Fresh off a home weekend sweep that saw them score four runs in three games, the Seattle Mariners responded with a roster shake-up. The team promoted infielder Josh Wilson and outfielder Ryan Langerhans from AAA, and it both demoted infielder Matt Tuiasosopo and released veteran outfielder Eric Byrnes.
Mariners Release Eric Byrnes In Flurry Of Moves
Says M’s blog Lookout Landing:
Byrnes for Langerhans? I don’t know that 38 plate appearances is proof of Byrnes’ uselessness, but he didn’t do anything to endear himself to the organization, so his going away comes as little surprise. Langerhans will come up and offer some actual talent and good defense without having to make a whole show of it. The tricky part here is that Langerhans is left-handed, which is difficult to reconcile with the desire to give Griffey regular time at DH, but then, maybe that means the team has gotten sick of Griffey at DH, which would be wonderful. Langerhans is a decent player, and it’ll be nice to see him come back. It’s also very possible they just stick him on the bench as the fourth OF.
Byrnes was only 3-32 as a Mariner, with six walks and two doubles. The righty may have sealed his fate by pulling back on a suicide squeeze bunt on Friday night, leading to an easy out at home plate on the way to a 12-inning loss. Following the game, he stormed out of the clubhouse on a bicycle.
Langerhans may be up to serve as the fourth outfielder, but it's also possible that he will spend the majority of time in left, bumping Bradley to DH and cutting into the playing time of Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Sweeney.
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