Seattle's lineup has struggled through April, managing just a .241/.314/.349 team line entering Monday's game with Kansas City and hitting an AL-low nine home runs. While Chone Figgins and Jose Lopez have gotten off to slow starts, the designated hitter spot has been a particular trouble spot. There has been little production from the veteran platoon of Ken Griffey Jr. (.519 OPS) and Mike Sweeney (.349 OPS).
Larry LaRue of The Tacoma News Tribune points out, however, that while the Mariners could release Sweeney (due to make just $650K in 2010) or bench Griffey (releasing a franchise icon like the Kid is probably not an option for the M's), there aren't any obvious options to fill their shoes in the lineup. Milton Bradley could see some time at DH since his injury history makes him an unlikely candidate to spend a full year playing in the field, but as LaRue notes, moving Bradley then just leaves a hole in Seattle's outfield.
Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik is certainly not adverse to making big moves to help his club, but LaRue thinks it will be until at least June before the M's can "find a team willing to admit it's given up on 2010" and talk trade. The June deadline seems like a bit of a stretch given that teams will always be looking to shed a big bat with a big contract if the offer is right, though LaRue doesn't think Seattle has the pitching prospects to net such a player.
One name that LaRue doesn't mention is Michael Saunders. The outfielder hit just .221/.258/.279 in 129 major league plate appearances last season, but he posted a .922 OPS in 282 plate appearances at Triple-A Tacoma in 2009. Saunders was sent to the minors during spring training since the Mariners wanted him to play every day, and has just a .385 OPS thus far for Tacoma. Should Saunders turn things around at the plate and earn a call-up, though, his good glove should provide defensive value in left field in Seattle and provide cover to move Bradley to DH.
Another minor league option is first baseman Mike Carp. LaRue dismissed him due to his low average at Tacoma thus far, but Carp is still slugging .484 for the Rainiers and has put up good on-base and power numbers in his last two minor league campaigns (not to mention a .878 OPS in a 65 PA cup of coffee with Seattle last year).
And, of course, Griffey and Sweeney could still turn things around given that there's a lot of baseball left to be played this season. While the DH spot may be a problem for the M's in the short-term, things haven't quite reached Jose Vidro-esque critical mass.
Jermaine Dye, bank on it. 😛
“has just a .385 OPS thus far for Tacoma”… please tell me thats a typo…
Saunders time in the majors last year exposed his weakness. Pound him with fastballs in and his swing is too long and too slow to catch up. He has major bust written all over him.
we are screwed, keeping Griffey & Sweeney will kill us…which just made the Cliff Lee trade pointless…we are going nowhere.
Yeah – why Jermaine Dye isn’t a Mariner is quite confusing. He could easily split time with Bradley. Sure his defense sucks but with the rest of the M’s defense, they could afford to trade off some defense for a nice offensive lift.
I said it before the season began – pitching and defense is great but the M’s simply cannot hit worth a lick. No way they win the AL West unless they get a big bat.
would you like a david ortiz? PLEASE!
Having a great defense is bonus to have, but offense is more important than defense. If you have good pitching (which the M’s do) there shouldn’t be such a need for a gold glove caliber defense.
Joemomma4hire, the M’s pitching staff relies heavily on fly ball pitchers or pitch to contact pitchers. Playing an average or below average defense behind them would hurt them more substantially. The Mariners need a good defense considering they play half of their games in Safeco, but the problem with that is Safeco kills right handed power hitters. IE, Adrian Beltre, Richie Sexson even Jose Lopez can be argued considering he hit 19 of his 25 home runs on the road last year. The Mariners have the right blue prints just the wrong building materials in some ways. They don’t need an all or nothing home run threat. They need good contact gap power hitters that play good defense, even average/above average defense. The Mariners are not a complete project yet, they have their holes, mainly their Designated Hugger combination of Griffey and Sweeney.
I expect this team to settle in and start hitting towards end of May or June. They are not going to hit a lot of home runs, but as guys heat up perform they will score more and the pitching will remain strong with the defense behind them. This is not a complete project, and I understand that it is frustrating for a lot of fans, myself included. This team is lacking in offense, but they will be average by the end of the season. It’s still too early to be jumping ship.
Remembre when the Mariners fans on here insisted their Punch & Judy offense wouldn’t be a point of concern & this was the year Milton Bradley put it all together?
It’s a little early to be tossing the offense down the toilet when guys like Figgins, Lopez, and Bradley have yet to hit their stride. No one thought we would have Griffey/Sweeney as our DH either. We were told all through the offseason that Griffey was the 25th man and his ABs would be far less than last year.
Jermaine Dye isn’t really the option either as his type of bat has always been negated by Safeco’s winds blowing in from left field.
I wouldn’t hold your breath on Bradley & Figgins isn’t a run producer, he’s a run scorer. Someone still has to drive him in. People who think Dye is the answer are really grasping for straws b/c the guy is done. Not only that but let’s say he does have something left, it would take him a good month or more to be ready to play. These guys still on the scrap heap haven’t gone through spring training & have been sitting on the couch for an additional month, 2 months after that.
I’ll (Reds) give you Yonder Alonso and Orlando Cabrera for Chone Figgins… Deal? Please? Okay, take Bronson Arroyo, too.
“LaRue thinks it will be until at least June before the M’s can “find a team willing to admit it’s given up on 2010″ and talk trade.”
How do we know it won’t be the Mariners that will be among the teams giving up on 2010? I agree with those say that Dye is the logical choice. It may not fit into what the M’s are doing, but he can still hit and they can get him sooner and without giving anyone up. If they’re still rotating the unholy trio of Byrnes, Griffey, and Sweeney into the lineup come June, it may just be too late. Bradley may turn things around a bit, but he’s not the kind of guy that carries an offense even when he is doing well.
I was thinking the same thing. It doesn’t look like the M’s are going anywhere soon. In fact, the best thing they can do might be to trade some of that vaunted pitching for some legit hitting prospects.
I was thinking the same thing. It doesn’t look like the M’s are going anywhere soon. In fact, the best thing they can do might be to trade some of that vaunted pitching for some legit hitting prospects.
This is a real question I’ve had for awhile. I’m hoping the M’s fans that are closer to the situation could help me out. One of the issues I’ve seen for the Mariners is NO one could hit there. It’s too big to too many areas. It’s too much a pitchers park. It takes mediocre hitters and make them look awful, in my opinion. It’s almost to the level of Petco as a pitcher’s park.
Am I wrong? Or would a reconfiguring of the OF wall in Safeco be beneficial to the Mariners.
You’re absolutely right when it comes to power-hitting right-handed bats with heavy pull tendencies. That’s one of the reasons why a guy like Jermaine Dye would struggle in Safeco. That’s also the reason why the M’s have started going after left-handed bats. When they do target a right-handed bat, it’s usually a guy with gap power who hits a lot to right field.
Right field is actually fairly homer friendly. Most of this is because of the winds coming off the water. They blow in and down from left field and tend to blow out towards right field.
This is a real question I’ve had for awhile. I’m hoping the M’s fans that are closer to the situation could help me out. One of the issues I’ve seen for the Mariners is NO one could hit there. It’s too big to too many areas. It’s too much a pitchers park. It takes mediocre hitters and make them look awful, in my opinion. It’s almost to the level of Petco as a pitcher’s park.
Am I wrong? Or would a reconfiguring of the OF wall in Safeco be beneficial to the Mariners.
Griffey for Giambi-straight up!
Giambi for some Iver’s Fish n Chips. They can keep Griffey.
Griffey for Giambi-straight up!
Jason Bay sure would look nice sharing DH and LF with Milton Bradley.