We all know that Wlad Balentien stuggled during his first stint with the big club this year.  After he was sent back down to Tacoma he continued to struggle mightily for a while, but he has since stepped it up a notch.  Over the last month (roughly) he is hitting a few ticks below .300 with seven homers and eight doubles.  There was one stretch where he homered in four straight contests.  His strikeout rate has also declined a bit.

Right now Seattle doesn’t have room for him, but after the trade deadline they could.  Even if no move is made, Seattle can then shift Raul Ibanez to DH.  Raul has to stay in left through the deadline in order for the organization to try and convince potential trade partners that he’s capable of playing in the field.  After the deadline Raul can safely DH, because he’ll be with Seattle through the end of his contract.  If Raul is traded then there is an obvious vacancy for Wlad.

Now, if Seattle manages to get an outfielder from the Yankees, then that’s a different story all together.  Either way, Seattle needs to get Wlad up ASAP so that he gets some experience under his belt for next season.  He has proved enough in AAA.

“[Seattle] has long made choices that puzzled much of the rest of the league, and leaving Balentien in Triple-A could become another one of those non-moves that hurts a player. He’s ready to step in and take his lumps. The sooner he gets those out of the way, the sooner Seattle can decide whether he’s part of their long-term plans,” one scout told Propsect Insider’s Jason A. Churchill.