Miguel Batista has been told that he is no longer in the rotation, at least for his next start, according to John Hickey.  This was expected, and in all likelihood Ryan Rowland-Smith will be promoted to fill the rotation spot on Saturday, at which time Jared Wells should find himself back in Tacoma as Batista takes his bullpen spot.

I suppose there is a chance that Ryan Feierabend fills Batista’s spot, he certainly deserves it, but with RRS last starting on the same day as Batista it makes it really easy to slot him and let him pitch on regular rest.

Hickey also reports that Jeremy Reed will start receiving starts at first base, where he spent a lot of time in college.  This is another good move, in my opinion.  It appears that the team is choosing not to value defense in a lost season, allowing Raul Ibanez to stay in left field rather than shifting to DH; a dying man’s wish, if you will.  With Raul and Ichiro firmly entrenched at the corners (I don’t see them moving Ichiro back to center field, even though that would make a world of difference), center field and left/right backup duties are pretty crowded, being rotated between Wlad Balentien, Willie Bloomquist and Reed. 

Reed has been hot in his last 10 games or so, while Bryan LaHair still has people thinking he’s good after two games in Texas.  If you haven’t noticed, he’s not so awesome, hitting five singles in eight games since then, so giving some of his at bats to Reed isn’t a bad thing at all.

The lineups are going to be a mess from here on out.  Three guys behind the plate, about four guys at first base (LaHair, Reed, Clement, Cairo) and five guys fighting for outfield spots, with the DH slot taking someone left over; and it’s not even September callups yet!