CF Michael Saunders was called up to AAA Tacoma on Wednesday. The 21-year-old Canadian was hitting .290 with 8 home runs and 30 RBI with West Tenn. He was in his first full season at the AA level. He put up a .299 average with 14 home runs and a .392 on-base percentage with High Desert last season. Saunders becomes the youngest player on the Rainiers' roster. Saunders' promotion clears the way for the newly-promoted Greg Halman to become the full-time center fielder at West Tenn.
With a logjam now existing in the outfield in Tacoma, one might expect that a player will be released or sent down to AA. Prentice Redman may be the odd-man out, as he has seen his playing time reduced since the return of Charlton Jimerson to the lineup. With Wladimir Balentien back from the big-league club, there aren't enough spots to go around.
In other news, the Mariners signed pitcher Scott Williamson last weekend. Williamson was most recently in the Braves organization. He was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1999 while with Cincinnati. He has also pitched for the Cubs and Red Sox. Williamson's deal is a minor league deal and he is on the Tacoma roster. It is unclear whether the M's have any intention of calling him up to bigs.