Though we’ve yet to hear about the Giants objecting to Barry Bonds’ wishes to play for the U.S. in the forthcoming World Baseball Classic, the Seattle Times’ Larry Stone reports the Mariners are reluctant to allow Felix Hernandez’ participation.

Felix Hernandez wants to represent his native Venezuela in next spring’s much-hyped World Baseball Classic. The Mariners don’t want to risk the most valuable arm in the organization, which they view as too tender at age 19 for the rigors of an intense international tournament.

Thus lies the seeds of a dilemma. The Mariners have filed an official objection to Hernandez’s potential participation in the World Cup-like event, but a source close to Hernandez (above) said Thursday night the right-hander was hoping to pitch for his homeland.

“As far as I know, he wants to play and still plans to play,” said the source. “But there’s still lots of time between now and then.”

Though major-league teams have been instructed by the commissioner’s office to allow their players to participate in the inaugural 16-nation event, there is a mechanism for teams to raise objections. These can be based on injury concerns or what are termed “extraordinary circumstances,” which is how the organization views Hernandez’s participation.

They believe that his youth and past health concerns ” he was on the disabled list last season from June 14 to July 9 with shoulder bursitis ” make it risky for him to pitch in the tournament, which runs March 3-20 in Japan, Puerto Rico, Florida, Arizona and California.

Stone also writes that Dave Brundage (above), who managed the Texas League’s San Antontio Missions last season, will be managing Seattle’s Triple A club in Tacoma next year.