Mariners Rumors

Stark On Orioles, Lee, Padres, Stanton, Angels

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 4, 2010 at 10:00am CDT

Major league executives told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark which starters they would most want to have for the next ten years. Zack Greinke and Tim Lincecum didn't make the cut, but Felix Hernandez, Josh Johnson, Ubaldo Jimenez, David Price, Brett Anderson and Jon Lester did. Here are Stark's latest rumors, as the trade market starts taking shape:

Two teams say that the Orioles would listen on Kevin Millwood right now.
A rival executive says the Orioles are "sniffing around for a shortstop." Stark hears rumors that they have interest in Twins prospect Trevor Plouffe.
The Mariners won't seriously consider trading Cliff Lee before they're sure they can't salvage their season.
There's increasing pessimism that the Astros will be able to obtain salary relief and prospects for Roy Oswalt.
Teams are giving up on acquiring Adrian Gonzalez this summer, since the Padres continue to win.
Two officials believe Heath Bell could be traded even if the Padres stay in contention. Check out this post from earlier in the week for more on Bell's trade value.
Tom Gorzelanny could be on the market in a couple weeks when John Grabow comes off the DL.
Stark hears that the Marlins will call Mike Stanton up next week. The Marlins are being cautious, since they want to prevent Stanton from obtaining super two status and teams believe the cut-off will be later than ever this year.
Stark's sources don't expect the Angels to start searching for a bat to replace Kendry Morales for a few weeks. When they begin looking for offense, they're expected to look for someone who is about to hit free agency or a versatile player who can defend around the diamond. Kendry Morales is under team control through 2013, so Prince Fielder wouldn't be a fit for the Angels.

Odds & Ends: Cordero, Murphy, Red Sox, Griffey

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 3, 2010 at 5:55pm CDT

Links for Thursday, as Armando Galarraga receives a new Corvette (but no perfect game)…

Reliever Chad Cordero has been called up to the Mariners roster, according to a team news release. Cordero hasn't pitched in the majors since undergoing labrum surgery in July 2008. He signed a minor league deal with Seattle last winter and has a 4.12 ERA and 5.50 K-BB ratio in 17 appearances for Triple-A Tacoma this season. In six seasons with the Expos/Nationals organization, Cordero posted a 2.78 ERA and racked up 128 saves, including a league-best 47 in 2005.
2009 first rounder Jared Mitchell told reporters that he is recovering well from his ankle injury. The White Sox prospect, who will represent the team at this year's draft, does underwater drills and is progressing towards baseball activities.
Daniel Murphy will miss four to six months with an MCL tear, so the Mets have reduced infield depth, according to Newsday's David Lennon (via Twitter). Murphy, who has not played in the majors this year, has missed significant time because of his right knee.
MLB.com's Ian Browne wonders if the Red Sox will have to trade Boof Bonser.
The A's claimed Triple A infielder Adam Heether off of waivers from the Brewers, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy (via Twitter). Heether, 28, was hitting .245/.343/.440 in Nashville.
J.D. Drew and Jason Varitek told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that agent Scott Boras does not pressure them to return from injuries any earlier or later than they want to. Boras says he does not draw medical conclusions for any of his clients, including Jacoby Ellsbury.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders if Ken Griffey Jr. felt pressure from Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu to retire. Wakamatsu says it was "Ken's decision."
Stephen Strasburg, who debuts against the Pirates next week, pitched five shutout innings at Triple A and even got a hit, writes MASN.com's Ben Goessling.
Strasburg's a star now, but college coach Tony Gwynn says the phenom was "sweating like a hostage" before his San Diego State debut, according to Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse. The entire piece is worth reading.

Royals Claim Kanekoa Texeira

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 3, 2010 at 1:13pm CDT

The Royals claimed pitcher Kanekoa Texeira off of waivers from the Mariners and designated right-hander Brad Thompson for assignment to make room for Texeira, according to a team press release.

The Mariners designated Texeira and Jesus Colome for assignment two days ago. The Yankees acquired Texeira in the 2008 deal that brought Nick Swisher to the Bronx, but they saw the Mariners claim the 24-year-old Hawaiian in last winter's Rule 5 draft. The Royals have to expose Texeira to waivers if they decide to take him off their active roster this year. If no team were to claim Texeira on waivers, the Royals would have to offer him back to the Yankees.

Kanekoa relied on a 90 mph fastball, a change-up and a slider in Seattle, where he posted a 5.30 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9 in 16 appearances this year. He has a 2.49 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in four minor league seasons.

Celebrating Ken Griffey Jr.

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 3, 2010 at 10:15am CDT

After 22 seasons and 630 home runs, it's over - Ken Griffey Jr. has announced his retirement. Here are some links that start evaluating Griffey's place in the game's history:

Tom Singer and Doug Miller of MLB.com note that Griffey and the 1995 Mariners may have "saved baseball in the Emerald City and basically built Safeco Field."
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says fans will remember Griffey for being clean. Junior was never linked to performance enhancing drugs.
Scott Miller of CBS Sports says Griffey had two lives in Seattle: the "very first baseball all-timer Seattle could call its own" and the elder statesman.
Danny Knobler of CBS Sports points out that Griffey retired 75 years to the day after Babe Ruth did.
Tim Lincecum tells Steve Kroner of the San Francisco Chronicle that Junior was "the epitome of Seattle baseball."
Jay Bruce grew up idolizing Griffey and eventually became his teammate, as MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports.
Yahoo's Tim Brown says Griffey "had no peers" on the baseball diamond.
ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says "maybe [Griffey] wasn't as good as he could have been. But he was better than almost everyone else."

Odds & Ends: Griffey, Padres, Suzuki, Pedroia, Haren

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 2, 2010 at 9:03pm CDT

Hard to believe that Ken Griffey Jr.'s retirement will only be the second biggest story of the day. Here are some more links to check out…

Speaking of Griffey, Bob Nightengale of USA Today says (via Twitter) that he will remain with the Mariners in a front office role.
Big League Stew lists ten players who could be traded before the deadline, headlined by Roy Oswalt and Cliff Lee.
Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse grades the Padres' offseason pickups.
The Red Sox almost drafted Kurt Suzuki instead of Dustin Pedroia in the second round of the 2004 draft, according to WEEI.com's Alex Speier.
D'Backs GM Josh Byrnes did not deny that Dan Haren may be dealt this summer, according to Jim Bowden of Sirius XM Radio (Twitter link).
ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick presents the nine most-hyped draft picks of all time.
Ben Goessling of MASN.com imagines what a Roy Oswalt-Nationals swap might look like, just as MLBTR's Howard Megdal did. Last night we heard that Oswalt would consider a deal to Washington.
ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports that Randy Wells switched agents "a while ago," leaving the Beverly Hills Sports Council for ACES (Twitter link).
Lynn Henning of the Detroit News believes Oswalt and Cliff Lee would cost more than the Tigers can afford to give up.
Scott Boras told Scott Miller of CBS Sports that Tony Gwynn was an "extraordinary" coach for Stephen Strasburg at San Diego State University.
Boras doesn't want Bryce Harper to catch, but ESPN.com's Keith Law points out that Harper's bat is worth much more behind the plate than anywhere else.
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle predicts that Pat Burrell may make his Giants debut as soon as this weekend.
Yahoo's Jeff Passan describes the journey Colby Lewis took from the majors to Japan and back.
The Rangers need a reliable catcher more than anything else, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
The Indians had no interest in Dontrelle Willis, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
But other teams are eyeing an Indians starter. One executive told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that Jake Westbrook is "everything you look for if you want to add an arm down the stretch."

Ken Griffey Jr. Announces Retirement

By Mike Axisa | June 2, 2010 at 6:35pm CDT

Ken Griffey Jr. has announced his retirement effective immediately, reports John Hickey of AOL FanHouse. He did not report to Safeco Field for the Mariners' game against the Twins tonight, saying "it's over." Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times provides a transcript of Griffey's statement.

Griffey has been in the news quite a bit this season, but not for the reasons the team hoped. There was talk that the Mariners could release him last month following an incident in which he slept through a pinch hitting appearance, and overall he hit just .184/.250/.204 on the year.

Regardless of what happened in 2010, Griffey was one of the greatest players to ever play the game. He retired as a .284/.370/.538 career hitter with 630 homers, good the fifth most all time. During his prime years from 1993-1998, Griffey hit .300/.388/.620 and played a Gold Glove caliber center field, which is the definition of a superstar.

After spending the first 11 seasons of his career in Seattle, Griffey was traded to the Reds for a four player package headlined by Mike Cameron. He signed a nine year, $116.5MM contract shortly thereafter, though his time in Cincinnati was plagued by injury. After a short stint with the White Sox, Griffey returned to the Mariners last season.

Junior earned more than $151MM during his career according to Baseball-Reference.com. The next stop for him is Cooperstown.

Mariners, Rangers, White Sox Interested In Lowell

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 2, 2010 at 10:20am CDT

The Angels are not going to trade for Mike Lowell, but a couple of their division rivals are interested. Joe McDonald of ESPNBoston.com hears from a Red Sox source that the Mariners, Rangers and White Sox are among the teams that have contacted the Red Sox about Lowell. Nothing is imminent, but if the Red Sox deal Lowell, they will almost certainly pay most of the $8MM or so remaining on his contract.

The 20-31 Mariners have not seen Casey Kotchman and Jose Lopez provide much offense at the corners, though Lopez homered yesterday and has been hitting better recently. Their designated hitters have combined for a .207/.266/.318 line, so Lowell's numbers (.239/.329/.358) look good in comparison, even though his power and on base percentage are lower than usual.

The Rangers, who are in a virtual tie for first place in the AL West, have seen Justin Smoak struggle through 136 plate appearances this year (.190/.301/.353 line). They had interest in Lowell last winter, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see them pursue him once again.

White Sox GM Kenny Williams says he doesn't expect to start making moves, but third baseman Mark Teahen is out with a broken finger, so the Sox are short an infielder. The White Sox could bring Lowell aboard to play third if they aren't comfortable with Jayson Nix, Omar Vizquel and Brent Lillibridge at the hot corner.

Several Teams Interested In Luis Heredia

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 2, 2010 at 7:23am CDT

Seven teams are interested in Mexican right-hander Luis Heredia, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 6'4'' teenager is part of this year's July 2 class, so he will be able to sign exactly one month from today if the Mexican team that controls Heredia's rights makes him available. The Pirates, Yankees, Dodgers, Giants, Blue Jays, Rangers and Mariners are interested, but acquiring the 15-year-old pitcher could cost as much as $2MM.

The Pirates have pursued international free agents aggressively under GM Neal Huntington. The club nearly signed Miguel Sano last summer, before the Dominican signed with the Twins. Alex Anthopoulos has also pursued international talent aggressively since taking over as Blue Jays GM last fall.

Jack Hannahan Clears Waivers

By Luke Adams 2 | June 1, 2010 at 1:41pm CDT

TUESDAY, 1:41pm: Hannahan cleared waivers and will head to Triple A, according to a press release.

FRIDAY, 5:37pm: The Mariners have designated Jack Hannahan for assignment, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. The move cleared a spot on the 40-man roster for Eliezer Alfonzo, who was selected from Triple A Tacoma.

Hannahan suffered a groin injury in spring training and, despite the Mariners' offensive struggles, was unable to earn a shot with the big-league club this season. Baker writes that Hannahan appeared to be a lock to make Seattle's roster as a utility player, but the 30-year-old hit just .190/.297/.270 in 118 plate appearances for Tacoma.

Mariners Designate Colome, Texeira For Assignment

By Tim Dierkes | June 1, 2010 at 7:21am CDT

The Mariners designated pitchers Jesus Colome and Kanekoa Texeira for assignment, according to a team press release. The moves freed up spots for Garrett Olson and Sean White.

Colome, 32, posted a 5.29 ERA, 8.5 K/9, and 5.8 BB/9 in 17 innings this year, allowing only one home run despite a low groundball rate. The Mariners had signed the hard-throwing righty to a minor league deal in February. Baseball America ranked Colome the 53rd best prospect in baseball in 2000, a few spots above Adam Dunn and C.C. Sabathia. The next year he ranked 69th, just beating Francisco Rodriguez and Carl Crawford.

Texeira, 24, has a 5.30 ERA, 6.8 K/9, and 4.8 BB/9 in 18.6 innings, with no home runs allowed. He was taken in December's Rule 5 draft from the Yankees, so any team acquiring him must keep him on the Major League roster all season. Before outrighting him to the minors, he'd need to be offered back to the Yankees for $25K. Baseball America ranked Texeira 26th among Mariners prospects heading into the season, describing him as a deceptive sinker/slider reliever who "could have value in a lower leverage role." Jack Zduriencik had drafted Texeira out of a Hawaii high school in '04, but the righty did not sign with the Brewers.

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