Matt Tuiasosopo preparing for winter ball in Puerto Rico after Samoa fundraisers

The off-season has already been a busy time for Mariners infielder Matt Tuiasosopo and won't slow down at any point soon. Tuiasosopo heads to Puerto Rico on Nov. 1 to begin a lengthy winter ball stint with the Criollos de Caguas squad. He'll be playing third base primarily, but had a recent conversation with the team's general manager and hopes to see stints at other positions. "I'll be playing a little bit at second base and see if I can bounce around to other spots as well,'' he told me this afternoon. Tuiasosopo was playing for the Mariners the final weekend of the season when he heard of the devastating tsunami that hit his family's native Amercian Samoa. At least 176 people were killed throughout the Samoan Islands and entire villages were flattened by the tsunami, caused by a major 7.9 magnitude earthquake. Since that time, Tuiasosopo's family, renowned sports-wise throughout the Seattle area, has been raising money to help the rebuilding e...