted five players off the 40-man roster: 1B/OF Bryan LaHair, LHP Cesar Jimenez, LHP Justin Thomas, RHP Randy Messenger, and RHP Marwin Vega. All but Vega have seen time with the Mariners at some point the past few seasons. Thomas was claimed by the Pittsburgh Pirates, so he is gone. Likely, others from this list will leave the organization too, but they all could come back on minor league deals. Just because they aren't on the 40-man roster does not mean that they are gone for good, but it does say that they aren't seen as integral pieces moving forward.