Kazuhiro Sasaki exited Major League Baseball yesterday. Sasaki's agent informed the Mariners early last week that the pitcher wanted to return home to Japan, as he wished to be with his wife and two children, who moved home to Tokyo from Seattle in 2003. Sasaki was not interested in spending another season away from his family. The two sides spent the last week working out the particulars of releasing Sasaki from his contract with the Mariners, and on January 27th, Seattle placed him on waivers. Given the knowledge that Sasaki would not agree to pitch for any Major League organization, no clubs attempted to claim him off waivers.

Seattle apparently has been relieved of the entire burden of Sasaki's contract, so the Mariners have a little unexpected room to maneuver within their payroll budget. At the moment, the club seems likely to reserve the newly freed funds for potential mid-season acquisitions.