The Mariners sit at 13-19, 4.5 games out in the AL West. With 130 games left on the schedule, there's plenty of time to find some offense and climb to the top of the division. But should the Mariners continue to struggle for the next month or two, which players might hit the trading block?
Cliff Lee's name jumps out as the most intriguing trade chip. The Mariners could offer two or three months of the ace lefty, plus two potential draft picks if he leaves. The trade return would have to clearly exceed the value of those two draft picks for the Mariners. Lee has been traded for uninspiring packages twice in the last ten months, but that doesn't mean the Mariners would give him away.
The Ms could peddle a former ace lefty as well, once Erik Bedard returns from shoulder surgery. He might be ready to go in June, as he's yet to embark on a minor league rehab assignment.
Relievers David Aardsma, Mark Lowe, and Brandon League are under team control through 2012. They'll probably be retained since they'll be needed next year, but perhaps a big offer could pry one loose. The Mariners might be willing to trade Jose Lopez, who switched from second to third base this year. Until the 20 home run power returns, there won't be much of a market.
Ian Snell has a $4.25MM salary this year, so he'll probably be non-tendered after his '11 option is declined. Snell is now in the bullpen, so the Mariners may try to move him regardless of the standings. First baseman Casey Kotchman is another non-tender candidate after the season, if he doesn't start hitting. He'd presumably be available for a contender to use as a bench bat. Mike Sweeney and Ryan Langerhans would be expendable as well.
It’s almost a given that Jose Lopez won’t be with the Mariners next season, despite the fact that he’s the only legitimate 20 HR threat in the lineup. The M’s haven’t been subtle about who they feel are core and “indispensable” players; the players that are included in their promotional materials and giveaways are most probably going to be with the team, those that aren’t are probably gone. And Jose Lopez is NOWHERE to be seen: he’s not in any of the team’s commercials, there aren’t any promotional giveaways based on Lopez, and he’s not one of the players who’s been shown on the pre-printed season ticket packages. That speaks volumes… that and the indiscriminate manner in which they moved him to 3B this spring (no real notice, only told after he reported to camp, etc.)
Lee and Bedard are definite “dump” candidates, and David Aardsma could be as well. They have Lowe and League as potential in-house closer candidates, as well as former first round pick Josh Fields in the minors.
And it goes without saying that if anyone wants Milton Bradley, he can probably be had cheap.
They should trade Ken Griffey to Sleepy’s Mattresses, “for the rest of his life”. yeah thats right, i made a Ken Griffey funny
Too early for the M’s to be thinking of anything excep how to get better. They are not that far away especially in that division. Gotta believe the pitching will come around, but its time to say goodby to Junior and consider bring in Blalock or another bat. If Milton can get his personall issues uner control he can help this club. Othewise a trade and/or key recall from the minors could get them going. They have some good parts but have not come close to their potential.
Wow!!!! What team have you been watching dude? I mean seriously the pitching is going to come through sometime? Just wow so Fisted hasn’t done crap, Lee hasn’t done crap in his first 3 outings and Vargas has pithed his way off the team? Yeah Felix has struggle in his last two starts and snell was medicore to start the season off. But the pitching HAS been there heck that’s why they are only 4.5 games out. It the flippin offense that’s hurting the pitching staff.
As the poster talking about lopez, he should of be gone along time ago. His stick is worthless. I was in favor of selling high of lopez this winter, even with the load 2B market. But who is going to want a guy that swings at 2-0 counts and can’t do anything but help a pitcher get out of a fricken jam.
“a guy that swings at 2-0 counts and can’t do anything but help a pitcher get out of a fricken jam.”
Swinging during 2-0 counts is not the problem Steven I, it’s swinging at garbage pitches when it’s 2-0. The 2-0 count is the hitters best friend, normally that is where a hitter has the highest batting average. The pitcher is more likely to grove one at 2-0 and than at 3-0. This is no different for Lopez, look at this stats for last year given this year is such a small sample size, he hit .500 at 2-0 with a .500 OBP a 1.045 SLG and a 1.545 OPS. It’s not the count that is the problem, it’s the strike zone command.
“a guy that swings at 2-0 counts and can’t do anything but help a pitcher get out of a fricken jam.”
Swinging during 2-0 counts is not the problem Steven I, it’s swinging at garbage pitches when it’s 2-0. The 2-0 count is the hitters best friend, normally that is where a hitter has the highest batting average. The pitcher is more likely to grove one at 2-0 and than at 3-0. This is no different for Lopez, look at this stats for last year given this year is such a small sample size, he hit .500 at 2-0 with a .500 OBP a 1.045 SLG and a 1.545 OPS. It’s not the count that is the problem, it’s the strike zone command.
Wow!!!! What team have you been watching dude? I mean seriously the pitching is going to come through sometime? Just wow so Fisted hasn’t done crap, Lee hasn’t done crap in his first 3 outings and Vargas has pithed his way off the team? Yeah Felix has struggle in his last two starts and snell was medicore to start the season off. But the pitching HAS been there heck that’s why they are only 4.5 games out. It the flippin offense that’s hurting the pitching staff.
As the poster talking about lopez, he should of be gone along time ago. His stick is worthless. I was in favor of selling high of lopez this winter, even with the load 2B market. But who is going to want a guy that swings at 2-0 counts and can’t do anything but help a pitcher get out of a fricken jam.
Too early for the M’s to be thinking of anything excep how to get better. They are not that far away especially in that division. Gotta believe the pitching will come around, but its time to say goodby to Junior and consider bring in Blalock or another bat. If Milton can get his personall issues uner control he can help this club. Othewise a trade and/or key recall from the minors could get them going. They have some good parts but have not come close to their potential.
And everyone said that the Mariners were the most improved team in the off-season. What happened?
And everyone said that the Mariners were the most improved team in the off-season. What happened?
If Fister and Vargas’ continue their great starts, would it be plausible to see Lee traded for a bat to stay in contention?
I dont know, trying to say trade Cliff Lee to stay in contention sounds a bit odd to me. If the Mariners somehow upset the west, your going to want Lee in playoffs more then any bat he could net you
I dont know, trying to say trade Cliff Lee to stay in contention sounds a bit odd to me. If the Mariners somehow upset the west, your going to want Lee in playoffs more then any bat he could net you
If Fister and Vargas’ continue their great starts, would it be plausible to see Lee traded for a bat to stay in contention?
The M’s tried to build up using a pitching-and-defense strategy, which only works if you can still outscore your opponents; it’s unrealistic to think that your starting pitching is only going to give up 1 or 2 runs a game 75+% of the time. Fister and Vargas have been pleasant surprises, but it’s also unrealistic to think that both of them will continue on their current paces. Fister, in particular, is someone who likes to pitch to contact, which works well in cold weather when the ball doesn’t travel as far. But once it warms up, those balls could start flying.
Losing Lee for the first month of the season certainly hurt, and RRS’s slow start has been an issue, but the M’s really needed to be 3-deep in studs the rotation from day one in order to have a serious chance of competing in the AL West. Not having anyone in the lineup as a 20+ HR threat other than Jose Lopez was another tactical blunder; you can’t win in the AL West using an NL strategy, especially with several guys in the lineup who haven’t been able to consistently hit over .250. I looked at the lineup and said “we’re going to lose a lot of 4-3 and 3-2 games…”
A lot of “pundits” gave the AL West to the M’s based solely on the acquisitions of Cliff Lee and Chone Figgins, and those were good moves. But the complementary moves (Kotchman, Bradley, League) were just that; the M’s needed to make two more big moves, one that brought in a legitimate #3 starter and another that netted a legitimate cleanup hitter to balance out the lineup. By not doing that, the M’s virtually guaranteed that they wouldn’t win the division this season.
Acquiring one (or two) bats now would help (the return of Bedard might fill that #3 spot), but still might not be enough. DH, LF and C are the spots in which the M’s can improve. The reinstatement of Milton Bradley and moving him to DH would help a lot; he plays better as a DH (his big season in Texas was mostly as a DH), and it would remove Griffey from the lineup. Sorry to all you long-time fans, but Griffey is done as a legitimate offensive force. The M’s cannot and will not win anything with Griffey in the lineup on a regular basis.
Michael Saunders might be the internal solution to the LF problem, but I’d like to see him continue on his current torrid pace before anointing him. Otherwise, Brad Hawpe, Cody Ross or Rick Ankiel appear as legitimate external solutions.
As for the catching situation, the D-Backs will be more than willing to deal Chris Snyder once Miguel Montero comes back. Snyder is considered to be an excellent defensive catcher, and his power numbers certainly don’t hurt. He’s not cheap ($5.25 mil for next season plus a $6.75 mil option for 2012 with a $750 K buyout), but if the M’s swallow the whole deal, they won’t have to give up a lot to get him. They certainly won’t have to give up on Adam Moore; the M’s can send him down to AAA to get the seasoning he obviously needs.
The M’s tried to build up using a pitching-and-defense strategy, which only works if you can still outscore your opponents; it’s unrealistic to think that your starting pitching is only going to give up 1 or 2 runs a game 75+% of the time. Fister and Vargas have been pleasant surprises, but it’s also unrealistic to think that both of them will continue on their current paces. Fister, in particular, is someone who likes to pitch to contact, which works well in cold weather when the ball doesn’t travel as far. But once it warms up, those balls could start flying.
Losing Lee for the first month of the season certainly hurt, and RRS’s slow start has been an issue, but the M’s really needed to be 3-deep in studs the rotation from day one in order to have a serious chance of competing in the AL West. Not having anyone in the lineup as a 20+ HR threat other than Jose Lopez was another tactical blunder; you can’t win in the AL West using an NL strategy, especially with several guys in the lineup who haven’t been able to consistently hit over .250. I looked at the lineup and said “we’re going to lose a lot of 4-3 and 3-2 games…”
A lot of “pundits” gave the AL West to the M’s based solely on the acquisitions of Cliff Lee and Chone Figgins, and those were good moves. But the complementary moves (Kotchman, Bradley, League) were just that; the M’s needed to make two more big moves, one that brought in a legitimate #3 starter and another that netted a legitimate cleanup hitter to balance out the lineup. By not doing that, the M’s virtually guaranteed that they wouldn’t win the division this season.
Acquiring one (or two) bats now would help (the return of Bedard might fill that #3 spot), but still might not be enough. DH, LF and C are the spots in which the M’s can improve. The reinstatement of Milton Bradley and moving him to DH would help a lot; he plays better as a DH (his big season in Texas was mostly as a DH), and it would remove Griffey from the lineup. Sorry to all you long-time fans, but Griffey is done as a legitimate offensive force. The M’s cannot and will not win anything with Griffey in the lineup on a regular basis.
Michael Saunders might be the internal solution to the LF problem, but I’d like to see him continue on his current torrid pace before anointing him. Otherwise, Brad Hawpe, Cody Ross or Rick Ankiel appear as legitimate external solutions.
As for the catching situation, the D-Backs will be more than willing to deal Chris Snyder once Miguel Montero comes back. Snyder is considered to be an excellent defensive catcher, and his power numbers certainly don’t hurt. He’s not cheap ($5.25 mil for next season plus a $6.75 mil option for 2012 with a $750 K buyout), but if the M’s swallow the whole deal, they won’t have to give up a lot to get him. They certainly won’t have to give up on Adam Moore; the M’s can send him down to AAA to get the seasoning he obviously needs.
I think whoever wants to get Lee after the season should face giving up a couple of prospects in a trade this season, because they will definately compete with some high market teams coming off of the season. Small market teams will be the odd man out this offseason in the Lee category. The tigers have 60+ million coming off after this season, and lee knows the central. Look for them to be big competitors both at the trade deadline and after the season. At the deadline they could be willing to give Guillen and one of thier many,many outfield prospects plus a A/AA pitcher. Lee would be a great fit in Detroit, so look out small market teams.
I think whoever wants to get Lee after the season should face giving up a couple of prospects in a trade this season, because they will definately compete with some high market teams coming off of the season. Small market teams will be the odd man out this offseason in the Lee category. The tigers have 60+ million coming off after this season, and lee knows the central. Look for them to be big competitors both at the trade deadline and after the season. At the deadline they could be willing to give Guillen and one of thier many,many outfield prospects plus a A/AA pitcher. Lee would be a great fit in Detroit, so look out small market teams.
I doubt they can get a better deal than the one they gave up for Lee if they trade him.
I doubt they can get a better deal than the one they gave up for Lee if they trade him.