Mariners add to four players to 40-man roster

SEATTLE, Wash. -- Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jack Zduriencik announced tonight the following roster moves:

Added to 40-Man Roster:

• RHP Logan Bawcom (BAW-come) selected to Major League roster
• 1B/DH Ji-Man Choi (gee-man choy) selected to Major League roster
• OF James Jones selected to Major League roster
• OF Stefen Romero selected to Major League roster

With these transactions, the Mariners 40-man roster is at 38 players (see attached roster).

Bawcom, 25, led all Mariners minor leaguers with 21 saves, ranking 5th in the Pacific Coast League. The right-handed pitcher went 1-4 with a 2.91 ERA (21 ER, 65.0 IP) in 51 appearances, and recorded 64 strikeouts (8.86 K/9.0 IP). Over the last two seasons Bawcom has recorded 47 saves, second-most among all minor leaguers (Jose Valdez, Detroit, 48 saves). Bawcom was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers along with OF Leon Landry on July 30, 2012 in exchange for relief pitcher Brandon League. He is currently pitching for Cardenales de Lara in the Venezuelan Winter League.

Choi, 22, combined to bat .295 (125x424) with 36 doubles, 6 triples, 18 home runs and 85 RBI in 122 games with High-A High Desert (48 games), AA Jackson (61 games) and AAA Tacoma (13 games). Choi played primarily first base and designated hitter during the season. At the plate he was one of only 20 minor league players to record at least 60 extra base hits during the 2013 season. Choi was selected as a midseason California League All-Star and played for the World squad in the All-Star Futures Game at Citi Field in New York. The native of Incheon, South Korea, was originally signed by Seattle as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2009. In 238 career minor league games Choi is a .309 hitter (261x844) with a .922 OPS (.411 OBP, .511 SLG) and 28 home runs.

Jones, 25, spent a majority of the 2013 with AA Jackson batting .275 (100x363) with 44 runs scored, 14 doubles, 10 triples, 6 home runs, 45 RBI and 28 stolen bases in 101 games. He also appeared in 4 games with AAA Tacoma. Jones led the Southern League with 10 triples and was named a Southern League All-Star. In five seasons in the Mariners minor league system Jones has combined to bat .281 (512x1822) with 96 doubles, 38 triples, 40 home runs and 94 stolen bases. He was selected by Seattle in the 4th round of the 2009 June draft out of Long Island University where he was both a pitcher and outfielder.

Romero, 25, batted .277 (104x375) with 23 doubles, 4 triples, 11 home runs and 74 RBI in 93 games with AAA Tacoma. He also set a Tacoma franchise record with three grand slams. He concluded the season playing for the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League where he hit a pair of home runs in the annual Rising Stars Game. Romero was the Mariners 2012 Minor League Player of the Year, and over the last two seasons ranks 10th among all minor leaguers with 177 RBI. He was originally selected by the Mariners in the 12th round of the 2010 June draft out of Oregon State University. He has hit .306 (396x1296) with 50 home runs in 330 games at the minor league level.