One of the annual games being played in Spring Training is the “option game”. Every team participates, including the Mariners. The game is simple: find players who are out of MILB options and watch and see if they are going to make the team.
Last season, the Mariners played this game with Daniel Vogelbach. This year, they’ll play it with Dan Altavilla. But they’ll also be interested in other players who are in similar situations. And if a team is going to expose a player to waivers, they will look to trade that player first.