By Jim Callis
December 15, 2003

The Mariners have a surplus of relief prospects, and they reduced their number by one on Monday. Seattle traded Allan Simpson to Colorado for Chris Buglovsky in an exchange of minor league righthanders.

Simpson, 26, signed out of Taft (Calif.) JC as an eighth-round pick in 1997. He received a scare last offseason when he was thought to have come down with lupus, a chronic inflammatory disease that can be fatal, and the Mariners removed him from their 40-man roster. Instead, it turned out that he had a circulation problem in his right index finger, the result of throwing too many splitters. He has scrapped the pitch, instead relying on a 92-94 mph fastball that has reached 99, and an improving slider. He went 2-5, 4.16 with one save in 43 games at Triple-A Tacoma in 2003. Though he struck out 69 in 63 innings, command remains an issue. He gives up too many walks (42) and becomes vulnerable when he falls behind in the count (.251 opponent average, seven homers). Seattle had Simpson drop his arm angle to a low three-quarters slot late in the season, and he pitched well afterward.

Buglovsky, 24, set several school records at Division III College of New Jersey, from where he was drafted in the third round in 2000. His top pitch is his slider, and he gets nice life on a fastball with average velocity. He needs to come up with a consistent offspeed pitch, as his inability to combat hitters with a changeup or curveball led to his 10-10, 4.83 performance at Double-A Tulsa this year. Opponents torched him for a .321 average and 10 homers in 158 innings, and his strikeout-walk ratio was a mediocre 75-60. He may be better off moving to the bullpen and focusing on his two main pitches.