Despite having a day off Thursday, the Seattle Mariners made a couple of roster moves in preparation for today’s start of a road series against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim.

The Mariners optioned struggling outfielder Greg Halman to Triple-A Tacoma on Thursday. While they did not immediately announce a corresponding roster move to fill Halman’s spot on the 25-man roster, a pair of sources within the Mariners confirmed that recently acquired outfielder Trayvon Robinson would take his place.

Robinson has been with the Rainiers for a handful games since he came from the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-team trade that sent Erik Bedard and Josh Fields to the Boston Red Sox.

Robinson was born in South Central Los Angeles and was a high school standout at Crenshaw High School. The Dodgers selected him in the 10th round of the 2005 draft.

He was rated as the Dodgers’ 10th best prospect coming into this season by Baseball America.

Robinson put together an outstanding season in his first year of Triple A. In 100 games with Albuquerque, he hit .293 with nine doubles, six triples, 26 homers and 71 RBI. He has a .375 on-base percentage and a .563 slugging percentage. His most glaring negative statistic is his 122 strikeouts in 368 at-bats. He played in three games with the Rainiers and had one hit in nine at-bats.

Halman, 23, had his issues with strikeouts this season, just as he has for much of his career.

The talented rookie showed moments of brilliance in his time with the Mariners, but never got consistent playing time because of a logjam of outfielders. He struggled of late, getting just two hits in his last 28 at-bats with a homer and 12 strikeouts. In 30 games, he hit .230 (20-for-87) with four homers and nine RBI and struck out 32 times.

Playing every few days wasn’t helping Halman, and with the acquisition of Casper Wells, his playing time was likely to decrease.

CUST RELEASED

Designated hitter Jack Cust was officially released by the Mariners on Thursday. Cust was designated for assignment on July 29.

Per major league baseball rules, the Mariners had 10 days to trade him, release him or send him outright to their minor league system.

The Mariners had to offer Cust on waivers, but he wasn’t picked up by any of the 29 other teams. That gave the Mariners the option to outright him to Triple-A Tacoma or release him. They chose the latter.

Cust, 32, hit .213 (48-for-225) with 15 doubles, one triple, three home runs and 23 RBI in 67 games for the Mariners this season.

ON T

The Mariners open a three-game series against the Angels today at Angels Stadium in Anaheim. Left-hander Jason Vargas (6-10, 4.19 ERA) will start for Seattle, while the Angels will go with ace Jered Weaver (14-5, 1.88 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Root Sports and 710-AM.

Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483 ryan.divish@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/mariners

Read More: Greg Halman (CF – SEA), Trayvon Robinson (CF – SEA), Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Dodgers

Once Greg Halman was sent down to AAA, it was only a matter of time before the Seattle Mariners called someone up. Ryan Divish of the Tacoma News Tribune broke the news: It pears the Mariners are pinning their hopes on former Dodgers prospect Trayvon Robinson, who was sent to the Mariners in the Erik Bedard trade.

The outfielder is a solid enough prospect. He was drafted in the 2005 MLB draft out of Crenshaw High School, and spent most of the next four years playing minor league baseball. He finally had a breakout year in 2011 with the Albuquerque Isotopes. While he struck out a lot in triple-A but did show a lot of power with 26 HRs in 2011 and 9 triples (and a low amount of doubles). Seattle could use some hitting, and Robinson could be a player of the future for the beleagured franchise.

For more on the Mariners, Lookout Landing is the place to be.

Casper Wells had a bit of an attitude, which means Seattle Mariners manager Eric Wedge – and any Mariners fan looking for even a hint of personality – will love him.

When someone in the media asked him about any “Casper the Friendly Ghost” teasing in his background, Wells was not amused.

“I’m the fifth Casper Wells,” he said. “Casper Charles Wells Jr. My dad has the same name as me. It’s been around for five generations, so you can talk to my great-great-grandfather about that one.

“It was around before the cartoon, so the friendly ghost jokes can be put aside. Sometimes fans say I should thank my parents for naming me that. But I’m the fifth, so take it up with my great-great-grandfather.”

The fourth outfielder with the Detroit Tigers until Saturday, Wells was in his artment eating when he heard he’d been traded.

“I found out when I was watching television. I didn’t get a phone call. I was eating breakfast and almost spit my food out,” he said.

Wells jumped on the elevator and rode it to the floor of teammate Charlie Furbush, who had just been set to the Mariners, too. He hadn’t been watching TV, and hadn’t gotten a telephone call.

“I knocked on his door and said, ‘Hey man, we’re going to Seattle,’ ” Wells said. “His phone started blowing up from people texting him, saying, ‘Good luck.’

“Good luck for what? He didn’t know what was going on.”

With the Tigers, Wells had played 64 games – gotten 113 at-bats – and batted .257 with four home runs and 12 RBI. Scouts love his arm and his overall outfield defense.

Furbush made two starts for Detroit, lost both, and made 15 more pearances for the Tigers out of the bullpen. He made his first with Seattle on Sunday, pitching an inning, and will likely slide into the Mariners’ rotation at some point.

SHORT HOPS

The Mariners aren’t certain yet who will start in Erik Bedard’s vacant slot in the rotation come Wednesday. … If the 8-1 loss felt familiar Sunday, it should have: This was the 31st time in 2011 that the Mariners had scored one run or fewer. Eleven of those games came in July. … Mike Carp singled and scored, and since his recall from Tacoma is batting .349 in 11 games. … Over his past five starts, Jason Vargas is 0-5 with a 6.84 earned-run average. Why? “I haven’t made the big pitch since the All-Star break,” he said. “I’ve had the chance to get out of the inning and didn’t do it. My change-up hasn’t been an out pitch, and that’s something I can work on.” … Catcher Miguel Olivo’s seventh-inning single snped an 0-for-16 stretch, and he’s now batting .215. … Reliever Shawn Kelley will return to Tacoma for another inning Tuesday as he continues his comeback from Tommy John surgery to rebuild his elbow in June 2010.

ON T

Seattle plays host to Oakland in a 7:10 p.m. game today that will be televised on Root Sports. Probable starting pitchers: Oakland’s Trevor Cahill (9-9, 3.58 ERA) vs. Blake Beaven (1-2, 3.04).

larry.larue@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/mariners

OAKLAND – When anyone discusses the offense of the Seattle Mariners, it can be tough to tell if they’re talking about one game or the entire season.

After they lost to the Oakland Athletics in a Wednesday game that by now should be all too familiar – 2-0 – the Mariners wanted to praise winning pitcher Guillermo Moscoso.

It wasn’t easy.

“We mishit a lot of balls,” Adam Kennedy said. “He pitched with his fastball, he had some life to it, and we didn’t square up much.”

Seattle saw its three-game winning streak broken by a loss in which the team managed two hits – both singles – by Dustin Ackley and Kennedy. It was another where-are-the-runs-going-to-come-from? day at the ballpark.

“We had pitches to hit early on and missed them, then we lost that,” manager Eric Wedge said. “We were aggressive in some early at-bats, and then we got away from that. We keep pushing to get them better …”

Offense – hitting and scoring – has been an issue for the past four seasons, including two in which the Mariners lost 101 games. Over that span, the team has fired four managers and is on its fifth batting coach.

The answer?

Kyle Seager, the rookie infielder who hit safely in all 12 games he played for the Tacoma Rainiers. Triple-A experience? Hit .455 with 12 RBI in a dozen games, the Seattle Mariners will find you, promote you and – most likely – put you in tonight’s starting lineup against the Los Angeles Angels.

“This is a guy who has hit everywhere he’s been,” general manager Jack Zduriencik said. “He’s produced everywhere he’s been. It’s no secret we’ve struggled offensively – why not give the kid a chance?”

The Mariners called up Seager about an hour after they lost another game in which hits and runs simply weren’t there.

“I’ve seen him play, and he’s been impressive,” Zduriencik said. “I’ve talked to the young man and he’s not intimidated. He’s ready. Let’s let him play and see what hpens.”

To get Seager on the roster, the team designated catcher Jose Yepez for assignment, meaning he’ll be available on waivers. Could Yepez have helped? The Mariners can’t be sure – he never peared in a game during his week in the big leagues.

Those who played Wednesday, however, were largely inefficient.

Ichiro Suzuki, for instance, popped out three times and hit a fly ball to center field. Rookie Carlos Peguero struck out three times. Brendan Ryan? One fly ball, three ground outs.

“As an offense, as a team, we have to do more,” Kennedy said. “We should have adjusted today, but we didn’t. We didn’t get on top of the ball. We didn’t get it done.”

The man who took the brunt of the shutout was Jason Vargas, who pitched well enough to win but for one thing – he allowed a solo home run to Scott Sizemore in the first inning.

Oh, the Athletics added one more run in a disastrous fifth inning that included two errors and a balk, but that first run turned out to be enough to beat Vargas.

“I threw him an inside fastball, first pitch, and he hit it,” Vargas said. “We didn’t really do anything, offensively …”

Trying to hang in range of the American League West, the Mariners could easily start the series in Anaheim tonight with a six-game winning streak. They won’t.

Why not?

In the past week, their only losses were 1-0 against the Padres and 2-0 versus Oakland. Score just a bit, this is a different team on a roll.

Instead, the Mariners open up with the Angels tonight a game under .500 (43-44) and asking a 23-year-old in his third professional season to come up and contribute. And why not?

Already in 2011, the Mariners have brought in rookie outfielders Peguero, Mike Wilson, Greg Halman, catcher Yepez, pitchers Blake Beavan, Dan Cortes, Josh Lueke and second baseman Ackley.

For the most part, they’re all works in progress – and doing as well as, say, veterans Chone Figgins (.183), Franklin Gutierrez (.180), Miguel Olivo (.218) and Luis Rodriguez (.167).

For all the players the Mariners have used this year, 36 with Seager, the statistics are all-telling.

The staff earned-run average (3.11) is second in the American League.

The team batting average (.224) is 30th (last) in the majors. The Mariners are also 30th in runs scored. Tied for 29th in home runs.

Hard to imagine an offensive category Seager couldn’t help.

“There are times out there you run into a buzz saw, but that wasn’t the case today,” Wedge said. “I always put it on us. We’re the ones with the bats in our hands. We’re the ones who have to be difference-makers.”

The Mariners don’t have enough of those bats to support their superb pitching. This is a team operating with, in essence, a 22-man roster – it rarely uses infielder Jack Wilson or reliever Jeff Gray – and now likely won’t have playing time for Figgins.

Still, the Mariners believe Seager is a piece of the future which, in his case, begins tonight.

“Can you assume he’s going to be in the starting lineup (tonight)? I think so, yes,” Zduriencik said. “We’ve brought up and played a lot of young players this season, and Kyle is coming up to play.”

larry.larue@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/mariners

The Seattle Mariners have two minor leaguers who may not be big-name prospects, but they are competing for batting titles in their respective leagues.

Tacoma’s Johan Limonta is batting .370 and ranks fifth in the Pacific Coast League in batting average. High Desert’s Vince Catricala ranks eighth in the California League with a .368 average.

Limonta, 27, is a first baseman/corner outfielder playing in his first Triple-A season.

The left-handed hitter didn’t even make the Rainiers’ opening-day roster – he opened the season at Double-A Jackson and was promoted to Tacoma after Greg Halman was injured in the fourth game of the season.

After what he’s done so far for Tacoma, it seems unlikely that Limonta will be going back to Jackson.

“He had a stretch where it was like he was swinging a magic wand – to be hitting .370 or .380, he’s squared a lot of balls up, but he’s also found some holes,” Taacoma manager Daren Brown said.

Limonta is not known for his glove, but nobody questions his bat. Limonta uses a short, compact swing to hit line drives to all fields.

“One thing that is unique about him is that he uses the whole field,” Brown said. “He doesn’t try to do too much with the pitch.”

Limonta was born in Havana in 1983. A year after his mother died, Limonta esced Cuba on a boat in October 2004.

After going through the immigration process, Limonta enrolled at Miami Dade College and played one season before the Mariners selected him in the 20th round of the 2006 draft.

One of Limonta’s fellow defectors is already in the major leagues – Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar was on the same boat.

Catricala is a 22-year-old corner infielder who hasn’t stopped hitting since the Mariners drafted him out of the University of Hawaii in the 10th round of the 2009 draft.

Catricala hit .301 for Pulaski (Va.) in 2009, and last year he batted .302 with 17 home runs and 41 doubles for Low-Single-A Clinton (Iowa).

After two season of playing against younger players, Catricala now is facing opponents his own age or older in the advanced Single-A California League. He has 20 multiple-hit games in his first 38 pearances.

The Maui, Hawaii, native has seven home runs and is slugging .553 while splitting time between first base and third base.

Mike Curto is the radio broadcaster for the Tacoma Rainiers.

After a week of talking about closer Brandon League, Seattle Mariners manager Eric Wedge got back to familiar questions Wednesday – about his offense, or lack thereof.

The inquiries were timely enough, what with Felix Hernandez losing to the Minnesota Twins, 2-1, on Tuesday.

And Wedge made a lineup change. With Franklin Gutierrez available again and in center field, Wedge dropped him into the fifth spot in the batting order. It’s not the ideal spot for him, Wedge said, but he was looking for a spark.

“We need something. I’m sure as hell not going to continue watching this,” Wedge said of his offense. “We’re going to get better and we’re going to do everything we possibly can to get better.

“Certain things have to hpen. We have to be tougher. We have to be smarter. Work’s never been an issue with these guys.”

Hits and runs, those are the issues.

Aside from getting Gutierrez back from his rehab assignment with Tacoma, Wedge sat down his starting shortstop and second baseman – Brendan Ryan and Jack Wilson – in favor of Luis Rodriguez and Adam Kennedy.

It was Wedge’s 37th different lineup in the Mariners’ 42nd game. It featured six players hitting under .225.

Are there other lineups Wedge is considering?

“I’ve contemplated a lot here in the short-term, more than you want to know, trust me,” he said. “But ultimately it’s my job as manager of this team and the coaches’ jobs to help these guys get better. That’s what’s going to hpen, one way or the other.”

ADD GUTIERREZ

The Gold Glove center fielder returned to the Mariners just in time for a promotion featuring his likeness today – the Franklin Gutierrez Fly Swatter.

The first 20,000 folks through the gate at Safeco Field today get them.

POWER OUTAGE

Designated hitter Jack Cust started the game without a home run in his first 36 games, covering 125 at-bats – but he wasn’t alone.

Ichiro Suzuki had played all 41 games before Wednesday, and hadn’t homered – the longest such stretch to start any of his 11 big-league seasons. His previous longest was 39 games.

Ichiro had 172 at-bats going into the Angels series.

SHORT HOPS

In the pregame clubhouse was catcher Adam Moore, who is rehabbing from knee surgery. He has graduated to riding the stationary bike but won’t try running until sometime next week. Throwing and hitting? Weeks away. Moore won’t play again in 2011. … Add Felix: When he went eight innings and allowed two runs Tuesday, it marked the 13th time in his career he’d pitched at least eight innings, allowed two runs or fewer and not won.

ON T

Seattle plays host to Los Angeles in a 12:40 p.m. game today that will be televised on Root Sports. Probable starting pitchers: Dan Haren (4-2, 1.93 ERA) vs. Doug Fister (2-4, 3.22).