Maurer recalled from Tacoma; Noesi optioned

SEATTLE -- The Mariners recalled right-handed pitcher Brandon Maurer from Triple-A on Saturday to bolster the team's bullpen. To make room for the 23-year-old, right-handed pitcher Hector Noesi was optioned to Tacoma.

Maurer made Seattle's Opening Day roster as the fifth starter after a very good spring, then going 2-7 in 10 starts with a 6.93 ERA before being optioned to Tacoma on May 29. With the Rainiers, he went 3-4 with a 5.21 ERA in 10 starts.

"He's going to go in the bullpen and probably be our long guy right now," bench coach and acting manager Robby Thompson said. "He's been throwing the ball real well, so we'll get him a little different scenario out there and see how he is coming out of the bullpen. He's been throwing the ball good down below, and it'll be interesting to see how it plays out of the bullpen for him, and for us."

The Mariners made Maurer their 23rd-round pick in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of Orange Lutheran High School in California.

Noesi, 26, has spent three brief periods with the big league club this season, going 0-1 with a 5.64 ERA in nine appearances. Over two seasons with Seattle, he is 2-13.