2015-2016 Off Season Thread

[NWinAZ]

Dipoto;

“Part of the appeal of acquiring Nate Karns so early in the offseason is that among Taijuan Walker and James Paxton and Nate Karns and (Roenis) Elias and (Vidal) Nuno, it gave us a modicum of depth behind Felix (Hernandez) that we didn’t have to panic,” he said.

“We knew we could go out there and throw innings. Now all we need to do is focus on guys who get a little bit closer to the top of the rotation. Obviously, (with) Kuma, we’d love to have him back.”

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Depth is nice, but talent still wins. I hope this doesn't mean he is satisfied with the staff. We need a legit #2 to compete and we don't have that and I don't even think Kuma is that if he re-signs.

 

[unlvmariners]

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Depth is nice, but talent still wins. I hope this doesn't mean he is satisfied with the staff. We need a legit #2 to compete and we don't have that and I don't even think Kuma is that if he re-signs.

Agreed. The way I kind of see it is we have Felix, the Ace, then he is followed by buys I would consider 3, 4's or 5's. No real #2 even counting Kuma, Walker could eventually be that solid #2 guy I believe but its tough to say he will be that guy going into next season or not.

Even Felix going into his age 30 season is an old 30. He has handled a huge workload for the Mariners for a lot of years now.

 

[NWinAZ]

There’s “talk in the front office” that new Red Sox baseball chief Dave Dombrowski is trying to move Hanley Ramirez, according to Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe. Cafardo adds that the Mariners, Orioles, and Angels “seem to be the targets” of DD’s campaign to relocate the pricey veteran after he turned in a massively disappointing season in 2015. It’s not immediately clear if those three clubs have interest, however

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Uh no! That would be a Jack move.

 

[wazzu31]

There’s “talk in the front office” that new Red Sox baseball chief Dave Dombrowski is trying to move Hanley Ramirez, according to Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe. Cafardo adds that the Mariners, Orioles, and Angels “seem to be the targets” of DD’s campaign to relocate the pricey veteran after he turned in a massively disappointing season in 2015. It’s not immediately clear if those three clubs have interest, however

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Uh no! That would be a Jack move.

Isn't that kind of an easy hard pass. How would Ramirez fit anything that DiPoto has said since being hired?

 

[NWinAZ]

Isn't that kind of an easy hard pass. How would Ramirez fit anything that DiPoto has said since being hired?

Athletic? Not.
All in? Not.
Versatile? Not.
Affordable? Not.

Pass.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Ken Rosenthal Retweeted
View attachment 51308 Jon Morosi ‏@jonmorosi 7h7 hours ago

Mike Napoli has good rapport with #Mariners manager Scott Servais from their time in Texas; could be option for Seattle if they move Trumbo.

Napoli is an interesting option. Could split time between 1B and C, allow us to keep Zunino in AAA, which is where he needs to be right now. Napoli is on the downside of his career and I wouldn't expect much from him in terms of XBH, or BA, but I could see him still posting a respectable .330-.350 OBP due to his patience at the plate.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Athletic? Not.
All in? Not.
Versatile? Not.
Affordable? Not.

Pass.

I'd stay away from Hanley, but there might be a logic behind going after him.

Apparently there was talk that Ramirez was around 20lbs over what he is normally listed at. If there is actually any prayer he drops that weight, he could go back to his prior performance level. My assumption is that's pretty unlikely as the Red Sox wouldn't be as likely to look to move him if he was actually going to get back in shape.

If you believe in the power of luck (BABIP), there is strong indication that Ramirez is very likely to improve. If not, just ignore this; Ramirez had a BABIP of .257 last year, his career BABIP is .327. Which means he's very likely to improve significantly at the plate. The biggest red flag with Ramirez at the plate is that his walk rate went down to 4.9%, by far the lowest of his career, his career walk rate is 9.2%, and the lowest he ever had prior to last year was 6.3%.

The bigger concern with Ramirez is if he's going to get back into shape, because I don't want a lazy fuck like Ramirez out there trying to play defense in Safeco. That being said, I wouldn't touch him, too many what-ifs and character concerns. I'd take him if the Red Sox ate a tremendous amount of his contract, and we gave up almost nothing for him, but that's pretty unlikely. There is reason to think he improves at the plate, but with a guy like him, you never know.

 

[seahawksfan234]

If the Mariners want to take a risk on a star with character and work ethic concerns, go after Yasiel Puig.

 

[NWinAZ]

If the Mariners want to take a risk on a star with character and work ethic concerns, go after Yasiel Puig.

That I would agree with and I would have to think after his last issue last week Dodgers are ready to ship him out and at a low, low cost.

 

[seahawksfan234]

That I would agree with and I would have to think after his last issue last week Dodgers are ready to ship him out and at a low, low cost.

Puig is a guy I'd definitely take a risk on.

Ramirez, I can somewhat see the logic on, but I'd definitely pass on it unless the Red Sox offered a deal that blew me away.

 

[ehwq]

Puig doesn't have a bad contract but if the Red Sox don't pay about half of Hanley's contract, I'd hope the M's don't trade for him.

I'd take a chance on both. If they don't perform well the first season, trade them.

Puig
Cano
Seager
Cruz
Hanley

Most potential a Mariners lineup would have in years.

 

[NWinAZ]

Puig doesn't have a bad contract but if the Red Sox don't pay about half of Hanley's contract, I'd hope the M's don't trade for him.

I'd take a chance on both. If they don't perform well the first season, trade them.

Puig
Cano
Seager
Cruz
Hanley

Most potential a Mariners lineup would have in years.

If we are keeping Cano (which is 99%), then we have a small window to win in (3 years tops) so taking crazy chances like these guys won't hurt. The run is all over (not that we had one) in 3 years when Felix, Cano, and Cruz will all be shells of themselves and/or gone. Tick tock.

 

[NWinAZ]

Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal 58m58 minutes ago

Sources: #Rockies among teams talking to #Mariners about Trumbo. Tender deadline midnight tomorrow; M’s could tender Trumbo, then trade him.

 

[NWinAZ]

Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal 58m58 minutes ago

Sources: #Rockies among teams talking to #Mariners about Trumbo. Tender deadline midnight tomorrow; M’s could tender Trumbo, then trade him.

Greg Johns Retweeted
Thomas Harding ‏@harding_at_mlb 6h6 hours ago

Source: Trumbo talks off between #Rockies, #Mariners, but anything can happen in coming days http://atmlb.com/1SuSp6g via @mlb

 

[NWinAZ]

Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports that the Mariners are showing interest in Justin De Fratus.

De Fratus elected free agency in October after being outrighted off the Phillies' 40-man roster. He held an ugly 5.51 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 68/32 K/BB ratio over 80 innings in 2015 but entered the campaign with a career 3.08 ERA across 130 relief appearances.

 

[NWinAZ]

Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports that the Mariners are showing interest in Justin De Fratus.

De Fratus elected free agency in October after being outrighted off the Phillies' 40-man roster. He held an ugly 5.51 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 68/32 K/BB ratio over 80 innings in 2015 but entered the campaign with a career 3.08 ERA across 130 relief appearances.

Jon Heyman ‏@JonHeymanCBS 5h5 hours ago

de fratus gets 750K on MLB deal with mariners, plus incentives.

 

[NWinAZ]

Greg Johns ‏@GregJohnsMLB 4h4 hours ago

Mariners claim IB Andy Wilkins from Orioles. LH Edgar Olmos DFA'd. C John Hicks claimed off waivers by Twins.

 

[NWinAZ]

Greg Johns ‏@GregJohnsMLB 7m7 minutes ago

Dipoto says "if season started today, Jesus Montero would be our first baseman." Says he warrants look, but doesn't rule out further moves.

Dipoto prefers to start Zunino in AAA next year, unless he forces way onto roster. Notes Clevenger can play 1B and could keep 3 catchers

To be clear, Dipoto says first base moves still likely. Says "Opening Day starter is still TBD at this point."

 

[ehwq]

lol at Montero and Clevenger playing 1B. So frustrating how they spend all that money to bring in Cano+Cruz and not go the extra mile to surround them with a little extra talent.

Is it really that hard to acquire a good 1B+RF+SP via trade or free agency?

Or they can just hire some people that can actually draft some talent.

 

[NWinAZ]

[URL='https://twitter.com/GregJohnsMLB']Greg Johns ‏@GregJohnsMLB 1h1 hour ago

Hearing Mariners definitely close to finalizing deal for A's reliever Evan Scribner, 30-yr old right-hander.[/URL]
Good news on Evan Scribner: amazing 64-4 K to BB ratio last yr. Bad news: 14 HR in 60 ip, more than any MLB reliever despite missing Sept