The first move made was not made by the Mariners at all, but by the decision of Ichiro Suzuki. His retirement left the roster at 27 and also cleared a spot on the 40-man, leaving it at 39 players. We recently wrote about the Mariners adding a 40-man player to their roster here, and it is a distinct possibility.
To get back down to 25, Seattle optioned outfielder Braden Bishop and relief pitcher Dan Altavilla to Triple-A Tacoma. Neither move was unexpected. Bishop was basically awarded a spot on the Japan trip for his excellent Spring Training that saw him slash .