Erik Bedard Rumors

Daily scoop of rumors on Erik Bedard.

• Andy MacPhail says that Peter Angelos didn't veto a Bedard trade.



• Erik Bedard's agent denies that the Orioles tried to extend Bedard.



• Buster Olney has some new info. He explains the situation regarding the rules of making trades and passing physicals. Olney says that the Orioles have asked the Mariners for an agreement where they would have have to make the trade if Adam Jones and George Sherrill passed their physicals. This agreement in writing may be able to move the trade along.



• SI.com's Jon Heyman says that the Indians made a late bid for Bedard.

Wilkerson Officially Signs

A few days ago I noted that Brad Wilkerson was close to signing a deal with the Mariners. Today, it was announced that he was officially signed. It has been reported by many sources, but the Seattle Times was one of the first. Wilkerson gets a one year deal worth $3M, with another $2M in incentives. This may be a domino to fall for an Erik Bedard trade.

Wilkerson hit .234/.319/.467 in 2007 with the Rangers. He was 29. Wilkerson had something going from 2002-04 with OPS's over .800. He earned $4.35M in '07.

LookoutLanding has an interesting review of this signing.

FA Starting Pitcher Options

Let's take a look at the remaining free agent starting pitchers that the Mariners may take a look at. Thanks to MLB Trade Rumors for providing the names.

• Bartolo Colon: Bart seems to be the ultimate rebuilding project. Reports from Winter Ball have said that Colon hasn't pitched well, and has put on a lot of weight. He didn't make it to 100 innings in '07 (99.1), and hasn't since 2005. The former Cy Young winner might still have something in the tank, but wants a two year deal. He won't get it. Would he only take one year and around $3-5M with some incentives?


• Josh Fogg: Fogg doesn't look like a great gamble, but a couple million bucks could be a worthwhile gamble. He's got a career ERA inder 5, and is a career 60-60. He is good for about 150 innings, so he could help out a bullpen that likely will get pretty tired. He does give up a lot of fly balls, so how would Safeco affect that?


• Kyle Lohse: Lohse doesn't look to be doing too much next year. His ERA has been under 4 for the last two seasons, but a 12-17 record between those two years isn't great, but how great was Jeff Weaver's before this season? Lohse wants $7M or so a season, and a multiyear deal, so he doesn't seem like a great fit here, but he's probably one of the best out there.

Mariners Close-er-ish

Same type of thing going on today. Nobody can decide on whether or not the Mariners and O's are getting a Bedard deal done. MLB.com's Jim Maloney writes:


Talks were thought to be stalled, but multiple MLB sources said Wednesday that Baltimore and Seattle are close to finalizing the deal the two teams have been discussing for weeks. The trade would send Orioles pitcher Erik Bedard to the Mariners for outfielder Adam Jones, pitchers George Sherill and Chris Tillman and as many as two additional prospects.

Jason Churchill of Prospect Insider writes:

What I am getting is that it’s Adam Jones, Chris Tillman, George Sherrill, Tony Butler and Kameron Mickolio going to Baltimore.

Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times checks back in with us. He says that there is nothing wrong with Adam Jones' hip. Toss them out the window.

MLB.com's Jim Street writes:

A last-minute attempt by the Orioles to sign Erik Bedard to a multiyear contract appears to be the only thing standing in the way of a proposed trade that would send the left-hander to the Seattle Mariners for as many as five players, including 22-year-old outfielder Adam Jones.
The Mariners appear to be close, and then them being close is denied or a player involved (George Sherrill) throws a wrench into the mix by saying he is not on his way to Baltimore for a physical. The Adam Jones being pulled from WB comes up, and then Andy MacPhail saying a lot of things that I don't know whether to believe or not. Who knows...

Mariners Not Alone

Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun checks in with us again on the Bedard situation, saying that Andy MacPhail told him that his club was still taking calls on Bedard, and other teams have "chimed in".

Time for the speculation on who the other teams will be. The Dodgers signed Huroki Kuroda and have been out for a while. The O's had rejected the Mets' offer, but they (Mets) have almost completed a Johan Santana trade. The Reds dropped out a while back because the asking price was too high, but could have "chimed in" again. Any ideas as to who any other teams could be?

Spring Training Watch: Jeff Clement

Time for the first player in this new series, Jeff Clement. Clement was a non-roster invite and is looking for a backup job to Kenji Johjima. Clement is the Mariners' best catching prospect, and could be taking over the starting catcher job soon. Clement is only 24, and was named a first-team All-American by Baseball America in 2005 as a Catcher. Jeff put up some amazing numbers during his three seasons playing in the Pac 10 with USC. His minor league numbers look good too; .276/.360/.459 in three seasons along with 32 HR and 143 RBI. Not bad for 883 AB's. I'd expect that to translate into his major league career. He still could use another few months in the minors, but expect him with the big club at some point during this season. This guy is one of the M's top prospects, and could turn some heads. Keep your ST tracker on this guy.

Spring Training Watch

I'm going to start up a new thing on this blog. From now untill Spring Training starts, I'll be previewing some players to watch during March, that I think could make an impact on the 2008 Mariners team. I'll take suggestions on players to do. Let me know who this works out.

O's Not Hip With Jones?

According to The Baltimore Sun's Roch Kubatko, Adam Jones has a degenerative hip condition and that's why the Erik Bedard trade hit a snag. It doesn't sound too bad, but considering that AJ is the centerpiece of this deal, the O's have to be sure that Jones is fine. I hadn't heard anything before about him having a bum hip, but I guess he can join my club now. Still on the Bedard watch...

Wilkerson Ready to be Signed?

Yesterday I noted that Brad Wilkerson was close to signing with the Mariners. Today, Geoff Baker wrote on his blog that the Mariners have a deal with Wilkerson that is ready to be signed as soon as the Erik Bedard trade is finalized. Wilkerson looks like a decent stopgap right fielder for the M's untill Wladimir Balentine is ready to go. I recently heard that Wilkerson wanted a three year deal worth $21M (sorry I don't have a link). He won't get that. My sources tell me that Wilkerson will get somewhere between $2-4M plus incentives. I guess we'll have to wait for the Bedard trade to finish up before this does.

Cooling Down the Fire

After the past couple day's of Beadrd stuff going on, the dust is slowly settling, and it is now for the most part known why this deal is being held up. A couple days ago, this is where, what we have to call a rumor began. Yesterday, I sorted out the crap from the real stuff. ESPN's Jayson Stark believes that the Orioles' owner Peter Angelos is holding up the trade. Ken Rosenthal also believes that Angelos is holding up the trade. Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun says that there are some intangibles preventing this trade from being completed. KOMO Radio 1000 says that Adam Jones is still in Venezuela, but isn't playing with his Winter League team. I guess it's just a matter of days untill this trade in either finalized, or aborted.

I think that I will be adding pictures to each of my posts? Good idea or bad idea? Please let me know. Any ideas to improve this blog will be appreciated.

Erik Bedard is Coming to Town!?

UPDATE: 9:51

Some serious termoil going on now. The Baltimore Sun has Andy MacPhail saying that there is no trade right now and Adam Jones is not headed to Baltimore for a physical. Geoff Baker reiterates his previous words here. Over at SI.com, Jon Heyman writes that there is still an excellent chance for a deal to get done. At Prospect Insider, Jason Churchill writes that the deal is 99% done. He is also hearing that the players going to Baltimore will be Adam Jones, George Sherrill, Chris Tillman, Tony Butler, and Kameron Mickolio. That's a lot. I hope the Mariners get Bedard signed to an extension ASAP. I think that that might be holding this deal up a little bit.

From 01/17/08 5:27PM

Big news from Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. The Mariners have acquired LHP Erik Bedard from the Orioles. Shannon Drayer noted that Adam Jones had once again been pulled from Winter Ball in Venezuala earlier today. Turns out the Jones was actually traded this time. No word on any other players involved yet. Jones is heading to Baltimore for a physical tomorrow. The usuall players are noted, George Sherrill, Brandon Morrow, Chris Tillman, Carlos Tuiascope, and Wladimir Balentine. I'll be sure to add the players involved as soon as I find out.

Wilkerson Close to Becoming a Mariner?

This may be a day late, but according to MLBTR, free agent OF/1B Brad Wilkerson is close to signing a one year contract with the Mariners.

Can't promise anything, but my source is saying Brad Wilkerson is likely to become a Mariner on a one-year deal. Put this in the unconfirmed category for now.

Signing Wilkerson for a year makes sense after the Mariners have traded Adam Jones to Baltimore as part of an Erik Bedard trade.

Also, MLB Rumors is reporting that Tony Clark is close to signing with the San Francisco Giants, so the Mariners may have to look for another option as Sexson's backup. Sean Casey, Ryan Klesko, Doug Mientkiewicz, and Morgan Ensburg are free agent options. The backup first baseman shouldn't be a huge problem for the Mariners right now.

Erik Bedard is Coming to Town!!

Big news from Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. The Mariners have acquired LHP Erik Bedard from the Orioles. Shannon Drayer noted that Adam Jones had once again been pulled from Winter Ball in Venezuala earlier today. Turns out the Jones was actually traded this time. No word on any other players involved yet. Jones is heading to Baltimore for a physical tomorrow. The usuall players are noted, George Sherrill, Brandon Morrow, Chris Tillman, Carlos Tuiascope, and Wladimir Balentine. I'll be sure to add the players involved as soon as I find out.

Poll

I think that I'm going to start having a weekly poll on this blog. This first one will run from now untill the end of January so feel free to vote.

Who is most likely to be in the Mariners' rotation come Opening Day?

Erik Bedard
Brandon Morrow
Horocio Ramirez
Bartolo Colon

Bedard Rumors

I've got some new information on Erik Bedard today. I guess it isn't really Bedard rumors, but it is stuff related to a potential Mariners trade. Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun has a few quotes from Bedard.

"If they don't want me, [a trade] is the best thing to do," Bedard said in a phone interview with The Sun. "Obviously, they don't want to keep me because there are a lot more talks [about] trading me than signing me. What am I supposed to do? I just go with the flow. I'll keep it as it is, and go with it, day by day."

I guess that you might be able to get from this that Bedard wants a trade. If Bedard asks for a trade, then I'd say that a deal would be done very soon.

Bill Bavasi recently said that he is aiming towards getting a number one starter.

"We're at the point now where we have to do our best to make those moves for a top-of-the-rotation guy, so we can slot the rest of the rotation where it should be," he said. "For us right now, the most important thing is the top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher. Not just a No. 2, 3 or 4 guy. A No. 1 guy."

Bavasi wants to get that number one, of you didn't get it. I don't want to see Bavasi develope such a 'man-crush' on Bedard that he blows away half of the farm to get him, and won't sign him long term. I'd love to see Bedard here, but what's the cost going to be? Does Adam Jones, Carlos Truinfel and George Sherrill seem like enough? I'd say that if Bedard doesn't pitch to expectations, or leaves after '09, the Orioles will pull off a steal.

Cheap Effective Relief

U.S.S. Mariner talks about how the Mariners have been able to have a solid bullpen for little money. Other than Putz, how many household names to the Mariners have? George Sherrill is about as good as you get for name guys. The biggest thing for the Mariners, is how well their farm products have done for league minimum-ish. Half of the guys in the Mariners bullpen could do better than Octavio Dotel, who just signed a two year deal worth $11M. The money that is being saved is what we are seeing in these pricey free agent starter signings.

'The Mariners need a lot of things, but not Bedard'

Sean Deveny of the SportingNews writes in his blog that the Mariners need help, but not from Bedard. A few interesting things to note:

• Deveny writes that Adam Jones is the best player in the Mariners' system, and probably shouldn't be traded.
• He also notes that Asdrubal Cabrera was traded to the Indians in 2006 for Eduardo Perez which backfired horribly. Cabrera helped the Indians during a secon half surge in 2007, and Perez hit .195 in 43 games with the Mariners.
• The Angels have added Torri Hunter and Jon Garland while only giving up Orlando Cabrera, which should make them even better. Also, he writes that if the Angels get Johan Santana, or had acquired Miguel Cabrera, then the West would've been locked for the Angels.
• He also reviews the Mariners' rotation, bullpen and lineup. It's a good read, check it out.

Mariners Add Arms

The Mariners have announced today, that they have signed Japanese pitcher Kenta Suda to a minor league contract, with a Spring Training invite. Suda is an 18 year old undrafted free agent. He pitched in the NOMO Baseball Club in Japan in 2007. He also pitched in the IBAFAAA (Under 18) Championships in Taiwan in August '07, while he was on the Japanese U18 team. Looking to dig something up on this guy, anybody know anything on him?

Also, the Mariners signed 17 year old Yao Wen Chang to a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training. Chang is from Taichung, Taiwan.

2008 Projected Outfield and DH

Time for one of my last team projections. I'll be doing a projected lineup in the next couple of days. I may also be doing some player projections within the next two months before the season starts.

Right now, the Mariners will be bringing back almost the same outfield as they had in 2007. Raul Ibanez should be manning the left side once again. Ibanez is coming off of a pretty good season offensively, a .291 BA, 21 HR's, 105 RBI's, while appearing in 149 injury free games last season. His numbers were better in '06, but age is probably starting to catch up. He'll turn 36 in June, so will he be starting to break down? Ibanez is in a contract year, so should we expect a harder working Ibanez, or an Ibanez knowing that his career is about over? Ichiro. Need we say more? My favourite player is coming off of an amazing year where he hit .351, second in the AL, with 37 SB's. Ichiro got a nice five year deal worth around $100M around the All-Star Break of '07, where he hit the first ever inside-the-park home run in All-Star history, which made him the MVP of that All-Star game, and if A-Rod didn't play as well as he did, where would Ichiro be in the MVP voting? I'd say he'd have to be top 3, if he wasn't already that. Ichiro's spped, range, arm, ability to get on base, and durability have made him one of the best players in the world over the last six or seven seasons. A healthy Ichiro should make sure that there are runners on base for Beltre and Sexson. The right side is a little bit more interesting. Adam Jones appears to be the favourite right now. Jones hasn't proved too much in the Bigs, yet. He has all of the tools to be an All-Star caliber player. He only has a couple of HR's and RBI's so far in 139 career AB's. A career average of .230 so far isn't going to cut it. Maybe a full-ish season can get him going a little bit. He's done basically all he can do in the minors. Other than those three, there isn't really anyone else who is set up, at least a little bit to be a potential starter.

The other players looking for a bench job, and maybe that RF job could be Wladimir Balentine, Mike Morse, Jeremy Reed, and Charlton Jimerson. Wlad and Reed should probably be near the top of the list for options. Morse should get a good look too. Jimerson looks like he has an idea of what is going on, but he is 28, so we can't really be a 'prospect'. There will be a few other guys that may get a decen shot in the Spring, but signing a veteran free agent outfielder could be a good idea.

Jose Vidro should be back for his second try as the Mariners' every day DH. He put up some pretty good numbers last season, a .314 BA along with 6 HR, and 59 RBI. The average is great for a number two hitter, but I'd like to see a little more power from this guy. Vidro's is in the last year of his deal, so will he be back? I don't think so. Vidro probably would like more time at second, and if he has a good season, then he will probably leave for the money. Jeff Clement could be getting some AB's at DH. Otherwise, it's time to countdown to Spring Training!!

Mariners Interested in Clark

Ken Rosenthal notes that the Mariners have some interest in free agent 1B, Tony Clark. The Mariners don't currently have anybody as a potential 1B backup, as you can see here in my infield projection. Clark stands at 6'7'' so if he was signed, the Mariners would probably have the tallest first base position ever. Clark hit .249 in 221 AB with the D'Backs last season. He also had 17 HR and 51 RBI. Clark would probably get some playing time at DH too, so Jeff Clement can have some more time in the minors if he isn't traded. haven't heard much on Bedard lately. Anyone have any new info that I haven't found out yet?

2008 Projected Infield

Time for another part of this series. Today I'll be taking a look at what the Mariners have for an infield.



We'll start off with the catching situation. Kenji Johjima looks to return for a third straight season as the Mariners' starting backstop. He's been a solid battery mate and put up some good offensive numbers. Joh has one more year and $6M left on his deal, making him a free agent after '08. Can we expect better numbers during a contract year? He has hit for a .289 BA over the last two seasons, so could he crack .300 in '08? A fantasy owner, such as myself would like that. Joh should also be good for another 15 HR's and 60 RBI's as his usual. I can't forget to mention that Joh is a top caliber defender too. Not too sure on the backup situation though. I don't know what the M's plans are with last year's backup Jamie Burke, but with knuckleballer RA Dickey looking for a job, you can guess that Burke will be in consideration. Another option is prospect Jeff Clement. If Clement is not traded, than having him start in AAA, and come up midseason or September to get him some at-bats. This position looks good.



With Richie Sexson on the last deal of his massive contract, in which he probably dissapointed, he probably won't be back. There's no one trying to push Sexson out of the way, so he's pretty much garunteed the first base job. Sexson has 40 HR power, but hasn't done so since 2005. His 24 long balls in 2006 were good, but only 21 in '07, with a .205 BA? Not cutting it. Sexson is a career .263 hitter. Sexson's parter in crime, Adrian Beltre needs to get a little more offensice production too. I don't see Beltre going back to his Dodger form, but a little more than 26 HR, 99 RBI, and a .276 BA would make his signing look better. Beltre finally got his Gold Glove last season after another great year at the hot corner. Like I said, if Beltre can improve his numbers a little bit more, then there probably won't be too much pressure on the pitching. Jose Lopez has gone from somebody way high in the Mariners' goodbooks, to somebody on the bubble. His 2006 All-Star campaign is looking more and more like a distant memory. His 11 HR and 62 RBI last season would look a lot better if he had more than his 132 hits and lowly .252 BA. If he can take his BA up to around .270 or so and maybe add on a few more HR's and RBI's, then maybe this guy can turn it around. Lopez also has to take put his defensive game into review. He's had the ability to make the plays, and is a better than average defender but tried too hard last season. He needs to slow things down and take more time to make sure of the play. Lopez's double play partner Yuniesky Betancourt keeps getting better, and is coming off of another pretty good season. Like Lopez, Yuni is a better defender with terrifac range. That left side with him and Beltre is a hard place for a ground ball to get through. His .289 BA last season looked good in over 530 AB's, along with good power numbers, 9 HR's and 67 RBI's. Could we see this guy get over the .300 line in '08?

Now that we've got the starters done, it's time for the bench players. Willie Bloomquist will start the year as he usually does; being a super-sub, playing all most all positions. He appeared in almost 100 games last season and put up a good .277 BA in '07. Miguel Cairo was picked up as a free agent, and will be another super-sub. In 82 games last season, Cairo hit .253 with no HR's and only 15 RBI's, but did steal 10 bases. A few others who will be looking for a spot: Mike Morse, Yung Chi Chen, and Rob Johnson.

Mariners Re-Up Ho-Ram

The Mariners have resigned Horocio Ramirez to a one year deal worth $2.75. Hat tip to the fine folks at theseattlemariners.blogspot.com for that signing. All that I can say is, I hope Mel Stottlemeyer can help Ho-Ram figure it out. He was horrible last season with an ERA pver 7, but still managed an 8-7 record. If your ERA is that bad, I think that your record could be 10-2, and nobody would care too badly. All I can say is that competition is suppossed to bring out the best in a player, so I hope that it works.

Mariners Don't Want to Give Up Jones?

Not too much new stuff on the Mariners these last two days. But something came to me; what happened to the Mariners and Orioles being one player away to pull off an Erik Bedard trade? Maybe it's the fact that the Mariners don't want to give up Adam Jones? Or shouldn't.

Only about five or six days ago, it was looking like the M's would send Adam Jones, George Sherril and one of Brandon Morrow and Carlos Truinful to the O's for Erik Bedard. It was looking like it was just a decision on which young pitching prospect to give up. Now debating on whether or not to trade Adam Jones complicates things even more. The Mariners have to make the decision on whether or not they want to win now, or try again five years from now. Nice little line from the fine folks over at MLBtraderumors.com on the Adam Jones situation,"Maybe the Mariners have been reading blogs again."

Theory to Reitsma, Sherril, Rhodes Signings

Larry Larue of The News Tribune has his theory of why the Mariners have signed three relievers. He states that by added Chris Reitsma, and Arthor Rhodes to low risk deals, the Mariners could give up George Sherril in a trade for Erik Bedard. This is a pretty good read. Take a look.

Latest Bedard Situation

John Hickey of the Seattle PI has the latest on the Erik Bedard situation. Hickey notes that the Orioles want a package that includes Adam Jones, Brandon Morrow, Jeff Clement and/or George Sherrill. The Mariners have said that Morrow is off-limits unless they get blown away with a trade offer. The Mariners may not be that willing to trade Jeff Clement either. The Orioles are also looking at 17 year old shortstop Carlos Truinfel, and the Mariners' minor league pitcher of the year Chris Tillman. Although all of this hot stove is fun, it would be nice to see the Mariners finally just get a deal done for Bedard, without giving up too much.

Mariners Bring in Rhodes, Again

According to CBSSports.com, the Mariners have signed lefty Arthur Rhodes to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. Arthur Rhodes got the same deal about this time last year, but suffered an elbow injury after making the Mariners' 25 man roster and needing ligament replacement surgery. Hopefully this time around Author Rhodes could return to his old, old form.

The Mariners also resigned George Sherrill to a one year contract worth $980K, and he can earn another $60K in incentives. I forgot to mention Rhodes in my bullpen projection for 2008, but he should be looking for a relief job come Spring Training. Hat tip to the fine folks at Baseball Rumors and News.

2008 Projected Bullpen

Time for the next stage in the Mariners projections. You can see the Projected Starting Rotation here. The next step towards Opening Day 2008, will be the Seattle Mariners' bullpen.

The Mariners had one of the best and probably the most underrated bullpens in 2007. A strong bullpen that was overworked last season, and found sucess forty out of the forty-two times that John McLaren gave the ball in the eighth or ninth inning to lights out, All-Star closer JJ Putz. Putz put together a 4-0 record with a 1.38 ERA along with his forty saves. George Sherril ate up 45.2 innings while setting up Putz. Brandon Morrow pitched a solid 63.1 rookie innings in a set-up/middle relief role. Eric O'Flaherty continued his growth with a 7-1 record while pitching over fifty innings as a 22 year old. Sean Green also provided a lot of help in a middle relief role with an ERA under 4, in over 60 innings. Another rookie left by the name of Ryan Rowland-Smith, and for you trivia people the only player to have a hyphinated last name in baseball, put up a solid 38 innings of work. A few others also pitched in.

Time for this season. JJ Putz looks set to close again for the Mariners. While George Sherrill and Brandon Morrow will likely be set-up men, unless one or both of them are traded. O'Flaherty, Green, and Rowland-Smith should be back somewhere in the bullpen. With the rotation battle set to occur in Spring Training, there should be one or two guys that are kept in the bullpen. Guys like Ryan Fierabend, Horocio Ramirez, RA Dickey and Cha Seung Baek could be in the bullpen if left out of the rotation. Here's what to expect for the Mariners' bullpen:
Closer: JJ Putz
Set-Up: George Sherril,Brandon Morrow
Middle Relief: Sean Green,Ryan Rowland-Smith,Eric O'Flaherty
Long Relief: Ryan Fierabend/Horocio Ramirez/RA Dickey/Cha Seung Baek

Doesn't look too bad to me right now. I could see the M's adding a veteran reliever via free agency with a minor league contract and a Spring Training invite. If this bullpen can do what it did last year, and the starting rotation works out along with new pitching coach Mel Stottlmyer, than we could be looking at a great pitching staff.

Adam Jones in the News

Yesterday, it was said that Adam Jones had been pulled from Winter Ball, perhaps as a prelude to a potential trade. Adam Jones recently was interviewed by XM Satelite Radio. Now (today), we hear that Adam Jones never left Venezuela and is cleared to play again. Could Jones being cleared to play again mean that the Erik Bedard talks have hit a snag? Time for the speculation.

More on Erik Bedard

Well, I've been away for a few days so time to get back. The Mariners are in talks with the Orioles for Erik Bedard. Today, it's believed that the Mariners have offered the Orioles Adam Jones, Jeff Clement and George Sherrill. Jason Churchill also notes that the Orioles want a pitcher in return, and may push for Brandon Morrow or Carlos Truinfel. While Morrow has proven that he can handle the Bigs, Truinfel is likely to start at AA this season. Adding Bedard to an already stable rotation would be a huge boost. But how much will this boost be subtracting from other areas? Adam Jones has the potential to become a five-tool player in the Bigs for years to come. Jeff Clement also looks like a pretty promising catcher. George Sherrill is a very good set-up man, who could get a chance to close if sent to Baltimore. I don't want to see the Mariners give up two very good prospects plus one of their better relievers over the past few seasons, to stay in second place in the AL West for two years, and then lose Bedard to free agency.

Ian Snell on M's Radar

It's well known that the Mariners are looking for another starting pitcher. The Pirates Ian Snell has been sort of made available, in exchange for a young power bat. The Mariners are willing to offer Jeff Clement for him, but the Pirates probably will want Adam Jones. Ian Snell posted a 3.76 ERA in 208 innings back in 2007. I'm not too sure that trading Jones for Snell is the best idea for the Mariners. Snell is comparable to the Rays Matt Garza, but with an extra year of service time, so it shouldn't necessarily cost a Delmon Young prospect. I think that Jones and Young could be compared like Garza and Snell. I think that if the Bedard talks fall through, and the Mariners don't have any better options, trying to trade Jeff Clement for Snell would make sense.

Mariners and Orioles Talking

The Mariners are still looking for more starting pitching help, and are willing to trade top prospects. Right now, the Mariners are in trade talks with the Orioles for Erik Bedard. Bedard is coming off of a Cy Young caliber year, and's asking price is high. Right now, the Mariners have Adam Jones as the centerpiece in a potential deal. Jeff Clement and Brandon Morrow are also being discussed. I don't know if the Orioles want both, or will settle for one and another player, or two. Before, the Mariners had Morrow as an untouchable, but now the Mariners are willing to negotiate with him.

Now, an update from baseball analyst Ken Rosenthal says that the teams could be one player away. The problem is, is that that one player is believed to be 19 year old righty Chris Tillman, who the Mariners would rather keep. The third player in the deal is believed to be one of George Sherrill and Carlos Triunfel, among a few other players. If the Mariners can get Bedard without too much of the farm team being lost, than I'd have to say that it would be a double win for Bill Bavasi. It would be even better if the Mariners could get a reasonable extension for Bedard.

Mariners Sign Cairo

The Mariners made a minor move today by signing another super sub, Miguel Cairo to a one year deal. The journeyman has played for the Yankees and Cardinals in 2007. Cairo hit .253 in 82 games last year. Cairo can play every infield position (except catcher), and the corner outfield spots. Having two players with the ability to play almost everywhere whould help out manager John McLaren a lot. Cairo also brings some playoff expeirence to the table. With St. Louis in the 2001 and 2002 playoffs, and with the Yankees in the 2004 and 2006 playoffs. Cairo hit .348 (8-for-23) in nine Division Series games, and .316 (12-for-38) in 10 career Championship Series games. You can find a complete profile of Cairo here.

2008 Projected Rotation

The Starting Five has been a problem for the Mariners these past few years. And as a Mariners fan, it became had to watch guys like Jeff Weaver post disgusting numbers. Back up a little bit to probably about this time last year, the Mariners were in a situation similar to what's on their plates right now. The M's were out to get some much needed help to the ailing rotation. So Bill Bavasi went out and made a few moves. First, Miguel Batista was signed to a three year deal worth $24M. Batista posted a team high 16 wins in '07, along with a not so nice 4.29 ERA. Overall, I'd say that the Batista signing was a plus, because Batista put up some good numbers, and gave the Mariners a decent third starter. Bavasi continued his spending spree by signing veteran pitcher Jeff Weaver to a one year deal worth $8.35M. Weaver pulled off a good playoff performance in 2006 with the Cardinals, but couldn't do squat during the regular season. The M's thought that he was worth the same contract he got from the Angels before the 2006 season. Either that, or Scott Boras shoved Weaver's post season stats into Bavasi's face. Finally, in my opinion what was the worst move Bavasi made was trading RP Rafael Soriano to the Braves, for Horocio Ramirez. Now, considering that the Mariners had oneof baseball's best bullpens in 2007, the trade doesn't look too bad. Ho-Ram battled through injuries and poor performances, and didn't make Bavasi look too good.



So Bavasi is 1-2. He got a new contract, but still has a fire under his butt to get the Mariners into the playoffs. Billy boy has been busy so far this offseason, and is doing his best to address his pitching needs. The Mariners were said to be the most serious team after Japanese pitcher Huroki Kuroda, but lost out. Shortly after, the Mariners signed Carlos Silva to a four year deal worth $48M. Silva has been a decent 'inning-eater' for the Twins. He should provide some relief for a bullpen that was maxed out last season. Bavasi has dangled his farm team in front of the Twins and Orioles, for Johan Santana and Erik Bedard. The Mariners are believed to have dropped out in the Johan Santana sweepstakes, but are still talking Bedard with the Orioles. The M's are also considering taking on a rehab project in Bartolo Colon, in hopes that he could return to form, but the price will likely be too high.

The other option for the Mariners, is to fill the remainder of the rotation from withen. It's been said that Brandon Morrow, who was huge in the bullpen last year as a rookie, is being looked at as a potential starter next year. Rule 5 Draft pickup R.A. Dickey is another contender for the number five spot. His knuckleball could be a great addition, if, the Mariners can find someone who can catch one. Cha Seong Baek, Ryan Rowland-Smith, and Ryan Feierabend are others who should be in the race. Horocio Ramirez is going to be looking in too, as the Mariners hope that new pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre can figure out what's wrong with Ramirez. Looks to be a decent battle for that last rotation spot.

So far, here is who's pretty much garunteed a spot in the rotation:
Felix Hernendez
Jarrod Washburn
Miguel Batista
Carlos Silva
I'd say that this rotation looks pretty good. If guys like Felix and Washburn can have good seasons, than this rotation will look better. Overall, I'd say that this rotation looks a bit better than last year's. But the million dollar question, or rather the multi-multi million dollar question is that is this rotation going to be as good, if not better, than the 2008 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim's?

About...

Welcome to my new Seattle Mariners' blog. I'll start by covering Mariners news and hot stove for now. I will probably explore new ideas for this blog as time goes on, and I get some new ideas. Enjoy!