LAS VEGAS — All the usual baseball trimmings were laid out at Cashman Field yesterday, but the trim that really mattered didn't happen on the field.

The Mariners closed their 2005 spring training with a 3-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs in front of 11,601. They left Sin City with a lighter roster instead of, or in addition to, lighter wallets, trimming the active roster to the required 25 by baseball's 9 p.m. deadline.

Heading into the day, the last question left to answer was who would be the Mariners' last bench player. Would it be shortstop Ramon Santiago? Or infielder Greg Dobbs?

How about Dobbs, who hit .308 this spring, and Wilson Valdez, a player the Mariners claimed off waivers Friday? Valdez played his first game in a Mariners uniform yesterday after arriving 20 minutes before it started. He went 0 for 3 at the plate but cleanly handled all fielding opportunities.

"Heaven knows, if you put somebody out there like that, the first ball is going to be hit to him," manager Mike Hargrove said. "He did well, swung the bat well at the plate. He flew all day to get here, so I thought he did quite well."

The biggest news of the day was shortstop Pokey Reese's inclusion on the 15-day disabled list and Santiago's subsequent assignment to the Mariners' minor-league camp. Santiago was thought to be Reese's replacement at shortstop, but Valdez and Willie Bloomquist will handle those duties when the season starts tomorrow.

Reese played on Friday night and made several outstanding defensive plays. But he missed four games previous to that with an ailing throwing shoulder.

"He came through (Friday) night none the worse for wear," Hargrove said. "But I don't know if (his shoulder) is where it should be. That's about as vague as I can be."

Among the other moves:

• As expected, pitchers Jeff Nelson and Aaron Sele made the team.

• Right-handed reliever Scott Atchison was placed on the 60-day disabled list with an elbow injury, opening up a spot on the Mariners' 40-man protected roster.

• Outfielder Abraham Nunez, recently acquired off the waiver wire, was designated for assignment, and right-handed pitcher Felix Hernandez and left-hander Ryan Rowland-Smith were assigned to the Mariners' minor-league camp.

The game itself was hardly notable — the Cubs hit two solo home runs in the bottom of the ninth to win — except for young pitching ace Hernandez throwing for the Mariners one last time before he heads back to the minor leagues.

Hernandez tossed three scoreless innings, walking two and striking out one.

He also gave up two serious shots up the middle — a line drive by Todd Walker in the first that knocked Hernandez on his bum and a shot from Derrek Lee in the fifth that grazed Hernandez's wrist. Hargrove said afterward that his phenom was fine.

"I see a kid who's probably not ready yet," Hargrove said when asked about Hernandez before the game. "But on the flip side of that, I've seen a kid that could be ready pretty quick. With emphasis on could. That's going to be up to him. He's got all the pitches. He needs the experience."

Notes

• Ichiro finished the spring with an 0 for 7 showing in Las Vegas after hitting safely in 19 games in a row.

The hitting streak was a team record, but his .436 batting average was not.

• After he allowed four runs and 10 hits on Friday night, starter Bobby Madritsch finished spring training with a 5.21 ERA. Hargrove did see one positive from the outing — Madritsch improved as the game went on.

"He got away with it and pitched his way out of it," Hargrove said. "There were some things he did last night on the mound that I didn't like a whole lot. I'm not talking about his act. I'm talking about his pitching. But that's going to happen."

• The Mariners bullpen has been solid since Hargrove gave them a talking to last week in Arizona. And while Hargrove dismissed any correlation, he has been impressed.