Mariners bring up Rollins among 3 callups

OAKLAND -- David Rollins, the Mariners' Rule 5 Draft pick last December from the Astros, was one of three players added to Seattle's 25-man roster on Saturday morning, along with reliever Mayckol Guiape and outfielder James Jones.

Rollins, a 25-year-old left-handed reliever who drew an 80-game suspension after testing positive for an anabolic steroid during Spring Training, had to be added to the 25-man roster on Saturday or be put through waivers and offered back to the Astros, per Rule 5 Draft rules, now that he's no longer suspended.

Rollins pitched well enough for Triple-A Tacoma over the past two weeks to convince the Mariners he's worth the roster spot, for now at least, as he threw 9 1/3 scoreless innings in seven appearances to continue the outstanding work he'd done in spring.

"Rollins is here because circumstances are such that we've got to bring him back or we lose him," manager Lloyd McClendon said. "He pitched extremely well. He was 93 [to] 96 [mph], and his last outing, he pitched two innings, struck out four. He's a power left-handed arm that we're excited about, and hopefully he'll fit quite nicely into our bullpen."

Guiape and Jones were both recalled from Tacoma for the second time this season.

Guiape, 24, fills the bullpen opening created by Friday's decision to option veteran Tom Wilhelmsen to Tacoma after his rough recent performance. Rollins replaces left-hander Vidal Nuno, who was also sent down on Friday night.

Guiape pitched 2 1/3 perfect innings against the Yankees on June 1 in his only appearance in his previous stint earlier this season. He posted a 3.94 ERA with five saves in 26 games for Tacoma.

"That [move] had more to do with Tommy's struggles," McClendon said. "Obviously, Guiape is a talented young man with a bright future. But I think we all admit, Tommy had not been pitching up to par, so that move was made out of necessity. But we liked this guy in Spring Training. I love his slider and ability to throw strikes."

Jones is a short-term addition, giving McClendon an extra speed option off the bench this weekend before veteran right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma is activated off the disabled list on Monday to start against the Tigers at Safeco Field.

Roenis Elias, who started 13 games after Iwakuma went on the DL with a strained lat muscle in April, was the third pitcher optioned to Tacoma after Friday's 9-5 win over the A's.