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Mariners Rumors

Mariners Tried To Trade For Kris Bryant, Bryan Reynolds

By Mark Polishuk | October 31, 2021 at 9:01am CDT

The Mariners’ trade deadline endeavors ended up focusing around pitching additions, yet the club also looked into acquiring a pair of top-tier bats.  On a recent edition of the Talking Mariners podcast, 710 ESPN’s Shannon Drayer and James Osborn said Seattle tried to obtain Kris Bryant from the Cubs, with Drayer noting that the M’s “went in heavy on” their attempts to land the former NL MVP.  Additionally, The Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish reports (on the Times’ Extra Innings podcast, with MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer as a guest) that tried to pry Bryan Reynolds away from the Pirates.

Bryant is perhaps the more intriguing name, considering that he’ll be available in the free agent market in a matter of days.  As Drayer mentioned, Seattle’s interest in Bryant as a trade deadline rental doesn’t necessarily mean the club would also be open to making him a long-term free agent offer.  Signing Bryant would be expensive, but GM Jerry Dipoto has said that the M’s have more payroll to spend this winter, and the club doesn’t have much salary on the books for forthcoming years.

Tying into another recent Dipoto comment, Bryant would also fit the Mariners’ preferred desire for “a player who is adaptable and willing to move around the field.”  Bryant’s ability to play either corner infield position and all three outfield spots certainly qualifies, and his presence would allow the M’s to mix and match their current options at those positions.

Assuming Kyle Seager’s club option isn’t exercised, Ty France and Abraham Toro are penciled into the starting first base and third base spots, but landing Bryant would allow either player to fill Seattle’s vacancy at second base.  The Mariners have Mitch Haniger, Kyle Lewis, Jarred Kelenic, Taylor Trammell, and Jake Fraley set for outfield duty with top prospect Julio Rodriguez set to make his MLB debut, yet Haniger is the only experienced name in this group, and Lewis missed almost the entire 2021 season due to injury.

Since Dipoto has mainly built the Mariners’ roster via trades, however, Divish and Kramer believe the general manager is more likely to again focus on the trade market rather than free agency for any big-ticket additions.  Signing Bryant or any of the top free-agent shortstops might not be as feasible for the M’s as picking up a notable trade target, and in fact, Divish predicts J.P. Crawford will be signed to a contract extension to further entrench him as the Mariners’ shortstop.  (Drayer, for the record, believes Trevor Story would be willing to move to second or third base to accommodate, and “Story is somebody that [the Mariners] have liked for a long, long time.”)

Seattle could also use their financial flexibility to accommodate some deals, but of course, swinging a major trade that doesn’t involve absorbing a big contract would have another heavy cost in terms of surrendering prospects.  In regards to Reynolds, Divish says the M’s have tried to acquire the outfielder on two different occasions, and in the most recent trade talks, the Pirates wanted Rodriguez in return.  It seems highly unlikely that Seattle would part with Rodriguez (arguably the sport’s top prospect) in any deal, yet those are the kinds of asks that other teams would make for any premium talent.

Pittsburgh’s demand for Rodriguez also further illustrates the very high price tag the Pirates are putting on Reynolds, who was a popular trade target for many teams this summer.  Reynolds is arbitration-eligible through the 2025 season, and that type of control combined with Reynolds’ outstanding performance in two of his three seasons makes him one of the most valuable trade chips in all of baseball.  However, the Pirates have also indicated that they see Reynolds as a key member of their rebuild, and it isn’t likely Reynolds is dealt unless another team steps forward with a truly eye-popping offer, i.e. a Rodriguez-level prospect.

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Pittsburgh Pirates Seattle Mariners Bryan Reynolds Julio Rodriguez Kris Bryant Trevor Story

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Padres Notes: Washington, Fritz, Front Office

By Mark Polishuk | October 28, 2021 at 11:01am CDT

11:01AM: The Padres have hired Rob Marcello as the new pitching development coordinator, according to The Athletic’s Dennis Lin (via Twitter).  Marcello has spent the last two seasons as the pitching coach for the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate

8:18AM: After Ron Washington was initially linked to the Padres’ managerial search, reports from last week suggested that the Padres weren’t planning to interview the Atlanta third base coach.  However, “Washington remains a possibility,” according to Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune, considering that the club has yet to make a hire as we approach November.

The Braves’ extended postseason run could be the reason for the delay, as the Padres have been forced to wait on Washington while other known candidates (such as Luis Rojas, Mike Shildt and Ozzie Guillen) were more immediately available for interviews.  It doesn’t seem like San Diego is on the verge of a hire, as Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller told Acee and other reporters that the team may not have their new manager in place for the start of the GM Meetings on November 8, which was Preller’s initial target date.

We now know the World Series will go at least five games, and thus through October 31.  November 3 is the scheduled date for a potential Game 7, so it could be another week before Washington is free to speak with the Padres.  (Or, conceivably, with the Mets about their managerial vacancy, though New York would likely first want to complete their PBO/GM search before turning to the manager job.)

Should another candidate wow the Padres in the interim, Washington could be out of luck.  But a source tells Acee that the Padres aren’t rushing to speak with Washington since he is already a known quantity — after all, Washington was a finalist for San Diego’s last managerial opening, as the Padres opted for Jayce Tingler over Washington in October 2019.  One interesting suggestion is the idea that another candidate (Rojas is mentioned for this possibility) could wind up as the bench coach on Washington’s staff.

In other coaching news, Preller said that interim pitching coach Ben Fritz will return to the team in 2022 and resume his former duties as bullpen coach.  Fritz was promoted to the pitching coach job in August when Larry Rothschild was fired, and San Diego now has a new full-time pitching coach in the newly-hired Ruben Niebla.

The Padres have also made two more organizational changes, as The Athletic’s Dennis Lin (Twitter links) was among those to report that the team parted ways with pitching development coordinator Steve Lyons and strength and conditioning director Dan Byrne.  Lyons and Byrne had both been with the Padres since 2013, making them the latest long-time employees to depart in recent weeks as the club has undergone something of a minor shakeup.  As reported last month, farm director Sam Geaney and coordinator of advance scouting Preston Mattingly also won’t be back in 2022.  Interestingly, Lin notes that the Padres seemingly decided to replace Lyons before Niebla was hired, though Niebla and Lyons previously worked together in the Guardians organization.

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Atlanta Braves Notes San Diego Padres Seattle Mariners Ron Washington

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Mariners Outright Jake Bauers

By Steve Adams | October 27, 2021 at 2:36pm CDT

The Mariners announced Wednesday that first baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Tacoma. He’ll be able to become a minor league free agent following the completion of the postseason, though Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports that the Mariners hope to re-sign him to a minor league contract (Twitter link).

Bauers, 26, is a former seventh-round pick of the Padres who eventually hit his way into top-100 prospect territory in 2017-18. San Diego flipped him to the Rays as one of several players in the three-team Trea Turner blockbuster that sent Turner to D.C. back in 2014.’

After a half season of games in Tampa Bay, Bauers went to Cleveland in another three-team deal — this time the one that sent Yandy Diaz to Tampa Bay, Carlos Santana to Cleveland and Edwin Encarnacion to Seattle. Bauers appeared in parts of two seasons with Cleveland across three calendar years before being traded to the Mariners exchange for a player to be named later (righty Damon Casetta-Stubbs) earlier this season.

The Mariners were the fourth organization of Bauers’ career and the third for which he’s played at the MLB level. He posted just a .220/.297/.275 slash with Seattle, however, continuing the struggles he’s displayed throughout his big league tenure. Through 1126 plate appearances spread across three Major League seasons, Bauers is a .213/.307/.348 hitter with 27 home runs and an impressive 11.5 percent walk rate — but also a sub-part 26.4 percent strikeout rate. He’s posted better numbers in the minors, with similar slash lines at virtually every stop and a career .275/.361/.414 output in parts of seven seasons.

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Seattle Mariners Transactions Jake Bauers

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Ken Griffey Jr. Joins Mariners Ownership Group

By Steve Adams | October 25, 2021 at 11:55am CDT

The Mariners announced Monday that club icon Ken Griffey Jr. has purchased shares in the franchise and joined the Mariners Partnership Group.

“On behalf of all of the partners, I want to welcome Ken,” said Mariners chairman and managing partner John Stanton. “Ken has been an icon of our franchise, on and off the field, for over three decades and we are thrilled that he is joining us as a partner. His knowledge of the game, love of the Mariner fans, his experiences as a player, his passion for community service and his desire to help grow our sport will be a welcome, and invaluable, additional voice.”

Drafted by the Mariners with the No. 1 overall pick back in 1987, Griffey Jr. made his Major League debut as a 19-year-old in 1989, finishing third in AL Rookie of the Year voting and taking his first steps of an iconic run with the franchise. Over the next 11 seasons, “The Kid” would be named to 11 All-Star teams, win 10 Gold Gloves, win seven Silver Sluggers and finish among the Top 5 in AL MVP voting on five occasions — including a first-place finish in the team’s 1997 season. During two of those seasons, 1990-91, he had the rare opportunity to team with his father, Ken Griffey Sr., even clubbing back-to-back home runs during the 1990 season.

Griffey was traded to the Reds in a deal that brought Mike Cameron to Seattle back in 2000, but he returned to the M’s to close out his career, playing his final 150 big leagues games back in a Mariners jersey from 2009-10. Griffey put the finishing touches on a Cooperstown career when he swatted a pinch-hit, walk-off single on May 20, 2010 — the last of his 2781 knocks at the MLB level. He announced his retirement just a few days later. In parts of 22 big league seasons, he batted .284/.370/.538 with 630 home runs — still the seventh-most in MLB history.

Griffey was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016, appearing on 437 of the 440 ballots and narrowly missing the honor of being the first unanimously selected Hall of Famer. The Mariners retired his No. 24 later that summer. Since retirement, Griffey has worked as a special consultant with the Mariners and, more recently, as a senior advisor to commissioner Rob Manfred, focusing on youth baseball development and diversity at the amateur levels of the game.

“As I said in my Hall of Fame speech, I’m very proud to be a Seattle Mariner,” the now-51-year-old Griffey said in a statement within today’s press release. “I’m excited for this incredible opportunity to join John and the rest of the Mariners Partnership Group. This is a dream come true because of the relationship I’ve always had with the team, its fans, and the city of Seattle. I view this as another way to continue to give back to an organization and community that has always supported me, and my family. I’m looking forward to continuing to contribute to this organization’s success in any way possible.”

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Seattle Mariners Ken Griffey Jr.

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Dipoto: Mariners Prioritizing “Adaptable” Free Agents

By Steve Adams | October 22, 2021 at 3:45pm CDT

After spending the past couple seasons primarily in rebuilding mode, the Mariners enter the 2021-22 offseason with heightened expectations. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has already spoken about looking to add to his roster on the heels of a 90-win season, specifically citing a desire to deepen his lineup and add an infielder. ESPN’s Buster Olney recently explored the manner in which the Mariners are a good fit for many of the top-ranked shortstops in this year’s free-agent market, where Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Javier Baez and Trevor Story will all be available. Corey Brock of The Athletic took a similar look at the Mariners’ offseason, speculating that Semien would be a strong fit for what the Mariners seek.

As one would expect, the increased expectations and early speculation have generated some buzz in Seattle — enough that 710 ESPN’s Mike Salk directly asked Dipoto about the possibility of adding a marquee shortstop the mix (Twitter link, with audio). While Dipoto spoke with an open-mind, however, he also gave a substantial vote of confidence to incumbent J.P. Crawford, who took home a 2020 Gold Glove Award at shortstop and had a fine all-around season in 2021.

“One of the key elements is we have a shortstop that we love,” Dipoto said in reference to Crawford. “J.P. is our shortstop, and we feel like he is an anchor on our infield and an emotional leader for our team. So, one of the things that’s important to us is finding a player who is adaptable and willing to move around the field and maybe get a little uncomfortable.”

Interestingly, Dipoto specifically mentioned both Baez and Semien when pointing out that some of the offseason shortstop crop has done that throughout their careers already. Baez played plenty of second and third early in his career and recently slid back to second base for the final two months of the season in Queens, where Francisco Lindor was entrenched at shortstop. Semien played multiple positions early in his career before settling in as the Athletics’ primary shortstop. He shifted to second base in a full-time capacity this season and posted elite defensive marks as shortstop Bo Bichette’s double-play partner.

It’s a bit unusual to see a top-ranking baseball operations executive name-check any free agents in this manner, although Dipoto’s comments still hardly guarantee that either Semien or Baez will land in Seattle (or that the Mariners will aggressively pursue either player). Similarly, his mention of Baez and Semien doesn’t preclude the M’s from pursuing one of the market’s other high-end shortstops (Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Trevor Story). And if the Mariners are indeed looking for versatile fielders willing to play a variety of positions, the market has two quality hitters well known for their defensive versatility: old friend Chris Taylor and longtime Cubs star Kris Bryant.

Dipoto calls “that kind of selflessness” a “big deal” for the Mariners as they parse the offseason free-agent market. Another key element for the Mariners will be players with postseason experience, per Dipoto, who plainly acknowledges that to be an element he’ll seek as he looks to augment his young core with veterans. “We know where we want to go, and the more we can add players who’ve been there, the better off we are,” he said.

The Mariners have some option decisions looming — most notably a $20MM club option on Kyle Seager and a $13MM player option for Yusei Kikuchi — but at present they project to have just shy of $60MM on the books. Regardless of what happens with Kikuchi and their longtime third baseman, Seager, the Mariners will be miles shy of their franchise-record $157.9MM payroll. It’s not reasonable to assume a full-throttle sprint back up to or even beyond that record level, but the Mariners also ought to have the payroll capacity to approach the offseason with a wide-open slate of possibilities.

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Seattle Mariners Javier Baez Marcus Semien

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Mariners Outright Shed Long, Four Others

By Steve Adams | October 22, 2021 at 3:38pm CDT

2:55pm: In addition to Long, the Mariners announced that infielder/outfielder Sam Haggerty, righty Darren McCaughan, outfielder Marcus Wilson and righty Ryan Weber were all outrighted from the roster. Weber was able to immediately declare free agency, as this is the second outright of his career. Long and Wilson will be free agents after the postseason concludes.

Haggerty had a nice season in 2020, but in a limited sample of just 13 games and 54 plate appearances. In 2021, he got to the plate 94 times but produced a meager .186/.247/.291 line, then went on the IL at the end of May with a shoulder injury but never returned. He’ll now look to get back to health and regular playing time in the minors in order to earn his way back to the bigs.

McCaughan made his major league debut this season but only got into two games. In Triple-A, he logged 115 1/3 innings over 20 starts with an ERA of 4.53. His strikeout rate was subpar at 20.9% but his walk rate was an excellent 3.6%. He’ll remain in the organization as depth.

Wilson was claimed off waivers from the Red Sox in August but was stashed in Triple-A and has yet to make it to the show. Between the two organizations, he got 437 Triple-A plate appearances in 2021, slashing .240/.364/.421 for a wRC+ of 110.

Weber is the most experienced of the bunch, with 167 big league innings to his name, with an ERA of 5.28. In 2021, he bounced between Boston, Milwaukee and Seattle but got the most action with Tacoma, Seattle’s Triple-A team. He logged 60 1/3 innings there over 10 starts, with an ERA of 3.58, strikeout rate of 25.1% and miniscule walk rate of 0.9%.

2:05pm: Long underwent a second surgery to repair the stress reaction in his shin last week, agent Nate Heisler tells Divish (Twitter link). The bone is expected to be healed over in one to two months’ time, which should afford Long enough time to be ready for Spring Training.

1:52pm: The Mariners are performing some early roster maintenance in advance of the offseason and are set to announce that infielder/outfielder Shed Long Jr. has been outrighted from the 40-man roster, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). That he’s being assigned outright off the roster means he’s already cleared waivers, and Long will now be able to become a free agent this offseason.

It’s been a tough couple of seasons for the 26-year-old Long, whom Seattle acquired in the three-team swap that sent Sonny Gray from the Yankees to the Reds and outfield prospect Josh Stowers from Seattle to New York. Long played much of last season through a stress fracture in his leg before ultimately undergoing season-ending surgery. The detrimental impact of that injury lingered into 2021, ending his season on Aug. 2 and helping to limit Long to just 34 games and 121 plate appearances at the MLB level.

At the time of his acquisition, Long was a well-regarded prospect seen as a potential everyday option for Seattle at second base or perhaps in left field. He looked the part of a possible regular in his rookie campaign in ’19, posting a .263/.333/.454 batting line with five homers, a dozen doubles, a triple and three steals through 168 trips to the plate. Unfortunately, in the two years since, he’s cobbled together a paltry .184/.250/.325 output through 249 plate appearances while struggling through that pair of leg injuries.

While Long was sidelined, the ever-active Mariners front office, led by president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, acquired a slew of players who have now left Long as something of an odd man out in the organization. Abraham Toro and Ty France are getting regular at-bats in the infield, while the future outlook in the outfield is quite promising with Mitch Haniger, 2020 Rooke of the Year Kyle Lewis, Jarred Kelenic, Julio Rodriguez, Taylor Trammell and Jake Fraley all in the mix. The Mariners are also expected to further add to that infield mix this winter, perhaps in significant fashion, as the team looks to turn the final corner and emerge from an abbreviated rebuilding process on the heels of a surprising 90-win season

Long will hit the free-agent market at just 26 years of age and search for a new opportunity with an organization that can offer a clearer path to playing time. He’ll still have a minor league option remaining in 2022, but the fact that he went unclaimed on waivers could well mean that Long is ticketed for a minor league pact in free agency.

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Seattle Mariners Transactions Darren McCaughan Marcus Wilson Ryan Weber Sam Haggerty Shed Long

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Cardinals Claim Ljay Newsome From Mariners

By Steve Adams | October 22, 2021 at 2:35pm CDT

The Cardinals have claimed right-hander Ljay Newsome off waivers from the Mariners, both clubs announced Friday. Newsome was on the Mariners’ 60-day injured list after undergoing Tommy John surgery earlier this summer and, for the time being, will remain on the 60-day IL with the Cardinals, per the team. That’ll be a temporary move for the Cards, who’ll need to either pass Newsome through waivers themselves or clear a spot for him on the 40-man roster by eventually removing someone else.

Newsome, 24, has just 12 Major League games under his belt and has struggled in that time, pitching to a 6.53 ERA in 30 frames. His 18.2 percent strikeout rate is a good bit shy of the league average, but Newsome has walked just four of the 137 Major League hitters he’s faced (2.9 percent) — and one of those was intentional. During his last full minor league season, the former 26th-rounder pitched 155 innings across three levels, working to a 3.54 ERA with an outstanding 169-to-17 K/BB ratio: a 27.3 percent overall strikeout rate and just a 2.7 percent walk rate.

On top of a strong minor league track record, Newsome also has multiple minor league option years remaining beyond the current season. He obviously won’t be an option early in the 2022 campaign, but he could give the Cardinals (or another team, depending on the organization’s plan for him) a depth option either in the rotation or as a multi-inning option in the ’pen. Newsome sat at 91.5 mph with his heater in 2020 when he worked primarily as a starter, but he made 13 of his 14 appearances in 2021 out of the bullpen and saw that average velocity tick up to 93 mph.

The Cardinals were bitten hard by a lack of rotation depth this summer when the majority of their rotation landed on the injured list at the same time. Those struggles prompted the Cards to bring in veterans Wade LeBlanc, J.A. Happ and Jon Lester in the weeks running up to the July 30 trade deadline. All three are free agents this winter, as is southpaw Kwang Hyun Kim, so it’s only natural to see the Cardinals looking to stack up a little extra depth. Next year’s rotation is set to include Adam Wainwright, Jack Flaherty, Miles Mikolas and Dakota Hudson, with younger candidates for that fifth spot including Matthew Liberatore and Jake Woodford (in addition to Alex Reyes, if he’s moved out of the bullpen).

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Seattle Mariners St. Louis Cardinals Transactions Ljay Newsome

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Free Agent Notes: Shortstops, Belt, Seager, Hernandez

By Mark Polishuk | October 20, 2021 at 12:01pm CDT

After asking 11 rival evaluators to rate the offseason’s top five free agent shortstops on a 1-5 grading scale, ESPN’s Buster Olney reveals the final order was Corey Seager, Carlos Correa, Marcus Semien, Trevor Story, and Javier Baez, with Seager claiming 50 of a possible 55 points.  Seager received six of the first-place votes (Correa received four and Semien one) due to his age and big left-handed bat, even though there was some question about his durability and how long he’ll be able to remain at the shortstop position.

All five players carry their share of question marks, which is what will make the shortstop market so fascinating to observe as the many teams in need of shortstop (and overall infield) help will be competing for these names at the top of the market.  Unsurprisingly, the 11 evaluators cite the Yankees and Tigers as likely to land one of the big five shortstops, and teams like the Mariners, Rangers, Phillies, Cubs, and Angels could all be in the mix.  In an additional detail on Semien, there is some feeling that he would like to remain with the Blue Jays, while other evaluators believe the Bay Area native would prefer to play with a team closer to home.

More on other pending or possible free agents…

  • Brandon Belt and the Giants had some in-season negotiations about a contract extension, and while “talks didn’t go anywhere,” NBC Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic feels there is enough mutual interest between the two sides that Belt will return to San Francisco in 2022 and beyond.  Though Belt turns 34 in April and battled multiple injuries, he has also been hitting at the highest level of his career — Belt has hit .285/.393/.595 with 38 home runs over 560 plate appearances since the start of the 2020 season.  The Giants have already worked out an extension with the other member of “the Brandons,” locking up Brandon Crawford to a new two-year deal back in August.
  • “The ship has sailed” on Kyle Seager returning to the Mariners, The Athletic’s Corey Brock opines as part of a reader mailbag.  Brock feels both the team and the veteran third baseman are ready to move on, seemingly precluding any chance of either the M’s exercising their $20MM club option on Seager for 2022, or Seager being open to re-signing with Seattle at a lower price.  Seager seemed to hint at a departure a few weeks ago, when he said that he hadn’t heard anything from the team about the option, and also noted that he hadn’t personally spoken with GM Jerry DiPoto in several years.
  • Speaking of contract options, The Athletic’s James Fegan predicts the White Sox will decline their $6MM club option on Cesar Hernandez for next season.  Hernandez hit only .232/.309/.299 in 217 PA after being acquired from Cleveland at the trade deadline, so Fegan believes the Sox will be looking to upgrade at the keystone, rather than just retain Hernandez or hand the position to some combination of Leury Garcia, Danny Mendick or Romy Gonzalez.  More offensive production will of course be welcome, but the White Sox might also prioritize a strong second base glove as a way of improving the club’s run-prevention efforts.
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Chicago White Sox Notes San Francisco Giants Seattle Mariners Brandon Belt Cesar Hernandez Corey Seager Kyle Seager Marcus Semien

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AL Notes: Mariners, Blue Jays, Hernandez, Indians

By Mark Polishuk | October 13, 2021 at 6:30pm CDT

The offseason has already begun for 13 American League teams, with plenty of speculation about what some contenders and would-be contenders might have planned for winter moves.  The latest buzz from the AL…

  • The Mariners seemed poised for their most aggressive offseason in years, and The Athletic’s Corey Brock and MLBTR’s own Steve Adams took a look at the potential shape of Seattle’s next additions.  The proposal is a major signing (i.e. Marcus Semien) and then a few other prominent but somewhat lower-level free agents (such as Anthony DeSclafani, Jonathan Villar, Alex Wood), augmented with some trades to help bench depth and left-handed bullpen depth.  It remains to be seen whether or not the M’s will target any of these specific players, yet an offseason like this would certainly make Seattle a better team in 2022, and still leave payroll room for any other upgrades at the trade deadline.
  • Semien’s future was also one of several Blue Jays-related topics covered by The Toronto Star’s Gregor Chisholm in his latest reader mailbag, with Chisholm opining that both Semien and Robbie Ray will be playing elsewhere in 2022.  Should Semien leave, the Jays could address the hole at second base simply by moving their third base candidates (Cavan Biggio and Santiago Espinal) over to the keystone, and then acquiring a new third baseman.  In response to another question, Chisholm believes the Jays will probably hold off on extension talks with Teoscar Hernandez simply because the team is prioritizing more near-term moves, like adding more salary this winter and exploring a long-term deal with Jose Berrios.  Hernandez is still controlled through the 2023 season, and the Blue Jays could be content to just go year-to-year with Hernandez since outfield replacements are comparatively easy to find, even if few hitters at any position have equaled Hernandez’s production over the last two-plus seasons.
  • Speaking of finding outfielders, the Indians have long been looking for some stability on the grass, and the Tribe seemed to solidify at least one position when they acquired Myles Straw from the Astros at the trade deadline.  That leaves the corner outfield spots still to be addressed, and “since the summer months, the front office has fixated on consolidating its prospect capital in an attempt to land an established outfielder in a trade,” The Athletic’s Zack Meisel writes.  Cleveland would likely prefer to work out that trade sooner rather than later, as November 19 is the deadline for teams to set their 40-man rosters in advance of the Rule 5 Draft, and the Tribe have a surplus of players who might require 40-man placement.  Whether or not an early trade can be found, however, isn’t clear, as Meisel notes that some around baseball feel teams will generally hold back on any major moves until there is more clarity about the next collective bargaining agreement.
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Cleveland Guardians Notes Seattle Mariners Toronto Blue Jays Teoscar Hernandez

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Yusei Kikuchi Likely To Exercise Player Option For 2022

By Steve Adams | October 11, 2021 at 9:56am CDT

The Mariners’ original signing of Yusei Kikuchi provided the left-hander with one of the more unconventional option scenarios in recent memory. The team can exercise a four-year, $66MM extension option after the current season, and if the Mariners turn down that effective extension clause, he’ll have a one-year, $13MM player option for the 2022 season.

It looked like an intriguing dilemma for the Mariners midway through the season, when Kikuchi had made the All-Star team and was in the midst of what looked like a breakout campaign. However, the left-hander faded down the stretch to the extent that it now looks likelier that the Mariners will decline their portion of the option. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports that if the Mariners indeed decline to pick up the additional four years of Kikuchi, the pitcher plans to exercise his portion of the deal, setting him up for a fourth season in Seattle and a $13MM salary.

Back in early July, I took a lengthy look at the situation at what was perhaps the peak point of Kikuchi’s season. At the time, he carried a 3.18 ERA with a 25.4 percent strikeout rate, an 8.5 percent walk rate and a career-high 53.8 percent grounder rate. Kikuchi’s average fastball jumped immensely from 2019 in his second and third big league seasons, and he was missing bats more than ever with career-best command. He’d held opponents to three or fewer runs in 13 of 15 starts and rattled off a 2.33 ERA over his past 11 starts — averaging 6 1/3 frames per outing along the way.

Things almost immediately took a turn for the worse, as Kikuchi yielded a combined 12 runs over his next two starts and never fully regained his footing. There were still some strong starts mixed in along the way, including seven shutout frames against the Astros on Aug. 31, but Kikuchi pitched to a collective 6.22 ERA over his final 14 outings. His strikeout rate dipped slightly (23.3 percent), his walk rate rose (10.3 percent) and his ground-ball rate plummeted from that 53.8 percent mark all the way down to 41.7 percent. Unsurprisingly, the huge uptick on balls hit in the air against Kikuchi prompted his home-run rate to spike as well (1.70 HR/9 in those final 14 starts).

The end result doesn’t necessarily look that bad on paper. Kikuchi totaled 157 innings and notched a 4.41 ERA with a roughly average strikeout rate, a worse-than-average walk rate and an above-average ground-ball rate. Taken in its entirety, it was a respectable overall season. And if Kikuchi had flipped things around, starting with those ugly 14 starts before more or less dominating in his final 15, we’d be viewing the option decision quite differently even though the end results would look exactly the same.

There’s a case to be made that perhaps Kikuchi could exceed that $13MM he’s guaranteed on the player option by declining and seeking a multi-year deal at a lower annual rate. We’ve seen plenty of two-year contracts in the $16-20MM range for veteran arms with comparable bottom-line numbers and less-impressive combinations of strikeout rate and ground-ball tendencies. That said, he likely wouldn’t exceed that $13MM salary by much, so it’s not a huge surprise that on the heels of a dismal second half, he’d lock that salary in and hope to position himself for a stronger trip to the market in the 2022-23 offseason.

Looking to the Mariners’ payroll, they may not consider paying Kikuchi $13MM next year to be ideal, but it’s hardly a backbreaker. The only guaranteed contracts on the books are Marco Gonzales ($5.5MM), Ken Giles ($5MM in what will be his return season from 2020 Tommy John surgery), Chris Flexen ($2.75MM) and Evan White ($1.4MM). They hold a $20MM club option on Kyle Seager that Divish and others have suggested is likely to be bought out, and the Mariners will also pay $3.75MM to the Mets under the previous Robinson Cano trade. They’ll be looking at arbitration raises for Mitch Haniger, J.P. Crawford, Paul Sewald and Diego Castillo, among others, but Haniger’s $3.01MM salary from 2021 is the highest starting point for any of those raises. None should break the bank.

Seattle only opened the 2021 season with a payroll in the $74MM range, but from 2017-19 the M’s averaged an Opening Day payroll of roughly $152.9MM. Recently promoted president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has already said that ownership has authorized him to increase payroll next year, and with such a light slate of commitments on the books, a returning Kikuchi at $13MM shouldn’t prove too much of a detriment.

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