Mariners After Dontrelle Willis?

According to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, Dontrelle Willis-to-Seattle buzz is starting to heat up.  Willis could slide right in with Felix Hernandez to form a solid 1-2 punch atop the Mariners' rotation.

Baker pretty much covers all the analysis angles and scenarios in his blog posting.  The Mariners have plenty of players who could interest the Marlins: Jeremy Reed, Jeff Clement, and/or Wladimir Balentien.  Baker does not think Adam Jones would be necessary to get a deal done, and the Mariners wouldn't part with him anyway.  (By the way, click here to see my fantasy analysis of Jones).

It's an odd time to trade Dontrelle, as his value is pretty low with his performance and forearm issues.  Willis just feels like a better pitcher than he actually is, doesn't he?  As Baker says, the Ms would be gambling on Willis returning to form.  Better to gamble a few unproven prospects than seven years and $126MM. 

It seems that former Willis contenders like the Mets and perhaps Braves might be out of the running.  Kevin Kernan of the New York Times says the Marlins won't trade Willis within the NL East, and most likely he'll head west. 

But before purchasing your custom-made Willis Mariners jersey, consider that the Dodgers, Rockies, and Diamondbacks have all expressed interest in him before.  And those teams are kind of west of some stuff. 

Comments

[Guitar Hero]

Even though Willis value is somewhat low to bystanders, his perceived value can be represented as high and the Marlins are not dealing from weakness...so it would still take quite a bit to land him, and I don't think the prospects mentioned above would be enough to get Willis done.

[registereduser]

Roto- Your pumping out some serious rumors today! Good work.

Guitar Hero- Did you hear that Weezers "My name is Jonas" will be on Guitar Hero 3? Awesome!

[thecubsdontcatchtheball]

Clement was the third overall pick in 05, correct?

Roto, where do they rank in the Mariners organization? (Jones, Balentin, Clement)

[RotoAuthority]

That order sounds about right. Jones is definitely first but you'd have to consult some prospect gurus about Clement vs. Balentien.

[Baseballfan79]

I like Balentien and Clement, but everything that has been said from beinfest and even Gammons just last week was willis was off-limits for now.

I am curious wher the blogger's sources are besides perhaps Ken Rosenthal article earlier on.

that said isnt it interesting that Adam jones gets a dip now for a taste? Could he be getting time to showcase him?

[RotoAuthority]

Well keep in mind he is not any old blogger but a well-connected beat reporter.

[braves#1]

Willis is not that great of a pitcher that EVERYONE thinks he is. No doubt he is a great #3 Starter, But an average #2 Starter. What has he done since 2005? Nothing. Some of the prospects that were mentioned I dont know much about at all, but if they are players that have a high ceiling, dont trade for the guy. If you could get Willis for a Solid Prospect that your organization has another guy that is just as good as he is then fine trade him, but dont trade from a Weakness position, just for Willis.

[ArodSucksAtLife]

Clement can't hit for s*$t. With the fact that they think they can make the playoffs they should consider dealing him off for anything to help them win now. Beinfest is a way better GM than Bavasi, so even with the Fishes need for a C, him being dealt in a Willis deal seems slim.

[Baseballfan79]

Well keep in mind he is not any old blogger but a well-connected beat reporter.

Posted by: RotoAuthority | July 11, 2007 at 04:43 PM

Ahh I didnt know that (exact opposite side of the country and all). Thank you for that information.

Like I said I would love Wlad from what I have heard about the kid seems pretty interesting.

I would say if we move willis I would expect a pitcher in that deal too somewhere, we always get a pitcher back when we trade one pretty much team policy.

I wonder what they value Morrow at right now after his rocky time up above?

[bdid]

I just don't get the whole, won't trade to the Mets/Braves thing. to me, i'd think you'd want the best possible players for him. I'd easily take a Pelfrey/Millede/low level or Saltalamachia/JoJo/Low level for him than the guys mentioned from Seattle. i'm not saying that I'd do that if I was GM of NY or ATL, but clearly, good trades give you the most back. Who cares that you might have to face the new team more often. Hell, he's really not that great anyway.

[insomniac]

A more realistic Mariners rotation would be

Felix Hernandez
Jarrod Washburn
Dontrelle WIllis

If they were to acquire him.
He is not what he once was, but I do think a change of scenery would help.

If the Braves were to offer something like Escobar and a good low level outfielder, I'd say take it for both teams.

[hasoan]

Interesting perspective braves#1 given that Clement is in the top 15 in the PCL in HR, OPS, and has an incredible K:BB ratio after starting the season batting .212 in April. After looking up his stats from last season, which were not very impressive, it seems that he was just coming off surgery. This kid can hit at every level he's ever played at (despite what some blogs say).