ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Mariners will open the 2016 season with 13 new players on their 25-man roster as general manager Jerry Dipoto finalized the club's Opening Day plans on Sunday by placing pitchers Charlie Furbush and Evan Scribner on the 15-day disabled list, designating catcher Rob Brantly for assignment and reassigning four other players to Minor League camp.
Veteran right-handed reliever Joel Peralta was selected from Triple-A Tacoma and added to the 40-man roster, the lone non-roster invitee who made the club.
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None of the moves were unexpected, as right-handed relievers Donn Roach and Blake Parker, first baseman Efren Navarro and outfielder Daniel Robertson -- all non-roster invitees -- were reassigned to the Minors. Brantly, who was on the 40-man roster, was DFA'd, and the club now has 10 days to trade, release or outright him to the Minors.
Brantly, claimed off waivers three weeks ago from the White Sox, is out of Minor League options and must clear waivers in order for the Mariners to keep him.
The move with Brantly makes the club's decision to go with Steve Clevenger as the backup catcher official. That was the Mariners' only position battle still up in the air over the final week.
Robertson played well all spring, but it was apparent from the start that he was on the outside of the numbers game in the outfield, while Navarro has been viewed as veteran insurance at first base.
Roach had an outstanding spring and emerged as a strong contender for a bullpen role, but his fate was sealed when Dipoto traded for Padres right-hander Nick Vincent on Wednesday and said he'd fill the final relief opening.
Furbush is dealing with tendinitis in his left shoulder, and Scribner has a strained right lat muscle. Both have been sidelined all spring, and they'll open the year on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 25, though neither is expected to be ready until May at the earliest.
With Sunday's moves, the club will go into Monday's 1:05 p.m. PT opener against the Rangers with this roster:
Starting pitchers: Right-handers Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, Taijuan Walker and Nathan Karns and left-hander Wade Miley.
Bullpen: Right-handers Steve Cishek, Joaquin Benoit, Tony Zych, Peralta and Vincent; and left-handers Vidal Nuno and Mike Montgomery.
Catchers: Chris Iannetta and Clevenger.
Infielders:Adam Lind, Robinson Cano, Ketel Marte, Kyle Seager, Dae-Ho Lee and Luis Sardinas.
Outfielders: Nelson Cruz, Norichika Aoki, Leonys Martin, Seth Smith and Franklin Gutierrez.
Of the newcomers, Dipoto traded for Miley, Karns, Benoit, Vincent, Clevenger, Lind, Sardinas and Martin, while signing Cishek, Iannetta, Aoki, Lee and Peralta as free agents.