The Seattle Mariners made some roster moves on Wednesday, designating Willie Bloomquist for assignment and calling up shortstop Chris Taylor from Triple-A Tacoma and now Taylor will take over as the utility man on the roster for Bloomquist, while Brad Miller will remain the everyday starter for Lloyd McClendon at SS.
The Mariners have been struggling this year after coming into the season with high expectations and with some injured players coming back, moves needed to be made on the roster. According to the Seattle Times, Bloomquist is headed out for Taylor and it comes ahead of the team bringing back Hisashi Iwakuma from the disabled list and David Rollins from the suspended list.
Bloomquist previously signed a two-year, $5.8 million deal with the Mariners, but he dealt with surgery in the offseason and did not get regular playing time this year. Bloomquist was only hitting .159 in 35 games this season and that put him in position to get cut loose once the Mariners had to make some 25-man roster moves. Taylor previously had a short stint in the majors this season and he hit .159 during that time with one RBI.
Bloomquist is considered to be good clubhouse presence and a veteran leader and he could find some work with another team on perhaps a minor league deal. Bloomquist was in his second run with the Mariners and now the team will try and get things going with Taylor as the backup for Robinson Cano and Brad Miller in the infield.
