Seattle Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said on Wednesday that Cliff Lee will make a rehab start in Triple-A on Sunday. (As you can tell by the photo, they’re quite excited about his arrival in Tacoma!) Then assuming there are no setbacks, he will make his regular season debut for the Mariners on April 30 against the Texas Rangers.
Lee, who has been on the disabled list since April 4 with an abdominal strain, has already thrown a pair of simulated games without incident, and on Tuesday saw his five-game suspension rescinded after he convinced MLB officials that his injuries - not ill intent - were the reason he threw a ball over the head of Arizona catcher Chris Snyder in a spring training game.
Who Lee bumps from Seattle’s rotation is still a question, and no easy decision given the recent strong outings from back-of-the-rotation guys Doug Fister (2-0, six hits, one run in last two starts) and Jason Vargas (2-0, three runs in last two starts).
The guess here is that Ian Snell, who was scheduled to start Saturday but has been pushed back to Tuesday, will be the guy who loses out. But that’s just speculation at this point. One thing I don’t expect the Mariners to do is act like the Cubs and move Felix Hernandez to the bullpen.
And in the good-problem-to-have department, Erik Bedard was scheduled to throw a 60-pitch bullpen session on Wednesday, with an eye toward returning in late May.
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