Felix Hernandez Rumors

Heyman's Latest: Mariners, Brewers

Let's take a gander at Jon Heyman's latest column at SI.com. Heyman says three GMs who would have interest in Ichiro Suzuki have been told he's not available. Nonetheless, Heyman suggests trading the face of the franchise would be the best way to shake things up in Seattle. The Mariners have other valuable trade commodities: Erik Bedard, Raul Ibanez, and Adrian Beltre. Most of the team's other vets aren't valued highly, though Jarrod Washburn has strung together three decent starts. Felix Hernandez would draw a ton of interest, but the Mariners aren't expected to make him available. The Brewers' have...   Continue Reading

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Stark's Latest: Young Players, Giles, DeJesus

Jayson Stark's latest Rumblings and Grumblings column is chock full of information. Stark rattles off Dan Uggla, Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, B.J. Upton, Justin Upton, Russell Martin, Zack Greinke, Prince Fielder, Felix Hernandez, Jeff Francoeur, Jonathan Papelbon, Kevin Youkilis, and Dustin Pedroia as youngsters who do not have long-term deals in the works. With Uggla and Greinke, the opposition seems more on the team's side. With Hamels and Howard neither side wants a long-term deal. With the rest, the player is resisting. The Padres' top trading chip is probably Brian Giles, though a deal would further deplete a weak offense....   Continue Reading

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Felix Hernandez's Extension Talks

Larry Stone of the Seattle Times says the Mariners are "believed to be exploring" a long-term deal with young ace Felix Hernandez. I'm wondering whether these talks have stagnated. The Mariners made an initial offer to Felix over a month ago. It's crazy to see that the Mariners first spotted Hernandez when he was 14. They eventually beat out the Braves, Yankees, Astros, Dodgers, and Rockies to get him. Felix turns 22 tomorrow; he's already got 480 big league innings under his belt. He's begun the '08 season with 15 scoreless innings, which is reminiscent of his start a year...   Continue Reading

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Mariners Make Offer To Felix

3-3-08: John Hickey says the Mariners have made an initial offer to Felix. On Friday I suggested it might take $15-17MM to buy out his three arbitration years. The Mariners wouldn't mind buying out a free agent year while they're at it. 3-1-08: The Seattle Mariners have approached Felix Hernandez and his agent about signing a long-term contract. According to Hernandez' agent, Wil Polidor, the club has broached the idea but no formal offers have been made. Polidor went on to say that he will be in Arizona for the next two weeks and has plans to meet with Mariners...   Continue Reading

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Long-Term Deal For Felix Hernandez?

According to John Hickey of the Seattle PI, a long-term deal for Felix Hernandez before the end of Spring Training seems possible. Hernandez won't make much above the minimum for '08, but maybe the Mariners can buy out his 2009-11 arbitration years at a discount. Hickey notes that Ms GM Bill Bavasi "detests the arbitration process." The Padres bought out Chris Young's arb years for $13.25MM in an extension done a year ago. Around the same time, Matt Cain received about the same amount to cover his arb years (though with a club option for the third). Based on those,...   Continue Reading

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Mariners May Lock Up Several Players

I noticed a John Hickey article from three days ago that hasn't been mentioned here at MLBTR. Hickey notes that the Mariners like to sign players to extensions during spring if possible. He assesses the chances of extensions for Felix Hernandez, Erik Bedard, Kenji Johjima, Raul Ibanez, and Richie Sexson in the article. Johjima, Ibanez, and Sexson are all set to reach free agency after the '08 season. Johjima seems the most likely to stay, though prospect Jeff Clement may be close to big league ready. Sexson is as good as gone, while the decision on Ibanez will likely hinge...   Continue Reading

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Blog Gets Through To Felix Hernandez

If you've watched any Felix Hernandez starts prior to today, you probably noticed a pattern. He tries to establish his fastball early on, throwing the pitch constantly. His heater is a fine pitch and plenty fast, but he leaves it up in the zone sometimes. And a 96 mph fastball can be easy to hit when you see ten of them in a row (relatively speaking - obviously I still couldn't hit it). Hernandez has an amazing offspeed repertoire, especially his curveball. The die-hard fans at U.S.S. Mariner have been painfully aware of this trend for quite some time. Frustration..   Continue Reading

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Mets News and Notes

The Mets haven’t played baseball since Saturday and the process have not only reshuffled the rotation going forward, but it’s also allowed Rick Peterson four additional bullpen sessions with missing link Oliver Perez. His grasp of the strike zone is in direct correlation with the Mets grasp on the division. The move will mean the Mets go with Perez and rookie Mike Pelfrey against the Braves at Shea over the weekend. One of David Wright's brothers, Stephen Wright, is a student at Virginia Tech University and had a class in the ill fated building that afternoon. There was a brief..   Continue Reading

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Felix 1, Daisuke 0

Daisuke Matsuzaka received all the hype from ESPN entering tonight's game. After all, it was his Fenway debut. He tossed a solid seven innings, allowing three runs to the Mariners. He retired Ichiro every time, even striking him out once. Matsuzaka also threw one high and tight to Ichiro, and it wasn't an accident. Nor was his HBP of Jose Guillen, in my opinion. Kenji Johjima, who's had plenty of ABs against Matsuzaka, smacked a couple of doubles for the Mariners. But the big story was 21 year-old Felix Hernandez, who carried a no-hitter into the 8th inning. I was..   Continue Reading

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Ms Could Sign Felix Long-Term

I mentioned yesterday that Felix Hernandez had been hoping for a long-term deal rather than the renewal he received. Apparently the Mariners do not consider it too early to talk - the Tacoma News Tribune reports that the Mariners are "deep in negotiations on a long-term deal" with Felix's agent. Both sides should be happy with four years and $10MM guaranteed, with a fifth year option. The Ms should pounce if Felix's agent is anywhere in this ballpark. I've projected a 3.39 ERA and 1.22 WHIP for Hernandez in my 2007 RotoAuthority Fantasy Guide   Continue Reading

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Young Players Covet Long-Term Security

Locking up promising young players to avoid their arbitration years has become all the rage these days. It can be argued as win-win, as the player trades some risk for a smaller AAV than he could get going year to year. The Padres are looking to give first baseman Adrian Gonzalez a long-term deal after a contract renewal near the league minimum. They did this with Jake Peavy, though Kevin Towers renewed him in after each of his first two seasons. The Nationals will meet with Ryan Zimmerman's agent tomorrow. Barry Svrluga thinks David Wright's contract could be the benchmark...   Continue Reading

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Is Johjima Hurting Ms Pitchers?

I haven''t gotten to watch any Mariners games yet this year, so I can't speak to this directly. But a knowledgable friend emailed me this observation recently: "Kenji Johjima is not framing pitches well at all, and is giving away location by setting up too early...can't believe he's getting with that so far-this won't help Seattle pitching staff." He speculated that Felix Hernandez won't be able to post Cy Young type numbers this season because of Johjima. Johjima can't be blamed for Hernandez's shin splints or lack of command in his first two starts. But I was wondering - have..   Continue Reading

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Felix Hernandez Projection

Check out my Felix Hernandez projection for 2006 over at RotoAuthority. These always bring about good debates, so get to it! You can purchase projections for 573 other players and much more in the 2006 RotoAuthority Fantasy Baseball Guide for the early-bird special price of just $9.99   Continue Reading

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