PEORIA, Ariz. -- Logan Gilbert looked strong in his final Cactus League start Sunday afternoon.
Gilbert left a slider up on a 2-2 pitch in the third inning against Trent Grisham, who sent it deep to right field for a two-run home run. But Gilbert otherwise felt good about his slider. Over four innings, he allowed two hits, fanned three and walked none in the Mariners’ 5-5 tie against the Padres.
“I feel ready,” he said. “The whole team is looking good. I feel like I’m in a good spot right now, and just excited to start it up finally.”
Gilbert is also ready to take a newer pitch into the season -- a splitter he says has “a weird spin.”
“It’s almost a bonus pitch, in a good way,” he said, adding that he’ll use it sparingly, maybe 5% of the time. “I feel like my arsenal is good. I have everything I had last year, and I think a better version of it. If I need [the splitter] I can use it.”
Like Gilbert, Mariners manager Scott Servais is ready to break camp after the spring finale Monday.
“Gilbert had really good stuff today,” he said. “All of our guys -- the timing is there. We had a lot of good at-bats today. Biggest thing right now is one more game to go [and] get out of here healthy and get back to Seattle.”
Calhoun, Clarke among cuts
The club released outfielder Kole Calhoun and sent Rule 5 Draft pick Chris Clarke back to the Cubs.
The Mariners signed Calhoun, 35, to a Minor League contract in February. After failing to break camp with the big league club, the 11-year MLB veteran opted to be released and become a free agent. Calhoun had a .685 OPS in 13 spring games.
“Obviously, we’ve played against him a ton,” Servais said of Calhoun. "[I have] a ton of respect for him. He’s actually made some good adjustments in his game. Some other guys may have had a little bit better camp and provide a little bit more versatility.”
Clarke, a 24-year-old right-hander, had a 5.40 ERA in seven relief appearances this spring, covering 6 2/3 innings.
The Mariners also optioned left-hander Gabe Speier to Triple-A Tacoma and reassigned four others to Minor League camp: catcher Brian O'Keefe, infielder Jose Caballero, infielder Colin Moran and right-hander Casey Sadler.
First look
Felnin Celesten -- the teenage switch-hitting phenom who in January inked the biggest signing bonus in Seattle history -- arrived in Peoria for the first time Friday, and Servais got a chance to see the prospect hit, run and field on Saturday.
The No. 2 overall international prospect, per MLB Pipeline, made an immediate impact. Servais couldn’t help but draw comparisons to the likes of Tony Fernandez and Edgar Renteria, among others.
“He’s very talented. I saw Fernando Tatis Jr. when he was about to be 16 years old, I’ve seen a very young Elvis Andrus at 18 years old, guys like that,” he said. “The skill set is electric.”