New Mariners reliever Cordero draws a crowd to workout
PEORIA, Ariz. – For a guy who has so much to overcome, Chad Cordero can’t help but be happy.
The recently signed reliever pitched his first bullpen session for Seattle on Sunday at the Peoria Sports Complex. The brief session drew a crowd of fans, media members and Mariners coaches – including John Wetteland (bullpen) and Rick Adair (pitching). Team general manager Jack Zduriencik and CEO Howard Lincoln even watched Cordero throw about 35 pitches off the mound to catcher Adam Moore.
“I always get a little nervous every time I go out there and pitch, whether it’s in a game or in a bullpen,” he said. “But I was excited. I had a big ol’ smile on my face the whole time.”
A healthy arm will do that. Cordero had surgery on his torn labrum last July.
“Everything felt better today,” he said. “It was outside. When I was rehabbing, everything was inside. We had nice little breeze. I could feel fresh air. My arm felt great. No pain. No nothing.”
Zduriencik seemed encouraged.
“All you’re looking for (in the workout) is: ‘Does he look free and easy, and is his delivery the same as it was?’ ” Zduriencik said.
Only Zduriencik and Wetteland know first-hand what a healthy Cordero looks like. And there isn’t much about his delivery that is smooth. The stocky righthander had a short-arm motion when he threw in the bullpen. But Zduriencik said that’s how Cordero has always thrown.
“It looked similar to what it has been,” Zduriencik said. “I mean, it has never been the perfect, classic delivery, but that works for him. There is a lot of deception in what he does.”
And what he does – when he’s healthy – is get outs in late innings. It’s why he was brought in.
But getting back to those situations before opening day “isn’t a reality” he said. Cordero is hoping to be ready by mid-May.
“Hopefully I can keep moving up and not have any setbacks,” he said. “I haven’t had any so far. As long as I keep doing all the work they want me to do and all my exercise, who knows, I could be up here quicker than anyone thinks.”
Zduriencik is cautiously optimistic.
“We’ll see,” he said. “Those (labrum surgeries) are hard to predict. One player can be ready two or three weeks sooner than another player. You never really know, but if he’s feeling really good right now, which he does, that’s great.”
Mariners add an arm
Zduriencik continues to search for help. On Sunday, he announced the Mariners claimed right-handed reliever Jesus Delgado off waivers from Florida.
“As we have said repeatedly, our goal is to try and accumulate talent at every opportunity,” Zduriencik said. “Jesus is a young player who has already reached the big leagues. We think he adds depth to the relief pitching group in our organization.”
Delgado, 24, made his big league debut with the Marlins late last season, appearing in two games. He pitched mainly at Class AA Carolina, where he went 5-2 with one save in 42 games. He fanned 52 hitters in 57 innings.
The Boston Red Sox signed Delgado in 2001. He missed the 2002 and 2003 seasons after reconstructive elbow surgery.
He pitched 2004 with the Red Sox, but was traded in the offseason to the Marlins as part of the Josh Beckett deal.
To make room for Delgado on the 40-man roster, left-handed pitcher Ryan Feierabend, who recently had reconstructive “Tommy John” surgery, was placed on the 60-day disabled list.
Giving it to Griffey
Perhaps the lightest moment of a 15-5 loss to the White Sox on Sunday came when Ken Griffey Jr. approached the plate for his first at-bat. As is the custom this spring, Griffey received a warm round of applause from the fans. But he also got extra applause from the opposing dugout, occupied by the team where he finished the 2008 season. White Sox bench coach Joey Cora, Griffey’s former Mariners teammate, was especially outlandish. Griffey looked right at him and said a few things. Cora said a few things back, and then started to bow in homage to Griffey.
Not to be outdone, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, never at a loss for words, clapped and yapped even more. Griffey just shook his head.
As if it weren’t enough, catcher A.J. Pierzynski set up as though pitcher Jose Contreras was going to walk Griffey intentionally. With all that going on, Griffey was cracking up. He had to step out of the box to regain his composure.
“I love him,” Guillen said of Griffey. “You’re looking at a Hall of Fame guy. I think he had a great time with us when he played here. A lot of players and a lot of coaches have a lot of respect for him. The small period of time he spent with us was great.”
Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483
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Mariners spring update
Sunday’s game
Garrett Olson’s bid for a spot in the starting rotation took a serious blow when the left-hander couldn’t make it out the second inning against the White Sox.
Olson fell apart in the second inning, walking four hitters and giving up a two-run double to
A.J. Perizynski and a two-run triple to
Carlos Quentin in what would become a 15-5 loss.
Chicago also roughed up reliever
Shawn Kelley for four runs in an inning including a three-run homer to
Brandon Allen.
Russell Branyan led the M’s with a pair of home runs.
Mike Morse also hit a solo homer.
Today
The Mariners will be in split-squad action today. Manager
Don Wakamatsu will stay in Peoria and watch
Erik Bedard start against the Los Angeles Dodgers. RHP
Hiroki Kuroda will start for Los Angeles. The other Mariners squad, skippered by hitting coach
Ty Van Burkleo, will be in Goodyear to play the Cleveland Indians. RHP
Chris Jakubauskas will start for Seattle, while LHP
Jeremy Sowers will go for Cleveland. The game against the Dodgers will be broadcast on 710-AM and 97.3-FM.
Quotable
“We’ve talked about the pressure situations for competing for a starting job. Those are things we are looking for and I think they got the better of him.” – Wakamatsu on Olson’s outing.
Ryan Divish, The News Tribune
