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Seattle Mariners

Noesi helps case for M’s rotation spot

Bob Condotta Seattle Times

MARYVALE, Ariz. – Hector Noesi isn’t yet sure if he’ll be in Seattle for opening day, though he took another step in that direction with a solid three-inning outing Tuesday as the Mariners beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-4.

Noesi said all he cares about is that he’ll be in Seattle eventually.

The 25-year-old right-hander from the Dominican Republic was the other player acquired by the Mariners, along with catcher Jesus Montero, in the trade with the Yankees in which Seattle sent pitcher Michael Pineda to New York.

Going from the team with the richest tradition in the sport to one still looking for its first World Series might seem something of a comedown, but Noesi said he welcomed the move. And not just because of the obvious opportunity it presented to jump immediately into the rotation – the Yankees had been using him primarily as a reliever.

“I was back in the Dominican and they called me and told me they traded me to Seattle,” he said. “Before that, my best friend asked me if I want to play for another team besides the Yankees and I say, ‘Yes, I want to go to Seattle, I love the city.’ And (then) they traded me to Seattle.”

Those trips came in May and September during two of his four stints with the Yankees last season when he was 2-2 in 30 games, all but two in relief.

With the Mariners, he’s competing for a spot in the rotation, one of four pitchers vying for the three spots after Felix Hernandez and Jason Vargas. The others are veteran nonroster free agent Kevin Millwood, Blake Beavan and another newly signed free agent, Hisashi Iwakuma of Japan.

Noesi has done nothing so far to show he doesn’t deserve one of those spots. Tuesday, he gave up a solo home run on a full-count change-up to Milwaukee’s Travis Ishikawa. He allowed two singles later in the second inning before he got out of it by retiring Brewers pitcher Zack Grienke on a fly out.

His other two innings were more impressive. He retired the Brewers 1-2-3 in the first and he faced just three batters in the third.