Tom Wilhelmsen is still the Mariners' closer, but he won't be for long.
Seattle manager Eric Wedge told reporters that he and pitching coach Carl Willis are encouraged by the work of former closer Brandon League and will return him to his ninth-inning role in the near future.
"We'll stay where we are today. At some point in time, sooner or later, we'll look to get Leaguer another shot at closing," Wedge told reporters (via the Seattle Times) before Sunday's game against the Dodgers. "I'm not going to do that on a whim. I'm going to have a conversation with him first. I'm not going to surprise anybody. We haven't had that conversation yet."
League was relieved of his closer's duties on May 26, the day after he blew his third save in five chances in a loss to the Angels. Since then, he's appeared in six games, pitching 6 2/3 innings, allowing one earned run on five hits and a walk, while striking out six, good for a 1.35 ERA. Since moving out of the ninth inning, he's lowered his ERA from 4.43 to 3.67. He looked outstanding in the eighth inning of the team's no-hitter on Friday, striking out one of the two batters he faced.
Wilhelmsen has earned three saves and a win since League was demoted.
League, 29. is a free agent after the season and figures to be a trade candidate closer to the deadline. The more he shows he's back to his All-Star form of 2011 and capable of closing out games, the more the Mariners can ask for in return.
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