DECEMBER 16: Seattle announced that Caminero has officially been released to pursue the opportunity in Japan.
DECEMBER 10: Mariners righty Arquimedes Caminero is close to a deal with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan, as noted by Yahoo! Japan (via Beyond The Box Score’s Kazuto Yamazaki and Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune, who notes that the Mariners have already agreed to sell Caminero’s contract).
The 29-year-old Caminero is out of options, and the Mariners’ decision suggests that they don’t foresee much of a future for him on a team with plenty of right-handed bullpen possibilities, even though he has four years of control remaining before free agency and has tantalizing velocity.