Mariners still awaiting McLaren's call on fifth starter

PEORIA, Ariz. — This whole fifth-starter business isn't having too profound an impact on Mariners pitcher Miguel Batista.

The Mariners on Saturday again delayed announcing what many assume to be a forgone conclusion — that Batista will be the fifth starter this season despite winning a team-high 16 games last year. But it wasn't too long ago, with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001, that Batista began the year seventh on the team's depth chart of starters.

After a string of injuries and poor performances by others, he moved up from a relief and spot-starter role to being the rotation's No. 3 guy behind Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson. Batista also took home a World Series ring that year, tossing eight shutout innings for a no-decision in Game 3 against the Yankees in New York.

Just like that season, Batista figures there will be plenty of flexibility in who the fifth starter is.

"Don't be surprised if there are a lot of changes happening during the season, where some of us are going to be jumping a day to pitch against a certain team that we can dominate better," he said. "Because I don't believe they invested all that money to be average.

"We've got to win. And if there's a guy who can dominate a team, and we're going to play that team in two days, we're going to jump their day so they can face that team."

Batista is 4-1 with a 1.99 earned-run average lifetime at Oakland's McAfee Coliseum.

Jarrod Washburn is 10-3 with a 2.69 ERA lifetime against the Tampa Bay Rays. He's also 5-1 with a 2.76 ERA against the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis.

Carlos Silva has a 1.91 ERA in six starts against the Boston Red Sox.

Mariners manager John McLaren said Saturday that he knows the order of his rotation already, but had yet to tell the pitchers involved. It's expected that Silva will be No. 3, with left-hander Washburn fourth to separate him and the rotation's other lefty, ace Erik Bedard.

Notes

• The Mariners signed former Washington State infielder Mike Kinkade, 36, to a minor-league deal Saturday.

Kinkade had a .256 batting average in 222 major-league games with the Mets, Orioles and Dodgers over the past decade to go with more than 1,000 contests played in the minors.

Kinkade last played in the majors in 2002 and spent a year in Japan with the Hanshin Tigers in 2004. The Mariners are looking at him strictly for minor-league depth, which is why he did not receive an invitation to major-league camp.

• Seattle players and coaches participated in pop-fly drills and batting practice in front of hundreds of spectators attending the team's annual FanFest at Peoria Stadium. As usual, Ichiro was the star attraction and was mobbed by autograph seekers during a pre-workout signing session.

• Pitcher Anderson Garcia played catch for the first time since experiencing biceps tendinitis in a bullpen session early last week. Garcia was claimed off waivers from the Philadelphia Phillies last weekend and is being looked at for a possible bullpen role.

Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or gbaker@seattletimes.com