SATURDAY: Zduriencik's new deal is for two years, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.
WEDNESDAY: The Mariners announced a multiyear extension for GM Jack Zduriencik. Despite the team's place at the bottom of the American League West standings, president & CEO Chuck Armstrong says the club is headed in the right direction for long-term success.
“Jack arrived in Seattle with a clear plan, and he has not deviated from that plan,” Armstrong said in a team press release. “Jack wanted to increase the talent base in our organization through scouting and player development. That is exactly what he has done.”
Zduriencik, whose contract was set to expire after 2011, said today that he intends "to continue to acquire talent at all levels of [the] organization" as the Mariners look to improve.
MLBTR's extension tracker has all of the moves Zduriencik has made since taking over baseball operations in October of 2008. His most memorable deals to date include the two Cliff Lee trades, the Brandon League for Brandon Morrow swap, the three-team J.J. Putz deal and the Milton Bradley for Carlos Silva trade. He also signed Felix Hernandez and Franklin Gutierrez to extensions and spent $36MM on free agent Chone Figgins. In total, Zduriencik and his staff acquired 28 of the 32 players currently on Seattle's active roster and disabled list.
The Mariners won 85 games in 2009, the club's first season under Zduriencik. However, they lost 101 games last year and are now 57-77, last in the AL West.
Zduriencik became the first non-GM to win Baseball America's executive of the year award in 2007, when he was Milwaukee's scouting director. He has spent 28 years working for MLB organizations, including nine with the Brewers (1999-2008).
Mike Salk of 710 ESPN first reported the deal.
Jack z hasnt really done anything I liked outside of signing Felix to an extension. I’ve been very underwhelmed by his tenure with the Mariners so far.
@Glebb: look at the farm system, you might reconsider.
I apologize, I should have said my comment was in regards to the big league club. I’m not familiar with Seattle’s farm very well.
That’s probably because Seattle didn’t have a farm before Jack.
I apologize, I should have said my comment was in regards to the big league club. I’m not familiar with Seattle’s farm very well.
Terrible GM.
2nd year of bad hitting as a team and this guy doesn’t go out and get a great batting coach? WTH?
Because even the best batting/hitting coach isn’t going to fix that offense. Good hitters will.
If Mariners can get a couple of decent hitters, they’re not that bad of a team.
As a Mariners fan, these next two years will tell the tale, I can’t handle these losing seasons, it seems like the 90’s were so long ago, this used to be a fun team to watch and root for when they made the playoffs and got so far only to come just short of reaching the world series, now it seems they are going to be the AL West version of the Orioles, I want a winning season!!!!
As a Mariners fan, these next two years will tell the tale, I can’t handle these losing seasons, it seems like the 90’s were so long ago, this used to be a fun team to watch and root for when they made the playoffs and got so far only to come just short of reaching the world series, now it seems they are going to be the AL West version of the Orioles, I want a winning season!!!!
With Casper Wells, Carp, and Robinson fighting for time at LF and DH I can deff see at least one of them being traded this winter. Smoak has 1st base locked down if only because he was the center piece in the Lee trade. Seager might be traded to, to acquire a more traditional power hitting 3rd baseman but that F. Martinez kid we got in a trade might be our answer at 3rd base. Lots of possibilities.