Cruz Could Be Axed To Save 11-Man Staff

Bob Wolcott bought the Seattle Mariners two weeks to make a tough decision Tuesday when he was optioned to the Tacoma Rainiers to make room for reliever Josias Manzanillo.

Wolcott’s move was temporary - he’s scheduled to start for the Mariners on July 14 in Oakland - but since Seattle is determined to stay with an 11-man pitching staff after the All-Star break, that means one position player will have to go before Wolcott returns.

Just who goes has been a matter of major debate among manager Lou Piniella, his coaches and the Seattle front office.

There are a handful of candidates, but none is attractive - and the Mariners don’t want to risk losing a veteran like Mike Blowers or Alvaro Espinoza because those players provide invaluable insurance against injury to key spots in the lineup.

Similarly, Rich Amaral has been little used of late, but gives the Mariners speed off the bench and, as importantly, is in the first year of a two-year contract. Rob Ducey could go, but Piniella wants the defense he brings to the outfield.

Who’s left? Jose Cruz Jr., for one.

Cruz has shown power, especially batting left-handed, and displayed typical rookie streakiness. He’s made mistakes in the outfield, mistakes on the basepaths and hit only .063 against left-handed pitching.

No one in the organization is down on Cruz, but when the numbers crunch comes in two weeks, if he hasn’t made sizeable strides in his game, he could be optioned back to Class AAA.

Notes

Manzanillo returns to the team with a 6.43 earned run average in 11 games at Tacoma, where he struck out 15 batters and walked eight in 14 innings… . Wolcott was sent down with advice from Piniella: “He has everything he needs to win. He just needs to work on his concentration.” … Wolcott will make two starts for Tacoma and then return to Seattle before a two-game series with Oakland begins July 14.