The Mariners suspect that Chris Snelling tore the ACL in his right knee when he stepped on the foot of third base coach Dave Myers while pulling up as he rounded third base during the second inning of last night's game in Oakland. Seattle intends to confirm the diagnosis with an MRI on Friday but will make roster moves today.

Snelling will be placed on the 60-day DL today and replaced on the roster with Eugene Kingsale. Kingsale has bounced around the minors and the majors since an overanxious Baltimore club called him up from A Frederick in the Carolina League in 1996. Due to his erratic development path, he really hasn't had time to build on his once promising strike zone judgment. Kingsale's primary offensive asset is his speed, though that would be much more valuable if he could improve his plate discipline. He'll likely serve as an extra outfielder and pinch runner for the Mariners until Edgar Martinez returns.

Martinez's recovery from surgery to repair a ruptured tendon behind his left knee was originally ahead of schedule, but he suffered a setback in early May and then again in late May. Seattle will now likely wait to activate him until after June 23rd when the Mariners finish an extended stretch of interleague play in NL ballparks, though there's some possibility that if he's fully ready in mid-June, they may simply use him as a pinch hitter during those games.

Seattle called up Snelling May 25th in order to try to add some offense to the team in Martinez's continued absence. Snelling sprained his thumb in Spring Training and missed the first month of the season in AA due to the injury. He had 89 AB at AA San Antonio in the Texas League before his major league promotion. In those at-bats he had 29 H, 9 2B, 2 3B, and 1 HR with a 12:11 BB:K and a 5/6 SB% for a .326 BA, .429 OBP, and a .506 SLG. He didn't really have a chance to do much in the majors before his injury. In 27 AB, he had 4 H and 1 HR with a 2:4 BB:K for a .148 BA, .207 OBP, and .259 SLG.

Snelling signed with the Mariners as a nondrafted free agent in 1999. Often highlighted as one of the few Australian players in Major League Baseball, Snelling was actually born in North Miami, Florida, and lived there for nine years before his family moved to Australia. Seattle started him at A- Everett in the short-season Northwest League in 1999, and he spent 2000 at A Wisconsin in the Midwest League. The Mariners promoted him to A+ San Bernardino in the California League last season and that was the highest level he reached prior to this year. He compliments good plate discipline with promising speed and power skills.

Despite the excellence he's shown so far in the minors, I would have preferred that Seattle had not called him up yet, as he should have at least had either a full season of AA or some time in AAA, especially given the very distinct difference in the talent at those levels versus A-ball. It's unfortunate that he suffered this injury as athletes who tear an ACL usually lose a full season of playing time.

When the Mariners called up Snelling they sent down Justin Kaye. Kaye had been called up for Paul Abbott when Abbott went on the DL in early May with inflammation in his right shoulder. Seattle drafted Kaye out of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas in the 19th round of the 1995 draft. He's progressed steadily through the minors, pitching entirely in relief aside from the 1997 season, which he spent starting for A Wisconsin. The right-handed reliever, who will turn 26 on Sunday, has very good dominance that allows him to show good command despite some control problems. Last season in 77 IP at AAA Tacoma in the Pacific Coast League he allowed 51 H with a 107:46 K:BB.

While in the majors he allowed 6 H with a 3:1 K:BB in 3 IP over three appearances, although five of those hits and the walk came in one appearance against the Red Sox. His performance certainly didn't warrant the demotion and on many other teams he'd still be in the majors, but Seattle has so many good relievers that when they cut down from 12 to 11 pitchers, he no longer fit. However, I really think that Kaye deserves to be on the roster over Julio Mateo, who the Mariners called up when they demoted Brian Fitzgerald in early May.

Mateo's dominance, while not at the fantastic level of Kaye, has been good, and he's displayed better command and control than Kaye. However, the 21-year-old hadn't pitched above A+ San Bernardino prior to this season. Seattle started him at AA San Antonio this year, promoting him to AAA Tacoma after he posted an 18:3 K:BB in 17.1 IP with 7 H and 2 HR allowed. The Mariners then brought him up to the majors after only 3 IP at AAA in which he allowed 2 H with a 4:1 K:BB. He's holding his own in the majors with 11 H and 1 HR allowed in 9 IP with a 6:4 K:BB, but of Mateo and Kaye, Mateo's the one I think would benefit from additional minor league time.

Brian Fitzgerald was a 27-year-old lefty reliever the Mariners called up in mid-April after their bullpen went through a few games of heavy use. He split last season between AA and AAA, allowing 40 H in his 35 IP at AAA with a 26:11 K:BB. While he doesn't appear to be anything particularly special, Fitzgerald is a good person to have in the organization, as he appears capable of providing quality left-handed innings in the pen. However, he allowed 11 H and 2 HR in 6.1 IP in the majors with a 3:2 K:BB, so he could likely use some additional time against AAA competition.

The Mariners aren't rushing Abbott back from the disabled list as his return will force a number of decisions. Rafael Soriano appears to have cemented his position in the rotation, so in order for Abbott to rejoin the rotation, Seattle would have to kick either James Baldwin or Joel Pineiro. Baldwin is the better boot but the Mariners have been more inclined to use Pineiro out of the pen in the past. Abbott's actually likely the worst of the three pitchers right now, so perhaps Seattle should simply look into trading him in the next two weeks. While Abbott's recovery is progressing well, the Mariners can likely delay a decision through at least two more rehab starts.

Kazuhiro Sasaki signed a two-year contract extension with a club option for 2005 in mid-May shortly after returning from taking care of some personal business in Japan. He's earning $5M this season on an option picked up from his first contract. The extension is reportedly worth $8M per year including the option year, with a $1M buyout if the Mariners chose not to pick up the option.

Eight million a year seems to be the going rate for top tier closers, and Sasaki continues to be one of the best closers in baseball. He's allowed 12 H with a 28:7 K:BB this season for a .42 ERA and .88 WHIP, while converting 13 of his 16 save opportunities. As long as the 34-year-old doesn't experience any arm problems, this should be a very good deal for the Mariners, though I'm not sure they'll want to pick up that option.

A little less than two weeks ago Seattle released Greg Wooten and claimed 1B Nate Rolison off waivers from Marlins. Florida waived Rolison to make room for Homer Bush on the 40-man roster. Unfortunately, Rolison missed most of last season with a wrist injury but prior to that time was making good progress through the minors.

Rolison's an interesting statistical case. In 2000 at AAA Calgary in the Pacific Coast League, he had a 70:117 BB:K in 443 AB with 146 H, 37 2B, 3 3B, and 23 HR for a .330 BA, .423 OBP and .582 SLG. Obviously you'd prefer he had less strikeouts, but with that walk rate and power potential the 25-year-old makes an attractive bench player at the very least. So far this season in his combined time at Calgary and Tacoma, both in the PCL, he's hit .247 with a .324 OBP and .488 SLG in 166 AB on 41 H, 10 2B, and 10 HR with a 19:60 BB:K. I don't really see a place for him on the Mariners, but he might be an option if they suffer multiple injuries. He'll be much more interesting next season.

Wooten is a 28-year-old right-handed starter whose development has been slowed by injuries including Tommy John surgery. Last season at AAA Tacoma he had a 116:32 K:BB in 169 IP with 201 H allowed, fairly good numbers particularly if you discount the hits based on the high offense of the PCL. However this season before his release, he allowed 49 H in 39 IP with a 13:9 K:BB and reportedly had surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow. The injury certainly could have contributed to the poor performance, but at his age he doesn't have any time for injuries if he wants to stick in the majors. I still don't understand why the Mariners didn't at least attempt to send him through waivers to remove him from the 40-man rather than releasing a pitcher with evident potential.