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Mariners Remain Interested In Zack Cozart

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The Mariners nearly acquired Reds shortstop Zack Cozart prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, and their interest in the veteran infielder has persisted into the offseason, reports Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. Dutton has previously reported that back on Aug. 1, the Mariners and Reds were in talks that would’ve sent Cozart and a minor leaguer to Seattle in exchange for minor league left-hander Luiz Gohara and another prospect, but the deal never materialized, as Dutton suggested that Cincinnati simply ran out of time to complete the deal after dedicating so much effort to completing its Jay Bruce trade with the Mets.

Seattle still holds interest in Cozart, according to Dutton, but the team seemingly considers a shortstop upgrade more of a luxury than a necessity. “We don’t need a shortstop,” one Seattle exec told Dutton. “We have [Ketel] Marte, and we think he’s going to be fine in the long term. Now could he benefit from some additional development time in the minors? Yes. We did that with [Mike] Zunino, and we think that really helped him. But it’s not the same. Zunino absolutely needed that development time. With Marte, we think it would be beneficial, but it’s not a must.”

If the Mariners do feel that Marte would benefit from additional time in the minors, then Cozart, on paper anyway, would seemingly be an excellent stopgap. The 31-year-old is somewhat OBP-challenged (.309 OBP over the past two seasons) but is one of the game’s premier defenders at shortstop and has demonstrated considerably improved power numbers in the past two seasons as well. Cozart hit 15 homers as a rookie in 2012 but saw that number dip to 12 in 2013 and just four in 2014. He belted nine long balls in just 53 games in 2015, though (his season was cut short by a knee injury), and connected on a career-best 16 homers last year despite playing in just 121 games.

The abbreviated nature of those past two seasons illustrates a potential area of concern when it comes to Cozart: his durability. Cozart suffered a torn ACL and LCL that ended his 2015 season in mid-June, and on multiple occasions in 2016 he missed a handful of games due to knee problems that didn’t necessitate a trip to the disabled list. However, his season did ultimately come to an end in September when his right knee forced him to the disabled list. Cozart’s final game of the year came on Sept. 10.

As for Marte, the 23-year-old looked to have solidified his place in the Mariners’ lineup with a terrific rookie season (2015) during which he slashed .283/.351/.402, but his offensive production cratered in 2016. In 466 plate appearances for Seattle this past year, Marte hit just .259/.287/.323 and saw his walk rate plummet from 9.7 percent to 3.9 percent. On top of that, he drew negative marks for his defense at shortstop. Marte debuted as a 21-year-old and played the entire 2016 season at the age of 22, so recommending some additional minor league time would hardly mean the organization has given up on him.

Even if the Mariners aren’t the team to ultimately acquire Cozart, it does seem like there’s a solid chance he’ll be moved this offseason. Cincinnati general manager Dick Williams said at last week’s GM Meetings that a Cozart trade was “something we’d have to consider” if it could put the club in a better position for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. And the Reds have a pair of intriguing middle-infield prospects in Jose Peraza and Dilson Herrera that the team would like to work into the lineup in 2017, which should lead to plenty of chatter about both Cozart and second baseman Brandon Phillips as the winter progresses.

Mariners Re-Sign Ryan Cook To Minor League Deal

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  • The Mariners have re-signed righty Ryan Cook to a minor league deal, writes MLB.com’s Greg Johns. Cook signed a one-year, $1.1MM deal with the M’s last offseason but never actually pitched for them, sitting out the season due to injury. He had Tommy John surgery last month and will miss the 2017 season as well. Cook has pitched parts of five seasons in the big leagues, pitching the majority of his innings with the Athletics, and has a career 3.43 ERA, 9.1 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9.

Jerry Dipoto, David Forst On Danny Valencia Trade

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The Mariners’ acquisition of utilityman Danny Valencia from the Athletics in exchange for right-hander Paul Blackburn is likely to end the Seattle tenures of two free agents – first baseman Dae-ho Lee and outfielder Franklin Gutierrez – general manager Jerry Dipoto revealed Saturday (via Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune).

“There’s very little likelihood that both (Valencia and Lee) will fit on the same roster,” Dipoto said. “I (also) don’t think we have to go out and focus on getting a right-handed-hitting outfielder just to have one.”

Valencia expects his role with the Mariners will be “to play first base, probably some right field,” which would make both Lee and Gutierrez superfluous to the club. All three are right-handed hitters, and barring more moves, Valencia is a strong candidate to complement lefty-swingers Dan Vogelbach at first base (previously Lee’s role with now-free agent Adam Lind) and Seth Smith in the outfield (fomerly Gutierrez’s job). Valencia seems likely to see most of his action at first, as Dipoto said Saturday that August acquisition Ben Gamel is slated to start in one outfield corner and Nelson Cruz and Guillermo Heredia will join Valencia in platooning with Smith. However, given that it’s so early in the offseason, Dipoto unsurprisingly isn’t ruling out further acquisitions.

“If we see a good fit, or the ability to go acquire a player who makes us better, we’re not going to hesitate. Valencia’s flexibility allows that,” he commented.

Oakland, having traded an outfielder in Valencia, will now look to strengthen the area, GM David Forst said in the wake of the trade (per Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com).
“We need major league outfielders,” Forst stated. We have to be open to any means of acquiring, whether it’s free agents or trades. It’s certainly not our history to be aggressive at the top end of the free agent market, but we have money to spend and we have some good options. Mark Canha coming back will help fill this gap.”
Canha missed nearly all of 2016 with a hip injury, but he did slash a respectable .254/.315/.426 with 16 home runs and seven steals in a 485-plate appearance 2015 campaign. Oakland also has left fielder Khris Davis, who swatted 42 home runs this year, but the rest of its outfield class is decidedly less impressive. Current options include Brett Eibner, Matt Olson and Jake Smolinski, all of whom are coming off poor seasons. Valencia was far better than those three from an offensive standpoint this past season, though he’s defensively challenged and had clubhouse issues in Oakland. Forst spoke well of Valencia, but he didn’t think the team could pass on a chance to acquire Blackburn.
“He did a nice job in our lineup,” Forst said of Valencia. “This was about an opportunity to get a young starting pitcher we really like.”

Mariners Acquire Danny Valencia From Athletics

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The Mariners have acquired Danny Valencia from the Athletics, Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan tweets. In exchange, Oakland will receive righty Paul Blackburn, tweets MLB.com’s Greg Johns.

[Related: Updated Seattle Mariners Depth Chart]

Danny ValenciaThe 32-year-old Valencia has hit well in each of the past two seasons, most recently posting a .287/.346/.446 line in 517 plate appearances with Oakland in 2016. He also logged substantial playing time at three positions (third base, first base and right field), giving him a bit of defensive versatility. He graded poorly at third, though, and got in a clubhouse altercation with Billy Butler that resulted in Butler heading to the 7-day concussion DL.

Butler was released soon after, and although the Athletics said Butler’s release was unrelated to the clubhouse fight, it seemed by season’s end that the A’s were looking to move on from Valencia. Youngster Ryon Healy received the bulk of the Athletics’ available playing time down the stretch at third base. It already looked possible the A’s could look outfield help this winter, and now it looks even more likely that they will.

Valencia has one more year of club control remaining before he’s eligible for free agency, and we project he’ll make $5.3MM next season. The Mariners obviously have a good third baseman in Kyle Seager, but Valencia could be a factor at first base and/or in the outfield. At first, his right-handed bat might pair well with that of lefty Dan Vogelbach.

The 22-year-old Blackburn, who arrived with Vogelbach in the Mike Montgomery deal in July, ranked as the Mariners’ 18th-best prospect, according to MLB.com. The Cubs made him the 56th overall pick in the draft in 2012. He throws sinkers in the low 90s and has what MLB.com describes as solid secondary stuff and a good feel for pitching, so perhaps he could profile as a back-of-the-rotation type in the big leagues. He produced a 3.27 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 143 Double-A innings in 2016.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Dipoto Discusses Offseason Maneuverings

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  • Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto suggested that his club will pursue a more targeted offseason than it did last year, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports. “Last year was about heavy lifting and effectively re-creating the way we played,” he said. “This year is about focusing on ways we can get better in the parameters we set up last year.” With some “freedom” in the payroll, Seattle will still be looking to add a right-handed-hitting option at first, a righty-swinging outfielder, and a lefty reliever. Divish ticks through some of the many options on the market.

Mariners Have Interest In Brett Cecil, Boone Logan

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The Mariners have expressed some early interest in free agent lefty Brett Cecil tweets Jon Morosi of the MLB Network, and the M’s are also likely to take a look at southpaw Boone Logan in free agency, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets. Morosi notes that the Mariners are “determined” to add a lefty reliever, although that much has been known for quite some time, as GM Jerry Dipoto has previously expressed his desire to add a left-handed reliever to the back of his bullpen.

Cecil, 30, registered an inflated 3.93 ERA in an injury-shortened season in 2016, but he was much better after returning from a strained left triceps than he was when pitching earlier in the year. And dating back to the 2013 campaign, Cecil has somewhat quietly been a stellar left-handed option for Toronto, pitching to a 2.90 ERA with 11.5 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a 50.2 percent ground-ball rate. In that time, he’s held lefties to a feeble .215/.270/.310 slash but also suppressed opposing right-handers, who batted a mere .218/.306/.350 against Cecil in that four-year span. Cecil’s velocity was down a bit early in the season, but it bounced back as he further distanced himself from from the aforementioned DL stint. Overall, he averaged 92.2 mph on his heater this season.

Logan’s recent track record isn’t as strong as that of Cecil, but his 2016 campaign was arguably superior. The 32-year-old posted a 3.69 ERA with 11.1 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and a 49.2 percent ground-ball rate in 46 1/3 innings with the Rockies. However, Logan was limited to facing primarily lefties and used in more situational roles than was Cecil, as he faced 68 right-handers against 119 lefties. He’s probably best deployed as a specialist as opposed to a true setup option that would face both left- and right-handed hitters, although there’s no question that escaping a hitter-friendly park would be beneficial to him as well. Logan has spent all but one season of his career calling either U.S. Cellular Field, Yankee Stadium or Coors Field home (2009 with the Braves), so he could relish the chance to play in a more pitcher-friendly setting such as Seattle’s Safeco Field. He’s already been loosely connected to the Blue Jays and Giants this winter.

Other left-handed options available to the Mariners on the free agent market include the likes of Jerry Blevins and Mike Dunn, though it’s worth noting that a couple of the available names — Travis Wood and Clayton Richard — seem likely to market themselves as starting pitchers this winter. And, as Dipoto demonstrated in making 11 trades last offseason, he’s hardly shy about making deals with other clubs to augment his roster.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/10/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The Giants have agreed to a minor league deal with first baseman/outfielder Chris Marrero, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). The 28-year-old is a former first-round pick (Nationals, 2006) that spent the 2016 campaign with Boston’s Triple-A affiliate and hit quite well, slashing .284/.344/.494 with 23 homers and 30 doubles in 544 plate appearances. Marrero appeared in the Majors with the Nats back in 2011 and 2013 but batted a disappointing .232/.256/.272 in 133 PAs across those two stints. He’s a consistently solid bat in the minors though and could provide San Francisco with some depth both at first base and in left field.
  • The Mariners announced yesterday that catcher Steven Baron has been released following last week’s DFA. The No. 33 overall pick in the 2009 draft, Baron has just 11 big league plate appearances under his belt but has hit for respectable average and gotten on base at a solid clip in the upper minors. He’ll turn 26 next month and could serve as a depth piece for clubs that are seeking a relatively young catcher to pick up some playing time in Triple-A next year.
  • The Orioles announced that left-hander Jed Bradley has been outrighted off their 40-man roster yesterday. Baltimore claimed the former first-round pick and top prospect off waivers from the Braves last month, though his stay on the 40-man roster didn’t last long. Bradley made his Major League debut with Atlanta this season, yielding four runs on seven hits and six walks (two intentional) with four strikeouts in seven innings. He also posted a 3.09 earned run average with 108 strikeouts against 40 walks in 107 2/3 innings between the rotation and bullpen at Triple-A this year (13 starts, 22 relief appearances).
  • Outfielder Noel Cuevas has re-signed a minor league deal with the Rockies, the team announced. Cuevas, who turned 25 a month ago, began his pro career with the Dodgers but has spent the past two seasons in the Rockies organization and enjoyed one of his most productive minor league seasons to date in 2016. Splitting time between Double-A and Triple-A — his first action at the Triple-A level — the Puerto Rican center fielder hit .296/.331/.414 across 360 plate appearances.

Reliever Notes: Chapman, Jansen, Melancon, Giants, Holland, Marlins

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The Giants met this week with representatives of top free agent relievers Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen, and Mark Melancon, Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter) and Jon Morosi of MLB Network (Twitter link) report. Finding a solution for the ninth inning is perhaps the top priority for Giants GM Bobby Evans, so it’s not surprising to hear that he’s looking into the three best options on the open market. It’s far from clear at this point whether the Giants are particularly interested in any of these pitchers. It will certainly be interesting to see the strategic approaches of the players and teams in the market for premium closers. There are plenty of suitors circling, but they’ll surely be somewhat cautious in doling out potentially record-setting contracts.

  • We took a look yesterday at the latest on Greg Holland, who’s a risky but intriguing alternative to the three major options just noted, but there’s more ground to cover today. The Cubs are among many organizations that have real interest in Holland, as Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. They certainly aren’t alone, as Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reports that clubs including the Rays, Indians, and Mariners — in addition to the many others who were reportedly on hand for his recent showcase — could still be involved.
  • While the Marlins’ priority is in the rotation, the club may consider bolstering its relief corps as an alternative, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports. President of baseball operations Michael Hill suggests that the team will allow the market to “dictate[] the direction” that’s ultimately taken, at least to some extent, and that the Fish will explore all free agent and trade possibilities. But if the price for a worthwhile rotation addition proves too steep, the organization may perhaps pivot a bit. “You see the trends now, and the analytics, and they may say you don’t want to face guys a third time through the lineup,” Hill said. “It puts more of an emphasis to have a stronger bullpen. A lot of our success this year was because of our strong bullpen.” Frisaro notes that the Marlins have long been interested in Chapman, though it would seemingly be a big surprise were the club to enter his market in earnest.

Mariners Open To Pursuing Shortstop

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  • The Mariners aren’t ruling out pursuit of a shortstop, though they feel comfortable with what they have, GM Jerry Dipoto told reporters including MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. Ketel Marte remains the incumbent regular, and Dipoto also cited Shawn O’Malley and Mike Freeman as internal depth pieces. On the one hand, said the GM, any more would be “more significant than finding somebody who can augment our situation at Triple-A.” On the other, it wouldn’t necessarily be a blockbuster. “If we do something at shortstop, it’s going to be more of a veteran guidance type of player,” said Dipoto. “Maybe the shortstop version of a Carlos Ruiz, but the market is not brimming with that type of player.” Free agent possibilities could in theory include Erick Aybar and Alexei Ramirez, but it seems they don’t hold much appeal for Seattle. Alternatively, the M’s could certainly also re-join their summer efforts to acquire Zack Cozart, or pursue a somewhat lesser-regarded veteran such as Danny Espinosa, though we’ve heard no specific suggestions as yet.

Mariners Showing Early Interest In Mike Napoli

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  • Mike Napoli is drawing early interest from the Mariners, tweets Jon Morosi of the MLB Network. As Morosi points out, Napoli has a good history with Seattle manager Scott Servais dating back to his Rangers days. Napoli would be a logical fit for the M’s, who project to have the unproven Dan Vogelbach as their starting first baseman next year. However, the possibility of an eventual timeshare situation developing between the two may not be palatable from Napoli’s vantage point, I wouldn’t think. And it would seem strange for the Mariners to part with a controllable lefty like Mike Montgomery to acquire Vogelbach only to block him a few months later by giving Napoli the everyday first base gig.
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