Back in July, the Seattle Mariners acquired right-handed pitcher Josh Lueke as part of a package that sent left-handed pitcher Cliff Lee to the Texas Rangers. Shortly afterwards, news reports started to come out regarding Lueke’s involvement in a May 2008 case for sexually assaulting an unconscious 22-year-old woman in Bakersfield, California.

Despite the Mariners insistence that they had no knowledge of the player’s past and there was nothing they could do post-trade, Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says the team had full knowledge of Lueke’s history and had the opportunity to send him back to the Rangers.

Former Mariners pitching coach Rick Adair said he told general manager Jack Zduriencik about Lueke’s troubles well before the deal.

“I told him everything I knew about every prospect I was asked about, including Lueke, including any court case,” said Adair, who was fired Aug. 9 along with Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu. “Everything I knew to be accurate, I told them.”

Rangers GM Jon Daniels said he made a standing offer that night to take Lueke back.

“We tried that on Friday night,” Mariners president Chuck Armstrong said. “But then, on Saturday morning, the Rangers said, ‘No, we’ve already notified the players. The deal stands as is.’ ”

But Daniels said the Mariners could have sent Lueke back. “We offered several times to reacquire Lueke in a separate transaction — an offer originally made the same night the deal was announced,” he said. “That offer stands.”

Court documents say that Lueke lied to police during the investigation. He said he had no physical contact with the victim. However, DNA tests show Lueke’s semen was found inside the woman. He then changed his story and said they had consensual sex. Lueke pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 42 days he had served in jail and three years’ felony probation.

I have a hard believing that the Mariners were so oblivious to the situation. Minutes after the trade went down, I Googled “Josh Lueke” and I was presented with several articles regarding his case including Jose Gaspar’s from Eyewitness News, BakersfieldNow.com. That’s foolish carelessness on the Mariners’ side. Zduriencik now says the team has a policy that will do a background check such as a Google search or Facebook search to prevent such an event from occurring again.

Such an issue is particularly embarrassing to the Mariners since they run an annual Refuse to Abuse campaign that supports groups opposing violence toward women.