The Mariners signed Mike Sweeney to a minor league deal and invited him to Spring Training. The 36-year-old batted 266 times for the Mariners last year, posting a .266/.335/.442 line. Sweeney was mostly a DH; he played just 35 innings at first base.
It seems unlikely that the five-time All Star will be on the team's Opening Day roster, since he'll face lots of competition. The Mariners already have Casey Kotchman, Ryan Garko, Ken Griffey Jr. and Milton Bradley at first base and DH.
Sweeney said on a conference call that GM Jack Zduriencik told him it won't be easy to make the team. Two other clubs were willing to offer Sweeney similar opportunities, but he says the Mariners were his "first choice all winter."
If he can't make Seattle's big league roster, he'd like to land a job with another major league team. The Mariners approached his representatives about coaching opportunities earlier in the winter, but Sweeney says he would prefer to play. He has thought about retirement, but wants to give himself the chance to play in the majors first.
Not a big surprise. They said they’d offer him a deal if no one else did. With Garko this is really nothing more than an audition for other teams.
With that competition and his history of being injury proned i dought he make the opening day roster.
Unless there’s a ton of injuries in Spring Training, there’s zero chance he makes the team. This was a deal they made with Sweeney so that he could get into shape and audition for other teams. While he’s in Spring Training, he’ll help keep the clubhouse loose and having fun.
People had doubts about Sweeney and wrote him off before spring training last year. He earned his spot on the team, proved everyone wrong. I’m a Mariner fan and I’ve been a Mike Sweeney fan since he came up with the Royals. He wasn’t a 5-time all-star by chance. I’m glad to see this move. Apart from his clubhouse presence, he had a strong bat last year. Especially in the second half, and especially when you consider his limited number of at-bats.
Keep in mind that the Mariners are thin at catcher. It’s unknown if Rob Johnson will start the season healthy because of his surgeries and Adam Moore has yet to prove he’s ready to fill a back-up roll. Garko could very well be starting the season as a catcher rather than a back-up first baseman. Point it, there very well could be room for Sweeney from the beginning. Regardless, this was a great move. Having Sweeney in reserve is certainly not a bad thing either. And I doubt this is an audition for another team. He made it clear there was only a couple places he wanted to play and Seattle was his first choice.
Now if the Mariners will finally make an offer to Washburn, we’ll be well on our way to a fun season! For the record, I’m guessing Washburn will be in a Mariners uniform again before spring starts.
I am a little surprised, but it will make for an exciting spring training. Can hardly wait!
When the M’s play the A’s, it will be a roster full of only 1B and DH’s vs center fielders and third basemen.
Not exactly, but I like the humor.
A really good signing. I’m not sure if there is much room for him on the roster but we’ll see.
I really hope he reconsiders and accepts a coaching job with the M’s. I can’t see him making the team out of spring training. However he really was starting to heat up towards the end of the season last year so it could be an interesting spring.
I could see Sweeney as a pretty good hitting coach down the road. He has the patience, personality and commands Yoda-like respect.
Man, Mike Carp is never going to get a shot. He won’t even get enough Spring Training AB’s to show them if he’s ready or not.
I really hope Sweeney will consider taking a coaching job in Seattle. He seems to really do a good job of encouraging the other players, and I have NEVER seen anyone hustle around the bases in Seattle like Mike Sweeney.
I’ve got a lot of respect for Sweeney and hopefully he can land a major league spot with us or another team, and maybe come back and coach in 2011.
Jack Z started off the offseason w/ a bang but since the Bradley deal afterwards he’s pretty much turned into Brian Sabean.
Great positive thinking. Did the 2010 start and finish already?
gotta be positive. I like tha attitude, but Ryan garko catching sounds like a pipe dream
He was a catcher before he was a first baseman. Garko is not their 1st choice at catcher, he’d be their 3rd or 4th and it’s his bat that would give him the edge over Jamie Burk or Josh Bard. Not a pipe-dream, a back-up plan. Wouldn’t be a set-move, would be a fill-in for the time being. That very well could be the reality following spring training. Never know what’s going to happen. You’d be smokin’ something to think that things are set going into spring! Whether or not the Mariners go with 11 or 12 pitchers could dictate Sweeney’s chances of making the team as well.
I really hope it works out, Ryan hasn’t caught in years, and his defensive skills at first were suspect in Cleveland. I am excited about the M’s chances this year and appreciate you optimism!
I’m excited about their chances as well. I’d feel more comfortable with Washburn back in the rotation and especially if Bedard heals up and could do what he did last year for half the season. I was disappointed to see a 90 minute special of “Baseball Tonight” barely mention the Mariners, just a short discussion on how they felt Cliff Lee won’t be with the team very long. The common criticism of the team is that they lack power and starting pitching beyond Hernandez and Lee. But they have a line-up of mostly patient hitters and have several good contact hitters. That could make for some very long offensive innings for Seattle. And about the starting pitching…. Ryan Rowland Smith is a solid 3 or 4 guy, so I don’t think it’s as bad as we’re hearing, AND… everyone seems to forget that they have the best bullpen in the AL! There is a lot of reason to feel good about their chances this year!!
As a Royals fan, I’m rooting for you Mike. Even if you don’t make the Mariners roster, I hope you find a job somewhere. You are a great hitter and an even better human being. It’s only a matter of time before you are in the Royals Hall of Fame. Before anybody laughs at that, remember who the Royals were before the wild spending of MLB. We were feared from the late 70′ through the late 80’s with many good players.