J.J. Putz

[steve_0710]

How is he going to do this year? Is he going to be able to keep the closer role?

[RJ24VC15]

Why wouldn't he?

[sox 06]

Just some info from ESPN:

Seattle Mariners: Seattle Mariners closer J.J. Putz has a mild right elbow strain, and the team should have him back soon.

Putz got a scare after feeling some stiffness in the elbow following a bullpen session earlier in the week, but the 30-year-old right-hander was set to throw again on Tuesday.

"We were never really too worried about it. It was more of a precautionary thing, anyway," Putz said on Saturday. "I felt fine throwing my bullpen Thursday; it was just a little achy afterward. The pain went away as the day went on."

Tests showed that the injury was a strain and nothing more serious.

There is no clear-cut plan in place if Putz goes down; projected setup man Chris Reitsma, who has some closing experience, has struggled in the spring and hard-throwing reliever Rafael Soriano was traded for starter Horacio Ramirez in the offseason.