Mariners Continue Trade Talks
The flurry of transactions that will occur the next few days for the Seattle Mariners could change the face of the team for the rest of the season or simply necessitate a bigger move or moves before the trading deadline July 31.
Right-handed pitchers Tim Scott, picked up on waivers from Colorado Thursday, and Bob Wolcott, who pitched for Tacoma on Thursday, will both be added to the 25-man roster.
Wolcott is set to start Monday at Oakland, the sight of his uncanny 80-pitch complete game last season.
Scott, who has pitched for San Diego, Colorado and the Rockies’ AAA team in Colorado Springs this season, will fill a middle relief role, likely that in which Greg McCarthy has been performing.
Scott, originally signed by the Dodgers as a second-round pick in 1984, has had success in the majors with a 24-13 career record, but has played for five teams, including the Padres twice, in the past four seasons.
If the pitching shakeup doesn’t work wonders, trade rumors have emerged. The most popular, but purely speculative, has the Mariners acquiring starter Tom Gordon and reliever Heathcliff Slocumb from the Boston Red Sox for Scott Sanders and minor-league prospects.
The Red Sox will likely look to make some moves for next season considering they are in last place in the A.L. East. Seattle has been active in swapping players with Boston the past year. The good acquisition was Jamie Moyer. The one that didn’t work out brought Jeff Manto to Seattle’s hot corner for a short time.
Name game
Mariners television and radio voices Dave Niehaus and Ron Fairly will be taking some days off the next few weeks. Filling Niehaus’ play-by-play hole Monday through Thursday will be Kevin Calabro and Rich Waltz. Adding analysis in Fairly’s spot from July 26-28 will be former Mariners Harold Reynolds and Dave Valle. Calabro is more than a “get up for the down-stroke” kind of basketball announcer. He handled the pre and postgame shows for the Kansas City Royals during their 1985 World Championship season.
Craig Griffey has hooked on with the Cincinnati organization and is playing at AA Chattanooga. … Of the Mariners’ first 50 wins, 24 came when Seattle trailed at one time. … Joey Cora, whose success from the right side of the plate has essentially ended his platoon status, is closing in on the Mariners’ record for home runs by a second baseman. Cora needs three more to catch Bret Boone’s 12 in 1993. Cora hadn’t hit a right-handed home run in his career prior to this season. He has five.
Coming up
As of Friday afternoon, there were 6,000 tickets left for today’s 1:05 p.m. game with Texas. It will be televised by Fox. Scheduled starting pitchers are Derek Lowe (2-3, 7.06) for Seattle and 300-game bowler John Burkett (6-7, 4.62) for the Rangers.