Plans for Morrow undecided

PEORIA, Ariz. – Brandon Morrow walked through the Seattle Mariners’ weight room Friday morning at the Peoria Sports Complex when a trainer asked if he’d been working on his menacing “closer look.”

Then Morrow heard a couple of suggestions: Maybe he shouldn’t shave for a while. Or he could go without a haircut before the season begins. Morrow just smiled, saying his hair gets too bushy when it’s long.

Morrow knows that’s the kind of ribbing he’ll get as one of the Mariners’ front-burner issues since they traded away closer J.J. Putz.

He is the logical choice to replace Putz, having saved 10 games this year while Putz was injured.

But he’s also a strong choice for the starting rotation. He started five games late in the season when the Mariners, after much debate, decided to convert him from reliever to starter.

So what is Morrow?

Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik wouldn’t – and couldn’t – answer that Friday.

“That’ll be determined as we roll into spring training,” he said. “ … We’ll do what’s best for Brandon.”

But the Mariners also must do what’s best for the team, and there’s no other clear choice for closer. Mark Lowe would like the job but must prove he’s back at his 2006 form after major elbow surgery. Miguel Batista, who appears displaced from the rotation, has significant experience as a closer. And Aaron Heilman, acquired from the Mets in the Putz trade, also is a possibility.

Zduriencik spoke with Morrow after the trade and didn’t make any promises. Morrow, in turn, said he would do what the team needed, but let the GM know that he wants to start.

“I talked to Jack a little bit, and we didn’t commit to anything,” Morrow said. “I told him I would close and do whatever was best for the team, but that my preference was starting. I think they want to keep me in the rotation if they can. If they move me, it’ll be” for need.

All Morrow can do is work on his strength and endurance as though he’ll be a 200-inning pitcher as a starter. He knows, however, the club could change its plan for him yet again.

He was a reliever in 2007, then went to winter ball in Venezuela to works as a starter. But the M’s changed their plans in February after trading for left-handed starter Erik Bedard.

Back into the routine of a reliever, Morrow developed a sore shoulder less than two weeks into spring training, although he said it could have been caused as much by a bout with the flu.

Morrow didn’t join the team until mid-April because of the bad shoulder, but came back strong. He was 1-2 with a 1.47 ERA in 40 relief appearances before the Mariners, having fallen far from contention and looking toward the holes in their rotation next season, decided to convert him to a starter. Again.

He showed his dominance in a masterful starting debut Sept. 5 at Safeco Field, where he held the Yankees without a hit through 72/3 innings. He became the first major leaguer in more than 40 years to take a no-hitter that deep into his first career start.

“That’s the highlight of my major league career,” Morrow said.