Fassero Placed On Dl
Jeff Fassero, the Seattle Mariners’ No. 2 starter behind Randy Johnson, was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Sunday because of inflammation of his left elbow. He will be eligible to come off the DL on April 6.
Fassero, 35, is 0-2 with a 14.54 ERA in two starts this spring.
“I’m a little concerned about Jeff,” manager Lou Piniella said. “I would assume he’ll miss his first two starts.”
Trainer Rick Griffin said Fassero had an inflamed triceps tendon and the injury had nothing to do with the bone chip in his elbow that Fassero pitched with last season.
With Fassero missing, the Mariners will go into Opening Night March 31 against Cleveland in the Kingdome with a starting five of, in order, Randy Johnson, Jamie Moyer, Ken Cloude, Bill Swift and Felipe Lira.
With Fassero out, the Mariners will be counting heavily on Swift, 36, who was signed as a free agent. Swift has a 1-0 record with a 2.57 ERA in five games, two of them starts, this spring.
“He’s been our most pleasant surprise in camp,” Piniella said of Swift, who was 4-6 with Colorado last season.
Also on Sunday, the Mariners sent first baseman David McCarty, infielder Rico Rossy, right-hander Andres Berumen, left-hander Andrew Lorraine and catcher Dusty Wathan to the minor leagues.
Edgar Martinez and Dan Rohrmeier each hit home runs and Jamie Moyer went 5-1/3 innings as the Seattle Mariners defeated the Chicago Cubs 11-5 Sunday.
The largest crowd in Peoria Stadium’s five-year history - 11,696 - watched the Mariners collect 14 hits.
Martinez and Glenallen Hill each went 3 for 4 with one RBI.
The Mariners did not use Jay Buhner for the second day in a row - and for the fourth straight game in the field - because of a sore right shoulder.
White Sox got best of deal
In their push to the N.L. West title last year, the San Francisco Giants obtained pitchers Wilson Alvarez, Roberto Hernandez and Danny Darwin July 31 from the Chicago White Sox in a nine-player swap. Darwin is the only one still wearing a San Francisco uniform.
Alvarez and Hernandez both signed with the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays. But all six prospects the White Sox received are still in the organization and a couple are likely to open the season in the majors.
Right-hander Keith Foulke, 25, will be in the White Sox bullpen and shortstop Mike Caruso, 20, is challenging Benji Gil for Ozzie Guillen’s old job.
Who’s on first? Ripken
Could there be another position shift in Cal Ripken Jr.’s near future?
The Baltimore Orioles expect third base prospect Ryan Minor, 24, to advance quickly and perhaps be ready for the majors in 1999. If so, the Orioles will have to consider several options.
They could save money by not re-signing Rafael Palmeiro and move Ripken to first. They might consider playing Minor at first and leaving Ripken where he is. Or they may re-sign Palmeiro and make Ripken or Minor the designated hitter.
“If Minor puts up numbers, we’re going to have to create a place on the club for him,” Orioles general manager Pat Gillick said. “I don’t know who’ll be affected. Maybe Palmeiro. Maybe Ripken. Maybe (DH Harold) Baines.”
Stieb on the comeback trail
Dave Stieb, the winningest pitcher in Toronto Blue Jays history (174 wins), is attempting a comeback after he impressed himself with how hard he was throwing in batting practice as a spring instructor for Toronto in Dunedin, Fla.
Stieb, 40, who has not pitched in the majors since 1993, is now working out with Triple A Syracuse.
The following fields overflowed: SUPCAT = COLUMN - Spring training notebook