Mariners offseason rumor/discussion thread

[seahawksfan234]

I don't remember where I saw the comment, so I'll post here.

Bartolo Colon signed a 2 year $20 million deal with Mets.

I would have liked him on a 1 year deal but I wouldn't go 2 years considering his advanced age.

As far as trading Smoak goes I say give him another year. I say that mostly because I believe the return would be so minimal for him it would not even be worth trading him. If he were part of a package for something larger like Kemp or Billy Butler (Just throwing names out there) then I would be fine with it. But if it is a deal centered around Smoak I don't think we land much for him.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Looking At The Market For Kendrys Morales: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

This article takes a look at the market for Kendrys Morales. They believe the odds of him coming back to Seattle seem unlikely at this point.

I will be in the minority and state that I think Kendrys Morales is a better option for us than Logan Morrison/Corey Hart. Morrison is a below average hitter with "potential" (something the Mariners have plenty of). Despite being a good trade for the Mariners I don't see that Morrison is a step up at DH, actually he is quite a regression if you ask me. Then with Corey Hart I still have serious concerns about his ability to hit outside of Miller Park. That is not even taking into consideration his injury.

All that being said I think the Mariners are a lot better with Kendrys Morales at DH, Corey Hart in LF and Morrison sprinkled in between. Morales did have a good year and Mariners fans forget he was arguably our best hitter.

 

[dude82]

I don't remember where I saw the comment, so I'll post here.

Bartolo Colon signed a 2 year $20 million deal with Mets.

I just read that Matt Garza is the only big-name pitcher (a list that includes Santana and Jimenez) that a team could sign that wouldn't require them to also give up a draft pick for the trouble. I'm sure that'll be part of the decision-making process for Zduriencik and his staff as they look at their options for the rotation.

 

[dude82]

Rotation still needs to be addressed. If we are holding onto Paxton and Walker thats fine, but both will be on innings limits next year. I don't think its smart to think that they will hold down 2 rotation spots all year.

Good point. That would necessitate not only finding someone for the rotation, but finding durable bullpen arms that would allow you to manage their innings on a start-by-start basis, skip some of their starts or push starts back as well. Injuries (namely Ramirez in the rotation and Pryor in the bullpen), ineffectiveness (really anyone outside of Felix and Kuma) and pitchers just not being ready to pitch in the majors (either Maurer being a rookie with no experience beyond AA or Harang/Bonderman with their recoveries from previous injuries not being totally ready) really took a toll on the pitching staff last year.

The bullpen, especially, became a mess with guys switching roles early in the season and then again when Wilhelmsen did his best pre-glasses Ricky Vaughn impression. They never were able to get their feet underneath them for the rest of the season. The risk of that happening again with two rookies in the rotation is there, but if they manage it correctly and somehow avoid the major injuries that occurred last year, it shouldn't be the disaster that it was last season.

 

[seahawksfan234]

This was something that did not seem deserving of its own thread but was curious about...

What number does Robinson Cano wear?

I don't think 24 has been retired by the Mariners yet but I would imagine there is the possibility Cano does not wear it out of respect. On the other hand though I could see Griffey having no problem with it and even encouraging Cano to wear 24, who knows.

 

[dude82]

This was something that did not seem deserving of its own thread but was curious about...

What number does Robinson Cano wear?

I don't think 24 has been retired by the Mariners yet but I would imagine there is the possibility Cano does not wear it out of respect. On the other hand though I could see Griffey having no problem with it and even encouraging Cano to wear 24, who knows.

The team will probably leave it up to Griffey. Nobody other than Junior has worn the number (that I'm aware of... though it's possible someone has in Spring Training) since he was traded and then retired. I'm pretty sure the M's don't officially retire numbers unless a guy gets into the Hall of Fame, but I haven't seen anyone wearing 24, 11 or 19 since Junior, Edgar and Bone were here respectively, so they don't go out of their way to give those numbers out either. It'll be interesting to see which jersey number Cano holds up at his press conference. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Junior gave him his blessing to wear 24 like RJ gave Ichiro his blessing to wear 51, but Cano may just decide to avoid making it a thing and just choose a different number. It's not like it is with the Yankees where they have so many retired numbers or "off-limits" numbers that current players have limited options. He'll have plenty of options here.

 

[NWinAZ]

4h[/ame] The [URL="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Mariners&src=hash"]#Mariners are letting teams know that Jesus Montero, as well as Justin Smoak, are available in trades.

 

[NWinAZ]

Cano will wear #22.

 

[NWinAZ]

It's possible that they just want to take care of these other needs first before listening to offers for Smoak or it's possible that they still believe in Smoak and he won't be going anywhere. It's still only December, so there's no rush to get rid of Smoak now, especially if there's other things they want to get done first.

That is actually a little off. The rush being we will be at 41 once the 3 deals become official so somebody will have to go real soon. So why hold onto a guy for another month or just to trade him later while having to remove a guy off the 40 man roster now? It is a numbers game at this point.

 

[Thisnamewasntaken]

4h The #Mariners are letting teams know that Jesus Montero, as well as Justin Smoak, are available in trades.

I don't like that...Montero? Fine. Smoak? Not yet!!!

 

[unlvmariners]

I don't like that...Montero? Fine. Smoak? Not yet!!!

The Mariners have to many 1st baseman/DH guys now has to be done.

 

[seahawksfan234]

 

[dude82]

Looks like he went with 22. I had a feeling he wouldn't try to get 24.

 

[dude82]

That is actually a little off. The rush being we will be at 41 once the 3 deals become official so somebody will have to go real soon. So why hold onto a guy for another month or just to trade him later while having to remove a guy off the 40 man roster now? It is a numbers game at this point.

There are guys on the 40-man that I would part with before I'd part with Smoak.

 

[NWinAZ]

There are guys on the 40-man that I would part with before I'd part with Smoak.

I don't get that, but to each their own.

 

[SeattleCoug]

I kinda figured if a Price deal were to happen Smoak would be part of the deal. The Rays were in need of a 1st baseman. However now they resigned James Loney to a multiyear deal so in my eyes it makes a Price deal even less likely now.

 

[dude82]

I don't get that, but to each their own.

Are you telling me that there isn't one guy on the 40-man roster you'd take Smoak over?

 

[NWinAZ]

Are you telling me that there isn't one guy on the 40-man roster you'd take Smoak over?

I am telling you Smoak is worth next to nothing in my opinion. He is a below average offensive 1B and I just can't see a guy like him starting at 1B for a playoff calibur team. I hope he proves me wrong, but in all honesty I hope he brings in a better player in a package deal.

 

[dude82]

I am telling you Smoak is worth next to nothing in my opinion. He is a below average offensive 1B and I just can't see a guy like him starting at 1B for a playoff calibur team. I hope he proves me wrong, but in all honesty I hope he brings in a better player in a package deal.

There's a difference between being on the 40-man roster in December and starting for a playoff caliber team and I'm not suggesting they keep him there indefinitely and never try to trade him. I doubt very much that Smoak will be on the 25-man roster, let alone the 40-man when the Mariners get back to the playoffs. My original point is that they don't have to rush to trade him. As wildly inconsistent as he's been, he still offers some value that some team is going to want, as the rumors of interest from other teams would seem to suggest. I doubt that a guy like, say, Peguero is garnering that same interest.

 

[seahawksfan234]

I am telling you Smoak is worth next to nothing in my opinion. He is a below average offensive 1B and I just can't see a guy like him starting at 1B for a playoff calibur team. I hope he proves me wrong, but in all honesty I hope he brings in a better player in a package deal.

I don't think Smoak will bring enough in return to really consider trading him. Plus IMO Smoak is a better hitter than Logan Morrison. Smoak and Morrison are actually quite similar and I would rather see the Mariners move Morrison than Smoak.

If Logan Morrison only netted Carter Capps, what can the Mariners expect to get for Smoak?

Justin Smoak is not a playoff caliber 1B but he is currently our best option at 1B unless you want to put Hart at 1B and find a different outfielder, because Justin Smoak and Logan Morrison are essentially the same player.