Here’s the latest from out west:
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik says that he expects to be aggressive in adding offense to the ballclub while also adding some rotation depth, as Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN reports. “Offense is something we think we need,” said GM Jack Zduriencik. “We will explore every opportunity out there. I think we will be reasonably aggressive to try to add an offensive piece or two and you never have enough pitching.”
- Zduriencik added that he believes he’ll have additional cash to work with. “I think the payroll is going to rise,” he said. “What the exact number is I don’t know yet because we haven’t had that meeting, but I am encouraged that number will increase.” Seattle entered the year with about $90MM on its books. Looking forward, the club has nearly $62MM committed next year before accounting for several costly arbitration bumps (especially for Austin Jackson and Kyle Seager).
- The Diamondbacks have started interviewing managerial candidates with in-house options, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. Double-A skipper Andy Green had the first chance to make his pitch. Other D’backs staffers who will interiew are hitting coach Turner Ward and Triple-A manager Phil Nevin.
- Meanwhile, the Rangers have announced that they sat down with Mike Maddux and Steve Buechele today as part of their own managerial search, as expected. As with Arizona’s initial batch of candidates, Maddux and Buechele come from within the Texas ranks.
Do they really have that much money to spend? They consolidated too much in too few players.
Cano, Felix, Iwakuma, Jackson, Rodney. 5 guys and you are already over $70MM. Minimum after that is $10MM if everyone else makes minimum.
Bloomquist/Ackley/Morrison/Smoak/Saunders easily eats up $17.5MM+, or $15MM additional over the minimum guys.
So $95MM and that isn’t giving much flex for arb guys and that is without adding players.
We have 62M on the books before arbitration. Only people with cases to get a huge boost is Seager and Jackson. Saunders was hurt most of the year so won’t get much of a bump and Morrison had the injury bug too. Smoak is probably cut which saves 2M. Furbush and Wilhelmsen will get modest raises, but there’s only 6 players going through arbitration and Seager is a first timer. Attendance is up and so the owners will take that into account. I think you can easily see the Mariners bumping up the payroll to ~100-110M.
yeah but to get who?
Cuddyer? V-Mart?
The M’s would have to overpay for V-Mart. Probably 3-4 years at 18 million plus to outbid Detroit, Chicago, and New York. Not worth it.
Why does Seattle have to overpay that much? It’s not like they are a bottom 5 or 10 team anymore. They missed the post season by about an hour this year. McClendon has coached VMart longer than Asmus has. The M’s have a pretty decent rotation for next year and their minor league system isn’t bad. VMart isn’t a spring chicken. He doesn’t have to worry about Safeco killing his career. 3 more years and he’s pretty much done either way. Seattle gives him just as much a chance as anywhere to win a World Series ring over the next three years.
If Detroit doesn’t pay Scherzer, does VMart want to be there? New York is getting older by the second and Chicago needs to get to .500 next year. Why would VMart want to go there?
Why does VMart want to play for the most remote team in the league distance wise when they have the offseason flexibility to sign him and basically no one else? He’s going to command at least what Beltran got so it’s not 18 is a tremendous overpay to begin with. Chicago has a bright future and a ton of money to spend. He’s also said he’s happy in Detroit. If there’s a bunch of teams offering similar contract, he’s not going to pick Seattle. No one ever does.
Everyone says they’re happy.
As far as remote, it’s not really that big an issue. These guys don’t ride buses anymore. We’ll see how it works out.
When do players ever say they’re miserable? Being remote isn’t the end of the world, but it still doesn’t change the fact that free agents don’t go to Seattle unless they’re overpaid.
The only thing that Seattle can offer VMart that Detroit can’t is an overpay. One is a perennial contender in a weak division where he enjoys playing, one isn’t. Seattle is not getting VMart on some bargain deal. That’s simple logic.
Exactly, players always say the are happy. The last time Seattle “went for it”, they signed Beltre, Sexson, Bautista, Washburn, Sandfish and a few others. Figgins signed in Seattle. That’s like saying FA’s don’t sign in Houston or Tampa or Kansas City. There hasn’t been a reason to sign in Seattle recently. Until now.
I never said Seattle was getting VMart on a bargain deal. I’m just saying they aren’t going to have to overspend to get him here.
Where is Detroit if they don’t resign Scherzer, VMart, Hunter, Chamberlain and Coke? The AL Central isn’t so weak anymore. Cleveland and KC are good teams. I remember everyone laughing at me when I said the KC/TB deal wasn’t bad for KC.
I see NY or Boston going after Scherzer before VMart. At this point in VMart’s career, it may not be about the money, either. Does he want to win a ring? Seattle has one of the best young cores around. A bat like VMart makes Seattle a contender for the next 3 years.
Why would he sign with Seattle if he wants a ring?
I would think he would try and get with Baltimore, Detroit, etc before that.
Pitching and defense win championships. Seattle was pretty darn good in those 2 categories this year. They have pretty solid young pitching going forward. They just need another legit bat.
Baltimore and Detroit have a ton of FA’s that could be gone next year.
Cruz, Hardy and Markakis? I don’t see the Birds picking up the Markakis option. Can you trust Cruz on a long term deal?
The Tigers could lose Max Scherzer, Victor Martinez and Torii Hunter to free agency after winning only three games more than the Mariners did this season. The Orioles face the potential departures of free agents Nelson Cruz, J.J. Hardy and Andrew Miller. The Mariners’ pending free agents are the less significant Corey Hart, Chris Young, Kendrys Morales, Chris Denorfia and Joe Beimel. Seattle is built well for 2015.
Players don’t complain about the teams they play for very often. That doesn’t matter at all.
They will have to overspend to get VMart. He is one of the top free agent bats and will have many suitors. That is a plain and simple fact.
Detroit is still a solid team without Scherzer. He’s also happy there and they’ve got results. Hunter, Chamberlain, and Coke are not big losses and their departures free up more money for VMart.
There is no way VMart will take less money to play in Seattle because of a ring. That’s ridiculous. They haven’t been to the playoffs since 2001. No player is going there to win a ring. It’s all about the money.
When did I ever say he would have to take less money to play in Seattle. I just said Seattle may not have to overpay as extreme as you think? I don’t see any DH getting $18 million.
After that vmart vs sale argument last week I think we can write chicago of the list.
Money heals some wounds. Though I find it hard to believe he leaves Detroit.
Were does V Mart fit with the Yankees?
meh…
That’s still going to take them to 90 million. Which gives them wiggle room, but not much. You also would have to take into consideration the rising salaries of Seager, Jackson, and the other arbitration players for the year after if they’re going after noteworthy FA’s.
What if they increase their payroll into the $120 or $130 range?
Then they can spend some money, but we haven’t been given any reason to think that will happen.
How is a team with a $90MM payroll going to jump $30-40MM?
That just seems unlikely.
They have spent well over $100 mill a year a few years. Their TV deal is paying $117 million a year from the old deal that paid $45 million a year. That’s a $70 million a year increase in tv revenue.
Plus one of the best pitchers and hitter’s in all of baseball in Felix, and Cano
The M’s just bought the local Root Sports last year. They own their TV channel. Money shouldn’t be an issue.
Money is always an issue. Many owners still like to make money off their team. They probably paid the fair market price for the station, doesn’t mean they suddenly have influx of cash.
How much to buy ARod back?
I am sure the Yankees would happily ship him back for a bag of baseballs.
That would be an overpay.
I speculate that the Mariners will land the righthanded bat of Yoenis Cespedes, Mike Napoli, Allen Craig OR Shane Victorino with the Red Sox covering part of the player’s salary.
Nice speculation. But who do the Mariners part with?
The Sox are not going to cover any of Cespedes or Napoli’s salary unless the return is really good. Craig maybe, but not much. Victorino is doable.
Given each team’s respective needs and surpluses, I recently suggested one year of Hisashi Iwakuma at $7 million for one year of Yoenis Cespedes at $10.5 million with no cash changing hands. However, the Mariners probably don’t need another low-OBP hitter.
That could happen. I think the M’s will have interest in Victorino as well, though he won’t net Iwakuma and the Sox will need to eat a couple million in a deal.
M’s will have to re-sign Raul. It’s been 1 season.
I hope Lomo is the 1B option. Hope DJ Pererson can push him to DH. Don’t want Morales back.
Would have loved picking up JD Martinez.
Ibanez is likely going to retire. He’s too old to be of value to anyone.
But it’s the rules. Raul does another tour of duty. Like Ricky Henderson and Oakland.
Assuming the Mariners pick up Iwakuma’s option which is for $7MM and Jackson and Seager arbitration combined come to another $10MM +/- their commitments for 2015 come to about $87MM for just 9 players at that point. That still leaves them needing to sign 16 players to fill out their 25 man roster. No way they stay under $110 to $120MM even with no “big name” FA signings this winter.
“We will try to add an offensive piece and some rotation depth” said every gm out there
But not every GM presides over the worst team OPS in the American League.
Ms could go after a young cost controlled RH hitter. A deal involving Taijuan Walker could easily fetch that type of player.
On that note, wonder what it would take to get Jorge Soler from the Cubbies.
The M’S have a massive tv deal coming into place now. Cruz, V Mart might be to much money for them so i see like a Jayson Hayward, Cuddyer.
Not sure why the Braves would trade Heyward when he’s under contract for the 2015 season for a very manageable $7.8MM. Cuddyer will be 36 to start the 2015 season having played in very hitter friendly Coors Field moving to SafeCo could definitely effect his performance/numbers.