Mariners manager Eric Wedge said Thursday that Dustin Ackley (ankle) and Brendan Ryan (elbow) will sit out the first three games of the Cactus League schedule. The Mariners are just playing things safe, as Ackley had bone spurs removed from his left ankle over the winter and Ryan had surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow. They should be fine for the start of the regular season.

Mariners trainer Rick Griffin said that Dustin Ackley has no restrictions after having bone spurs removed from his left ankle in October. Ackley had dealt with the nagging condition with college, so he finally decided to do something about it. The 24-year-old is coming off a disappointing sophomore campaign in which he batted just .226/.294/.328 with 12 homers and a .622 OPS.

The Mariners have hired Dave Hansen as their new hitting coach. He replaces Chris Chambliss, who was fired after two years with the club. A 15-year major league veteran, Hansen spent the last year and a half as the Dodgers' hitting coach. He'll face a tall task in helping to improve an offense that finished last in the league in batting average (.234), on-base percentage (.296) and slugging percentage (.369).

Dustin Ackley underwent ankle surgery on Thursday. Ackley has been playing with a bone spur in his left ankle since college and decided to finally get it taken care of. He will be fully recovered by the middle of November. Brendan Ryan (elbow) also had surgery on Thursday.

Dustin Ackley is scheduled to undergo surgery early this offseason for a bone spur in his left ankle. "I've had a bone spur problem ever since college," the second baseman revealed Wednesday. "It has never gotten better, kind of stayed the same always a nagging injury. It kind of affects my workouts. Now is the time to get it taken care of." Ackley is expected to be fully recovered from the ankle surgery by mid-November.

Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik revealed Wednesday that Dustin Ackley has been playing with a bone spur in his left ankle. It's not clear how long he's been dealing with the injury or if he'll need offseason surgery. It doesn't seem to be a major issue, though. Ackley finished his 2012 campaign by batting .226/.294/.328 with 12 homers and 13 steals.

Dustin Ackley went 0-for-4 as the Mariners' leadoff hitter in Wednesday's loss to the Twins. Barring an absolutely terrific final week, Ackley is going to end the season not having hit better than .260 in any month of the year. Frankly, if you're a young player going to have an ugly sophomore season, it'd at least be nice to see a few peaks mixed in among the valleys. Ackley hasn't really been any good at any point. The Mariners should look to bring in a veteran to start over him this winter and force him to try to win his job back.

Dustin Ackley (neck) went 1-for-5 with a double and four strikeouts in his return to action Tuesday. Ackley missed two games with a stiff neck. It shouldn't be an issue moving forward.

Dustin Ackley returned to action on Tuesday September 25.

Dustin Ackley (neck) is back in the Mariners' starting lineup on Tuesday night against the Angels. Ackley missed two games with a stiff neck. He is batting just .231/.299/.338 with 12 home runs and 50 RBI.