Aaron

Looper

With J.J. Putz up, a healthy Looper would be next in line for a callup to Seattle. Now the choice would either be Bobby Madritsch or Randy Williams.

Looper should be ready to pitch next spring, but he probably won’t be much of a candidate for a job then.

Looper underwent Tommy John surgery in May. He should clear waivers and be invited back to compete for a bullpen spot.

He’s given up just one hit in six innings since returning. Looper likely will spend most of the rest of the season in Triple-A. There’s only a slight chance that he’ll see time in Seattle’s bullpen.

Maybe Antonio Perez won’t head to the minors after all. More likely is that Joe Thurston replaces Cabrera on the roster and Jose Hernandez becomes the second baseman against left-handers. This is the first move Dodgers GM Paul DePodesta has made that could hurt the team for this year, but considering that Cabrera was overpaid for a utilityman, we have no problem with it. Looper is a quality reliever who will be ready to contribute as soon as the Dodgers need him. Ketchner’s further away, but he’s an intriguing prospect. The 21-year-old, who was born partially deaf, had a 3.45 ERA and a 159/33 K/BB ratio at Single-A Inland Empire last season. Batters hit .228 against him.

Looper had a 1.74 ERA in 10 1/3 innings this spring, but that wasn’t good enough. He’ll compete with J.J. Putz to be the first reliever called up by the Mariners.

The Dodgers had just picked up Looper from Seattle in the Jolbert Cabrera deal, but they no longer had any room on their 40-man roster fors him. They’re getting a lesser prospect here in Bott, but he doesn’t have to go on the 40-man roster. The 22-year-old lefty finished third in the California League in ERA last year.

The move creates a spot for Armando Benitez on the roster. The Mariners decided to keep J.J. Putz over Looper for now, but it doesn’t really matter. The winner is only going to stick around until Kazuhiro Sasaki comes off the disabled list.

Looper and Madritsch could be solid relievers for the Mariners if the team wasn’t so obsessed with signing veterans. As is, it looks like the only player here with much chance of making the club is Santiago, who was acquired from the Tigers in the Carlos Guillen deal.

Looper had a 3.09 ERA in 39 relief appearances for Tacoma. He’s a solid relief prospect, but the Mariners won’t use him in close games.