Amateur Signing Bonuses: Mariners
Next up in our amateur signing bonus series, the Mariners…
- Dustin Ackley, $6MM (2009)
- Jeff Clement, $3.4MM (2005)
- Brandon Morrow, $2.45MM (2006)
- Matt Tuiasosopo, $2.29MM (2004)
- Philips Castillo, $2.2MM (2010)
The Mariners have long been a powerhouse when it comes to signing international free agents, but their four largest signing bonuses were given to drafted players. Ackley, the second overall pick last year, hit .267/.368/.407 in 587 plate appearances in 2010, his first professional season. He's also in the process of learning a new position (second base) after playing the outfield and first base at UNC.
Clement was the third overall pick in a top heavy 2005 draft, but that tends to happen when a catcher hits 46 homers in his three-year college career. He reached Triple-A in 2006 and the big leagues a year later, but he flunked a 224 plate appearance audition as the team's regular catcher in the second half of 2008. The Mariners traded Clement and four others to the Pirates for Jack Wilson and Ian Snell before the 2009 trade deadline. He was a .237/.309/.393 hitter in 243 plate appearances for Seattle.
Morrow was one of several power-armed college pitchers in the 2006 draft, going fifth overall. He threw just 16 minor league innings after signing (2.25 ERA, 9.6 K/9, 5.1 BB/9) then broke camp with the team as a reliever in 2007. Morrow pitched to a 4.12 ERA in 63.1 relief innings as a rookie, then tossed up a 3.34 ERA in 40 relief appearances and five starts the next year. It seemed like the Mariners were changing his role every other month, at least until they traded him to the Blue Jays for Brandon League and a minor leaguer last December. All told, Morrow threw 197.2 innings with a 3.96 ERA and 9.3 K/9 for the Mariners (116 relief appearances, 15 starts).
Seattle gave Tuiasosopo a huge bonus as the 93rd overall pick in 2004 (third round), buying him away from a football scholarship to the University of Washington. His brother Marques and father Manu both played in the NFL. Tuiasosopo never lived up to the bonus, hitting just .270/.363/.407 in close to 2,700 minor league plate appearances, though he has had several stints in the big leagues. He's a career .176/.234/.306 hitter in 210 major league plate appearances spread across three seasons.
Castillo signed earlier this summer out of the Dominican Republic. The 16-year-old corner outfielder will begin his professional career next season.
Seattle paid a $13.125MM posting fee for the rights to negotiate with Ichiro Suzuki before the 2001 season, and they then signed him to a three-year, $14.088MM contract that included a $5MM signing bonus. He was far from an amateur though, at least when it comes to his experience level. Felix Hernandez, meanwhile, signed for $710K out of Venezuela in 2002, reportedly turning down larger offers from the Braves and Yankees.
Odds & Ends: D’Backs, Red Sox, Simmons, Bush
We're now less than 12 hours away from the start of free agency. Here are some links to help you pass the time…
- The Diamondbacks have outrighted pitchers Leo Rosales and Clay Zavada off the 40-man roster according to the team's official Twitter feed.
- Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe places odds on each of the Red Sox's four free agents returning the team.
- Larry Larue of The Tacoma Tribune reports that the Mariners have hired Ted Simmons as a senior advisor to GM Jack Zduriencik. Simmons was in the mix for various managerial jobs.
- The Rays have added Matt Bush, the first overall pick in 2004, to their 40-man roster according to The Tampa Tribune (Twitter link). Bush would have been eligible for minor league free agency otherwise.
- Joel Sherman of The New York Post hears from a source that Terry Collins is anywhere from "a strong candidate to the front-runner" for the Mets managerial job. Collins will interview with new GM Sandy Alderson this weekend, and has a backer in Fred Wilpon. He's also a favorite of Paul DePodesta, who Alderson is trying to lure to New York.
- Don Wakamatsu has plenty of job opportunities these days. FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal tweets that he has an offer to become the Blue Jays bench coach, an interview for the Mets manager's job forthcoming, and is also in the mix to be Baltimore's bench coach.
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik unsurprisingly declined to comment about Hisashi Iwakuma two days ago, according to Larry Stone of The Seattle Times. Last night we heard that the Mariners appear to be the favorites to land the righty.
- Robert MacLeod of The Globe And Mail passes along a quote from Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos in which he indicates a willingness to bringing Kevin Gregg back. He just wasn't comfortable with the price of the reliever's options, which is why they were declined.
- Scott Boras told MLB.com's Todd Zolecki that the Phillies "have the ability to do what they need to do to retain their players," referring to Jayson Werth. He compared Philadelphia's financial situation to that of the Yankees
- Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News offers some good and bad news about the Rangers' catching situation.
- Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle speculates that the Giants will keep an eye on Derek Jeter's negotiations with the Yankees. GM Brian Sabean ran New York's farm system when Jeter was drafted, so there's a connection there in the unlikely event that he can't work out a deal with the Yanks.
Bidding For Iwakuma Closes, Mariners The Favorite?
NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman passes along a report saying that the bidding has closed for Japanese righty Hisashi Iwakuma (via Twitter), and a report from Sports Hochi (article in Japanese) indicates that the Mariners appear to be the favorite to land him. More than one team submitted a bid, and Seattle reportedly wagered $13MM.
The above reports indicate that Iwakuma prefers the West Coast, but neither the Angels nor Dodgers planned to submit a bid. Both the Yankees and Diamondbacks scouted him during the season, though whether or not they chose to pursue him remains to be seen. The Rakuten Golden Eagles were hoping to land $16MM-17MM in the posting process, though it appears they might fall a little short of that.
The Mariners have a long history with Japanese-born players, none more notable that Ichiro Suzuki. In recent years they've also employed Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Kazuhiro Sasaki, and Kenji Johjima, among others.
Casey Kotchman Hits Free Agency
Casey Kotchman refused an outright assignment and is now a free agent, the Mariners announced. The move is essentially an early non-tender. Kotchman had zero trade value and would have been non-tendered in December, so the Mariners are allowing the first baseman to hit the free agent market a month early.
Kotchman, 27, earned $3.5MM last year and even a modest arbitration raise would have guaranteed him an unnecessarily high salary. He batted .217/.280/.336 last year in 457 plate appearances. Kotchman has a reputation as a good defender and he posted an .840 OPS in 2007, but he does not hit enough for a first baseman.
Mariners Decline Options; D’Backs Claim Sweeney
The Mariners declined their 2011 options for Erik Bedard, Russell Branyan and Jose Lopez. The Mariners had a $5MM mutual option with Branyan and an $8MM mutual option with Bedard. Lopez is still arbitration-eligible, but he’s a candidate to be non-tendered next month.
The Mariners also announced that the Diamondbacks claimed righty Brian Sweeney off of waivers. Kevin Towers’ bullpen reconstruction has begun. Sweeney, 36, pitched for the Padres in 2004 and 2006 when Towers was the GM in San Diego. More recently, the right-hander posted a 3.16 ERA with 3.4 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 37 innings for the Mariners this year.
Outfielder Ryan Langerhans and catcher Guillermo Quiroz elected free agency after the Mariners outrighted them to Triple-A. The Mariners also outrighted lefty Ryan Feierabend, lefty Chris Seddon and righty Sean White to Triple-A and all three can become free agents.
Non-Tender Candidate: Casey Kotchman
The Mariners acquired Casey Kotchman from the Red Sox in January, installing him as Russell Branyan's replacement at first base. 457 plate appearances later, Kotchman is a lock to be non-tendered next month.
Kotchman, 28 in February, hit .217/.280/.336 for the Mariners this year. He's known for his defense, but more was expected offensively. He earned $3.5175MM in 2010, but may have to settle for a minor league deal this time around.
There is some silver lining for Kotchman's bat. In 2007 for the Angels, Kotchman hit .296/.372/.467 in 508 plate appearances. Drafted 13th overall in '01, Kotchman had seemingly recovered from a bout with mononucleosis and broken through in the bigs. He was the centerpiece of the Angels' trade with Atlanta for Mark Teixeira in July of '08, but his power slipped into reserve territory from that point forward.
Next month expect to see many of the up-and-comers of several years ago non-tendered, such as Kotchman, Conor Jackson, John Maine, Zach Duke, Jeff Francoeur, and Brandon McCarthy.
Mariners Hire Eric Wedge As Manager
SATURDAY, 5:20pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that Wedge will be paid close to $1.9MM per year through the life of the contract. He was likely the Pirates' top choice for their managerial opening as well.
MONDAY, 12:09pm: The Mariners announced Wedge's hiring today, with a press conference to take place tomorrow. Said Wedge: "With the fan support, the ballpark, the ownership and management, the Mariners are in a great position to be very successful."
FRIDAY, 7:34pm: Wedge's deal is for three years, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com.
3:45pm: The Mariners will hire Eric Wedge to be the team's next manager, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). Wedge, the 2007 manager of the year with the Indians, beat out Bobby Valentine, John Gibbons, Lloyd McClendon, Cecil Cooper and others for the job. The Blue Jays and Pirates were among the teams who were reportedly considering Wedge for their managerial vacancies.
The highlight of Wedge's tenure in Cleveland came back in 2007, when the Tribe made it to the ALCS before losing to Boston. The 42-year-old led the Indians to a 561-573 record in seven seasons.
Back in April of 2004, the Indians traded Milton Bradley to the Dodgers when it became clear that he was no longer a fit in Cleveland. Wedge perceived a lack of hustle from Bradley, and that perception contributed to the trade. The two will be reunited in Seattle, but Wedge no doubt convinced Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik that his relationship with Bradley will be workable.
Hiroyuki Nakajima Hasn’t Given Up On Being Posted
SATURDAY: Newman passes along another report (via Twitter) saying that Nakajima hasn't given up on being posted just yet. He wants to meet with Seibu Lions management again and try to get them to change to their minds.
FRIDAY: Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima will not be posted, according to reports passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker (on Twitter). He had been drawing interest from MLB teams including the Orioles and Mariners, but those clubs will have to look elsewhere for middle infield help. Nakajima would have added some pop to the otherwise ordinary group of shortstops available via trade or free agency.
The 28-year-old hit .314/.385/.511 with 20 home runs in 579 plate appearances in Japan this year. In an article for Fangraphs, Newman suggested Nakajima is a line drive hitter whose power could fade in the majors.
Odds & Ends: Duncan, Mets, Dodgers, Baylor
Four years ago today, the Cubs signed Starlin Castro as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic. He became the team's starting shortstop in May at the age of 20, debuting with a .300/.347/.408 performance. Links for Monday:
- Dave Duncan's new deal with the Cards will make him the game's highest paid pitching coach, tweets Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- ESPN's Keith Law (via Twitter) believes that Sandy Alderson would be a better choice for Mets GM than Josh Byrnes. Roughly 78% of MLBTR readers feel the same way.
- After being bumped from consideration for the Brewers' managerial vacancy, Tim Wallach will almost certainly become the Dodgers' third-base coach, according to Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- Rick Honeycutt has agreed to stay on with the Dodgers as pitching coach, tweets Ken Davidoff of Newsday.
- For you fantasy baseball junkies, I took a look at Brandon Morrow at RotoAuthority.
- Don Baylor will receive a two-year deal to be the Diamondbacks' new hitting coach, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic adds that former Indians hurler Charles Nagy is the leading candidate to become the team's new pitching coach.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times reveals quotes from Mariners president Chuck Armstrong from six weeks after the Cliff Lee trade. Armstrong said that when talks with the Yankees stalled, the White Sox, Twins, and Rangers were among the teams to get involved.
- Yahoo's Tim Brown previews the hot stove season with ten names to watch.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Ichiro, Garza, Greinke, Bell
On this date two years ago, the Mariners named former Brewers vice president Jack Zduriencik as their new general manager. His defense-heavy approach resulted in a 24 win increase in his first season at the helm, though team scoring dropped by 31 runs. The Mariners won just 61 games and scored a mere 513 runs in 2010, the fewest by any team in the DH era. Unsurprisingly, there's already talk that Jack Z. is on the hot seat.
These links don't have to worry about being on the hot seat, they've made this week's edition of BBWI…
- Speaking of the Mariners, Prospect Insider discusses the possibility of trading Ichiro.
- DRays Bay speculates about what the Rays could get in return for Matt Garza.
- Meanwhile, The Process Report looks ahead to Tampa's 2011 bullpen.
- The Tao Of Stieb wonders if the Blue Jays should get involved in trade talks for Zack Greinke.
- Redleg Nation asks the same Greinke question for the Reds.
- The Friarhood debates whether the Padres should trade or extend Heath Bell.
- Disciples of Uecker re-lives the history of Nelson Cruz.
- Monkey With A Halo reviews Angels GM Tony Reagins' 2010 moves.
- Royals Review wonders if Robinson Tejeda turned the corner in 2010.
- Yankeeist breaks down Cliff Lee as he approaches his massive payday.
- River Ave. Blues writes that Lance Berkman and Kerry Wood have gone from spare parts to important pieces for the Yankees.
- Cubs Packs wants to know if Jim Hendry can fix the team's bullpen.
- 1 Blue Jays Way offers up a quick take on Toronto's options.
- The Hardball Times looks at some players whose best position is DH.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.