Mariners Rumors

Quick Hits: Greinke, Twins, Martin, Napoli, Royals

By Mark Polishuk | November 29, 2012 at 11:48pm CDT

Several player agents tell Larry Stone of the Seattle Times that the Mariners' chances of attracting free agent hitters have improved now that Safeco Field's fences are being moved in. That said, while the shorter fences will help, "players look at all of those factors, but in the end, it still comes down to where they can get the best contract. And it always will," one agent says.

Here are some items from a very busy day in baseball….

The Dodgers met with Zack Greinke on Thursday, tweets Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports.
In an interview with 1500 ESPN Twin Cities radio (via Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN), Twins assistant GM Rob Antony said his team will likely pursue free agents over trades at the Winter Meetings. "We probably don't have a lot of pieces that we do have to trade for starting pitching [with Denard Span now gone]," Antony said. "We'll probably be a little more aggressive and spend our time at the winter meetings talking to agents rather than clubs."
Russell Martin said the Yankees told him they didn't have the money available to match Pittsburgh's two-year/$17MM offer, reports David Waldstein of the New York Times. The Yankees didn't make Martin an offer and have yet to make any offers to position players this offseason, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (both links are to Twitter).
The Yankees aren't likely to pursue either A.J. Pierzynski or Mike Napoli, reports Andrew Marchand of ESPN New York.
The Pirates considered pursuing Napoli but didn't think he could stay healthy and effective as a full-time catcher in the NL, reports Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
The Royals offered Ryan Dempster a two-year, $26MM contract but are no longer bidding on the Canadian right-hander now that his price tag has risen, reports Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. At least six teams besides Kansas City have been connected to Dempster this offseason.
Also from Dutton, the Royals offered Scott Feldman a one-year, $4.5MM deal before the righty agreed to a one-year, $6MM contract with the Cubs earlier this week.
MLB.com's John Schlegel lists 10 potential bargain signings on the free agent market.
The week's minor league transactions are recapped by Matt Eddy of Baseball America.
Orioles GM Dan Duquette tells MASNsports.com's Mel Antonen (Twitter link) that negotiations with Nate McLouth and Joe Saunders have been a "little slow" to develop.

Mariners Release Chone Figgins

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 28, 2012 at 1:28pm CDT

The Mariners have officially released Chone Figgins, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). Figgins had been designated for assignment last week.

Figgins signed a four-year, $36MM deal with the Mariners after the 2009 season but hit just .227/.302/.283 in three seasons with the team. He is still owed $8MM for 2013, a sum that the Mariners will be responsible for. If another team signs Figgins, that team would only be responsible for paying him the MLB minimum salary, so the Mariners can't hope to save more than $490K.

Mark Polishuk contributed to this post.

Pirates, Mariners Interested In Russell Martin

By Zachary Links | November 26, 2012 at 11:24pm CDT

Free agent catcher Russell Martin is receiving significant interest from the Pirates and Mariners, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Yankees remain the favorites to sign Martin, but it appears that they'll have to duke it out with the Bucs and M's in addition to the Rangers.

Interest from the Pirates and Mariners makes sense as Pittsburgh has a glaring need at the position while the Mariners are looking for offense at a variety of spots, including catcher. The Mariners have Jesus Montero and John Jaso, but Montero is likely to see more time at DH next season.

Rosenthal writes that the Rangers in particular pose a significant threat to the cost-conscious Yankees who are looking to get under the $189MM luxury tax threshold by 2014. However, the Bombers might be willing to stretch for Martin if it requires about $2MM more than they would like to spend.

Mike Napoli Rumors: Monday

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 26, 2012 at 12:50pm CDT

Free agent catcher Mike Napoli met with Boston executives over the weekend, though the Red Sox don't appear to have extended him a formal offer. Here are today’s Napoli-related rumors, with the most recent updates at the top:

Napoli and agent Brian Grieper are scheduled to meet with the Rangers this week, Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com reports. The meeting will likely take place on Wednesday.
The Mariners seek offense, experience and leadership and may be the best bet to offer Napoli the four-year deal he wants, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. The Mariners, who finished last in the American League in runs scored again, will almost certainly add other hitters, according to Rosenthal.
Napoli appears to be the top target of the Red Sox, ahead of Nick Swisher, Adam LaRoche and others, Rosenthal writes.
While the Rangers want Napoli back, “they want him to return on their terms” in the words of one person. Rosenthal suggests this means the Rangers wouldn’t go beyond three years for the right-handed hitter.
The Yankees still figure to re-sign Russell Martin, another free agent backstop.

Olney On Josh Hamilton

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 26, 2012 at 12:02pm CDT

MLB officials don’t have a clear sense of where Josh Hamilton will sign, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney writes. Hamilton, who is said to be looking for Prince Fielder money, could end up with the Brewers, Rangers, Red Sox, Mariners or Orioles in the view of Olney’s sources. Here are some details from the ESPN.com column:

The Brewers could end up signing Hamilton, but probably not if the bidding escalates toward $214MM, the amount Fielder obtained a year ago.
Some agents think offering four years could help get a deal done. "Nobody is giving him more than four years," one agent told Olney.
Though some within the Rangers organization grew frustrated with Hamilton this past season, he could return to Texas. They’ll offer him a high annual salary, but probably won’t commit long term, Olney reports. Some speculate Hamilton could cost more than $25MM per season on a relatively short-term deal.
Rival executives view the Mariners as desperate this winter, Olney writes. Hamilton would be a good fit in Seattle’s lineup, but the Mariners might have to outbid others to complete a deal.
Olney doubts the Orioles will get seriously involved in the Hamilton sweepstakes and guesses that the outfielder will ultimately return to the Rangers.

Passan’s Latest: Myers, Fowler, Asdrubal, McCarthy

By Mark Polishuk | November 23, 2012 at 8:36pm CDT

The Royals have been shopping top prospect Wil Myers but only in exchange for starting pitching, reports Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan. Earlier this week, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reported that Kansas City was known to be at least listening to offers for Myers and top position players like Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer. The only untouchable Royals appear to be Alcides Escobar and Salvador Perez due to their team-friendly contracts — "executives consider [Perez's deal] the best in the game," Passan writes.

The Royals have discussed trades with the Rays, Mariners, Diamondbacks and Athletics, Passan reports. While Myers would be of interest to any team, he is of particular value to low-payroll teams like the Rays and A's given that Gordon and Butler have large contracts and Moustakas/Hosmer are Scott Boras clients.

Here are some more items from Passan…

The Rockies' asking price for Dexter Fowler is "absurd," one rival executive tells Passan. It appears to be a buyers' market for center fielders right now, though another executive warns that "it will shake out" as the offseason progresses.
The Indians are shopping Asdrubal Cabrera, though "not at Black Friday prices," an executive says. Cabrera is one of a few shortstops on the trade market, along with the Astros' Jed Lowrie and the Marlins' Yunel Escobar.
Teams are more worried about Brandon McCarthy's history of arm injuries than with his season-ending brain surgery. If McCarthy's medicals are clear, however, a team executive thinks the right-hander will get a multiyear contract.
Anibal Sanchez's demands for a six-year, $90MM contract are "crazy, and he's probably going to get it," an executive tells Passan.

Red Sox, Mariners, Rangers In On Napoli

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 23, 2012 at 2:29pm CDT

FRIDAY: The Mariners are definitely in on Napoli and the Rangers and Red Sox are also involved, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter).

THURSDAY: The Red Sox and Mariners continue pursuing free agent catcher Mike Napoli, Jim Bowden of ESPN.com and MLB Network Radio reports (on Twitter). Napoli is holding out for a fourth guaranteed year from Boston, and he's meeting with the Mariners, who might be willing to commit for the extra year.

The Mariners, Red Sox and Yankees are among the teams that have already been linked to Napoli this offseason. The 31-year-old ranked 14th on MLBTR’s top 50 free agent list earlier in the month. He did not obtain a qualifying offer from the Rangers, which means he won’t be linked to draft pick compensation. In 417 plate appearances as a catcher, first baseman and designated hitter, Napoli posted a .227/.343/.469 line with 24 home runs this past season. He is a client of Paragon Sports International.

GMs Talk Starting Pitching Depth

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 22, 2012 at 2:15pm CDT

Every team needs starting pitching depth, but few teams have enough of it. Given the expected cost of free agent pitching, the few clubs with starters to spare will be popular in offseason trade talks. Yet the general managers of these pitching-rich teams must be careful, since depth can diminish quickly if injuries strike and players disappoint on the field.

So, earlier this month at the GM Meetings, I asked three general managers of teams with considerable young pitching to explain how they weigh the possibility of trades against the reality that you can never have enough pitching. Here are their thoughts:

Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman

Internal starting rotation options: David Price, James Shields, Jeremy Hellickson, Matt Moore, Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis, Chris Archer, Alex Cobb

“The one thing that we’re very wary of is waking up one day and not being able to fill out a rotation in the American League East that can have a chance to pitch 170-220 innings [per starter].”

Braves GM Frank Wren

Internal starting rotation options: Tommy Hanson, Mike Minor, Tim Hudson, Randall Delgado, Brandon Beachy, Kris Medlen, Paul Maholm, Jair Jurrjens, Julio Teheran

“We feel like our rotation is one of our strengths. In our rotation and our bullpen we’re basically returning everyone and we have some dynamic young pitchers that are one verge of being a part of our rotation or on our club, so we do have depth.

“I always cringe when people say you have too much pitching because you never have enough pitching. But you also have to look at your club honestly and say ‘where do we have pieces that we can deal from.’ I think our pitching will enable us to fill some of our needs if we want to move one or so of those guys. It’s something we’re open to; it’s not something we’re absolutely going to do.”

Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik

Internal starting rotation options: Felix Hernandez, Jason Vargas, Hisashi Iwakuma, Erasmo Ramirez, Blake Beavan, Hector Noesi, Danny Hultzen, Taijuan Walker, James Paxton

“You have to keep your options open. At this stage [on November 7th] people are feeling each other out, people are lining their ducks up in a row. All 30 clubs are doing this and everybody has their Christmas list if you will.”

The White Sox, Athletics, Dodgers, Reds and Mets are among the other teams that could consider trading starting pitchers to address other needs in the months ahead.

Mariners Designate Chone Figgins, Scott Cousins

By Mark Polishuk | November 20, 2012 at 9:12pm CDT

The Mariners have designated Chone Figgins and Scott Cousins for assignment, according to a team press release. In corresponding moves, Julio Morban, Brandon Maurer, Vinnie Catricala, Anthony Fernandez and Bobby LaFromboise have all been selected to Seattle's 40-man roster.

The move all but officially ends Figgins' disastrous tenure in Seattle. Figgins signed a four-year, $36MM deal with the M's after the 2009 season but hit just .227/.302/.283 in three seasons with the team. He is still owed $8MM for 2013, a sum that the Mariners will have to almost entirely cover since no club is likely to take on anything more than the minimum if they agree to acquire Figgins in a trade over the allotted 10-day DFA period. Despite Figgins' poor recent form and his age (35 in January), he is likely to catch on with another team due to his versatility and a possible belief that Figgins just needs a change of scenery to again be productive.

Cousins was claimed by the Mariners two weeks ago. It has already been a busy offseason for Cousins, who was waived by the Marlins and then claimed by the Blue Jays, who designated him for assignment at the end of October. The outfielder has a .523 OPS in 188 career plate appearances with the Marlins since 2010.

Mariners Acquire Robert Andino

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 20, 2012 at 12:19pm CDT

The Mariners announced that they acquired utility player Robert Andino from the Orioles for outfielder Trayvon Robinson. Seattle's 40-man roster now has three open spots, while Baltimore's roster is full.

“The addition of Robert Andino gives us some experienced infield depth with a player who has played multiple positions” GM Jack Zduriencik said. “With Robert having Major League and playoff experience and still relatively young, we thought that it made sense to make this trade and let him come in and compete.”

Andino, 28, appeared in 127 games for the Orioles in 2012, playing second base, third base, shortstop, left field and center field. He posted a .211/.283/.305 batting line in 431 plate appearances. However, with a projected salary of $1.8MM, his roster spot seemed less than secure after the Orioles acquired Alexi Casilla.

The Mariners acquired Robinson in the three-team trade that sent Erik Bedard to Boston in 2011. He appeared in 46 games for the Mariners in 2012, posting a .221/.294/.324 batting line in 164 plate appearances as a left fielder. Both Robinson and Andino are out of options, according to Roch Kubatko ‏of MASNsports.com (on Twitter).

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