PEORIA, Ariz. -- Sometimes the pieces just fit together. Sometimes the obvious moves are the best ones. So it is that the Mariners hope left-handed starter Mike Montgomery -- out of Minor League options and facing long odds to crack the rotation -- can help fill the void in a bullpen where injuries have created several openings.
Montgomery threw back-to-back shutouts last year as a rookie starter, flashing the considerable potential that made him a first-round Draft pick of the Royals in 2008. But he faded in the second half of the season, was shipped back to Triple-A and came to camp this spring listed seventh in the pecking order of a rotation bolstered by trades for Wade Miley and Nathan Karns as well as the return of Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, Taijuan Walker and James Paxton.