SAN DIEGO -- Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu announced Friday that Ian Snell will be moved from the starting rotation to the bullpen, and Luke French will take Snell's place in the starting rotation.

Snell is 0-5 this season with a 5.89 ERA in eight starts and three relief appearances. He has allowed 29 earned runs and 57 hits in 44 1/3 innings, and he has also given up nine home runs.

French, who was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on June 6, has allowed four earned runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings out of the Seattle bullpen. He will make his first start of the season on Monday in St. Louis.

"I like the [pitching] angle that he had," Wakamatsu said. "His delivery is much cleaner that I saw last year. I saw a couple good inside fastballs that he threw, and he worked the changeup around that."

Wakamatsu said Snell took the news of the move well and that Snell believes he can be an asset in the bullpen.

"He's actually talked about feeling like he can help the bullpen better," Wakamatsu said. "I think having experienced it before, and maybe a comfort level in that, he feels like maybe he can do several different things. We'll see how the bullpen goes, but we'll give him an opportunity to be [a long reliever] or, in certain situations, where we might need him for an inning."

The last time Snell was primarily used out of the bullpen was in 2005 with the Pirates. That season, 10 of his 15 appearances were in relief.

Zduriencik: Wakamatsu's job not in danger

SAN DIEGO -- Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik was in San Diego with the team on Friday and said that manager Don Wakamatsu is not in danger of losing his job.

"Don's our manager," Zduriencik said. "Last year, there were so many praises, and so many people were so high on the things that Don did. Certainly, Don's disappointed like everybody else, but he's our manager right now. We're moving forward. I expect Don to right the ship, I expect Don to take charge of this thing. He's the manager, that's his job, and I look forward to watching him."

Wakamatsu guided the Mariners to an 85-77 record in his first season in 2009, which was a 14-win improvement from the club's '08 record. But the Mariners are lodged in last place in the American League West and were 14 games behind the first-place Rangers heading into Friday's game against the Padres.

"Don hasn't swung the bat yet this year, Don hasn't fielded a ground ball and Don hasn't thrown a pitch," Zduriencik said. "There's a lot of things that tie into this right now."

Seattle has lost six of its past seven games, including three in a row at Texas where the Mariners were outscored 31-6.

"I hope that [the players] understand that they are accountable," Zduriencik said. "They're accountable to the city, to this franchise [and] they're accountable to their teammates. If you make a physical error, that's one thing. Those things happen. ... The issue here is if you're not playing good, mentally-sound baseball, then I'd like to know why."

But even though Zduriencik expressed disappointment with the club's performance up until now, he said he was viewing Friday as a fresh start for the Mariners.

"Let's turn the page and let's start over," Zduriencik said. "Let's go from here. This is, I guess you could say, the first day of the rest of the season."

Figgins returns to two-hole in lineup shuffles

SAN DIEGO -- The Mariners continued to shuffle their lineup in San Diego on Friday, as second baseman Chone Figgins was back in the two-hole after being moved to the No. 9 spot earlier in the week.

First baseman Casey Kotchman was also back in the starting lineup at first base for the first time since Sunday, batting seventh.

Seattle's lineup changes also took a more obvious twist, as the designated hitter was eliminated for their series in San Diego. Milton Bradley, who has primarily been used as the DH this season, started in left field on Friday.

Shortstop Josh Wilson said that playing in a National League Park, and thus not being able to use a DH, does impact an American League team -- but it doesn't change an individual player's mindset at the plate.

"As a team, as a whole, it definitely changes your approach," Wilson said. "You have to be aware that the pitcher's going to be hitting. As individuals, you're going to basically take the same approach to the plate that you would in an American League game. You're still going to look for your pitch to hit and try to get something you can handle."

Worth noting

Shortstop Jack Wilson will play for Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday after taking Friday off. He has been on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring since May 12, retroactive to May 6. ... Catcher Adam Moore (sublexed left fibula), who has been on the disabled list since May 16, will be the designated hitter for Triple-A Tacoma on Friday night and will try to catch for seven innings on Saturday. ... Catcher Josh Bard (strained left calf) has started running but likely will not play in a Minor League rehab game until Tacoma visits Portland starting June 18. He has been on the disabled list since June 8. ... Pitcher Doug Fister, on the disabled list since June 6, retroactive to June 1, with right shoulder fatigue, played catch on Friday and "felt great," skipper Don Wakamatsu said. He will start one of the first two games against the Cubs in the series that begins June 22.