Mariners Not Thinking About Trades
Popular questions in MLBTR chats often involve the Mariners trading impending free agents Erik Bedard, Jarrod Washburn, and Adrian Beltre. Not so fast. The Mariners are 12-7, in first place in the AL West. Why worry about trading off veterans? Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times asked GM Jack Zduriencik about it:
"Honestly, I have really not thought once about July — about what happens in July. I want to be in this position as we move forward. Being in first place and winning. We're doing this the right way. I think players need to be happy with it, with how we're going about things. If you're this group of players, you've got to be excited. They deserve to be where they're at and things take care of themselves.''
How are the Mariners doing it? They should probably be 10-9, based on their +5 run differential, but those extra wins are in the bank. The Ms are 11th in the AL with 4.21 runs scored per game; Beltre, Jose Lopez, Yuniesky Betancourt, and Franklin Gutierrez have been easy outs. The Mariners have instead succeeded with strong pitching and defense. They rank second in the AL with a 3.50 ERA, and that includes 6.14 from Carlos Silva and 7.11 from Chris Jakubauskas.
Padres Acquire Chris Burke
8:31pm: Dan Hayes of the North County Times says the Padres have arranged to reacquire Chris Burke. The Padres signed Burke to a minor league deal this offseason but traded him to Seattle on March 25th. MLB.com's Corey Brock has the story as well.
1:37pm: According to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Padres rookie shortstop Everth Cabrera may be out for two months due to a hand injury suffered Sunday. The Padres snagged Cabrera from the Rockies in the Rule 5 draft back in December.
Krasovic talked to Padres GM Kevin Towers, who "said he probably will look outside of the organization for a shortstop." The current starter for San Diego is Luis Rodriguez.
So who's available? Reader Chris F. suggested Oakland's Bobby Crosby. I imagine that would require the A's eating most of his $5.25MM salary. I'd expect something lower profile, like Angel Berroa or Luis Rivas.
Mariners Sign Jeff Zimmerman
Comeback alert! According to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, the Mariners signed reliever Jeff Zimmerman to a minor league deal. Zimmerman hasn't pitched in the Majors since 2001. Zimmerman did have a couple of very nice years with the Rangers back, but two Tommy John surgeries put him out of commission. For more about Jack Zduriencik's stockpiling of arms, check out Larry LaRue's blog post.
Odds & Ends: Sheffield, Morillo, Perdomo
I think you would all agree that today should be a federal holiday. Monday links to tide you over until games start…
- According to David Lennon of Newsday, Gary Sheffield expected to get a call from Albert Pujols about possibly playing for the Cardinals, before the Mets signed him.
- Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post says the Rockies' acquisition of Jason Hammel may mean Juan Morillo's time with the team is drawing to a close. Morillo throws in the high 90s with poor control, and he's out of options.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic talked to John Dewan about The Fielding Bible and the D'Backs' defense.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News says the Giants continue to try to work out a trade for Rule 5 pick Luis Perdomo, who will otherwise have to be offered back to the Cardinals.
- Joe Posnanski of the Kansas City Star has a great profile of Zack Greinke.
- Baseball America's Matt Eddy has the latest minor league transactions.
- John Hickey recently wrote about Mariners third baseman Adrian Beltre. Beltre, a Boras client, is entering his contract year.
Odds & Ends: Opening Day Rosters
After the longest spring training in history, it felt like Opening Day might never arrive. As teams finalize their 25-man rosters, here are some notes from yesterday and today's headlines:
- Third baseman Pablo Sandoval was made the lone-backup for catcher Bengie Molina as the Giants finalize their Opening Day roster and go with a 12-man pitching staff, according to Chris Haft of MLB.com.
- As anticipated, Mike Sweeney and his .408 spring batting average made the Mariners' roster, says Larry Stone of the Seattle Times and the M's are without a lefty reliever. Ichiro Suzuki could make a return by next Friday in Oakland, reports the Kyodo News.
- The AP reports the Diamonbacks added Ryan Roberts as a utility man.
- Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle points out that 24-year old Andrew Bailey, "an unheralded nonroster invitee to major-league camp who hadn't pitched in relief before last summer is now a member of Oakland's bullpen."
- The Phillies added Miguel Cairo.
Mariners Fire Sale In ’09?
Larry LaRue of the Tacoma News Tribune expects the Mariners to host a fire sale this season, around or before the July 31 trade deadline. Many folks would probably agree. Erik Bedard, Adrian Beltre, Miguel Batista and Jarrod Washburn could all be on their way out.
It'll be a cost-cutting operation, but should also result in the M's forming a younger squad that is better equipped for the future.
[Mariners general manager] Jack Zduriencik has shown a willingness to make deals large (J.J. Putz) and small (Chris Burke), writes LaRue. He has stockpiled young players and pieces like Chris Shelton, in part to improve the Mariners minor league season and in part to act as a 7-11 convenience store for teams in need of a quick fix.
Who else could go by the deadline? Jose Lopez? Chad Cordero? Kenji Johjima?
Odds & Ends: McPherson, Izzy, Hammel
Happy April Fools, or something. Here are your Wednesday night links…
- Mike Axisa over at River Ave. Blues believes the Yankees should take a long look at former top prospect Dallas McPherson.
- Sam A. Miller of the Orange County Register presents some best-case scenario projections for the 2009 Angels.
- Jason Isringhausen is going to stick it out with the Rays. He'll be placed on the disabled list to start the season, but could be pitching for Tampa by mid-May.
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus discusses some of the Rays' offseason moves with RaysProspects.com. He also touches on Jason Hammel's trade value.
- Pirates president Frank Coonelly hosted a chat with fans at MLB.com on Wednesday.
- Mariners Rule 5 pick Jose Lugo, a reliever, has been returned to the Twins.
- Another Rule 5 pick, catcher James Skelton, has been waived by the Diamondbacks.
- If you missed it, take a look at Tim's Tuesday chat.
- Join the fun! Add MLBTR to your Twitter following tonight. And hey, while you're at it, why not check out your (attention craving) friend Drew Silva as well?
Odds & Ends: Smoltz, Cubs, Melky, Lima
Links for Monday…
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes about the Giants' lack of interest in Adam Melhuse and considers other players who could help.
- Alex Speier of WEEI looks back at the Doyle Alexander for John Smoltz trade of 1987. According to former Tigers GM Bill Lajoie, the Braves would have taken Steve Searcy instead of Smoltz.
- Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald says the Cubs "appear to be getting some trade feelers" on out of options relievers Chad Gaudin and Angel Guzman. Moving one could create space for Rule 5 pick David Patton.
- Tyler Hissey of Around The Majors looks back at the Delmon Young/Matt Garza swap. What did MLBTR commenters think when the deal went down on November 28th, 2007? Click here to find out. Garza will face the Twins for the first time today.
- Eddie Bajek of Detroit Tigers Thoughts says the Tigers are apparently trying to recreate the bullpen of the 2007 Rays.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes Melky Cabrera would be best served as an NL bench player.
- T.J. Simers of the L.A. Times discusses the Dodgers' $47MM bust, Jason Schmidt.
- Aaron Shinsano of East Windup Chronicle has more Korean prospect news: the Royals signed catcher Shin Jin-ho, while the Mariners signed catcher Choi Ji-man.
- Jose Lima is back playing baseball in the U.S., according to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times.
- Will Sommer of Mets Fans Forever talked to GM Omar Minaya.
- Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post looks at the Marlins' decision to non-tender reliever Joe Nelson. It would've made a lot of sense to bring him back.
Mariners Acquire Chris Burke
Corey Brock of MLB.com reports that Chris Burke, who was told by the Padres on Saturday that he wouldn't make the team, has been traded to the Mariners for cash or a player to be named later.
Burke, 29, hit just .194/.310/.273 last season in 86 games for Arizona. He saw time at all four infield positions and both outfield corners for the D'Backs in 2008.
Morrow To Close, Walker Released
This is not a trade rumor, but it's somewhat related. Larry LaRue of the The News Tribune reports Brandon Morrow is the likely closer for the Mariners. Geoff Baker writes that with no chance of making the starting rotation, according to manager Don Wakamatsu, the would-be starter approached coaches with a desire to close. Says LaRue,
This sounds vaguely familiar.
Morrow's decision spelled the end of Tyler Walker's time with the Mariners, according to Baker. He was released earlier this morning after pitching 5.2 innings this Spring. He allowed 3 ER with 8 hits, 4 Ks, 2 BBs, and one hit batter.