Monthly Archives: December 2013

Mariners Add Hart & Morrison, Position Themselves To Go After Carlos Gomez

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With Day 3 of the MLB Winter Meetings concluded, the Mariners added two more bats to their revamped lineup.  First, Jack Zduriencik signed Corey Hart to a guaranteed one-year, 6M contract with additional incentives that could push the deal to 13M.  Hart will take over the DH duties as well and spend time in the outfield and possibly at 1B.  Within an hour after signing Hart, reliever Carter Capps was sent packing to the Florida Marlins in exchange for Logan Morrison.  Morrison will replace Justin Smoak as the starting 1B.

Hart missed all of 2013 after having surgery on both knees, but he possesses big time power when healthy.  In 2012, he slashed a .270/.334/.507 to go along with 30 homeruns. From 2010 to 2012, Hart averaged a slash line of .279/.343/.514 and 29 homeruns.  That kind of production should slot nicely right behind newly acquired Robinson Cano, giving the Mariners two potent bats for the middle of their order.

Morrison was a highly rated prospect coming up through the Marlins organization, living up to expectations in his 2010 big league call-up by slashing a .283/.390/.447 in 62 games.  He followed that up the next season with a slightly lesser .247/.330/.468 despite hitting 23 homeruns.  The last two seasons, Morrison has been less than pedestrian, averaging a .236/.321/.387.  However, against RHP last season, Morrison put up a solid .261/.354/.423.   The Mariners could be looking to implement a platoon at 1B next season, with Morrison starting against RHP, and Hart against LHP.

While Hart and Morrison fill needs for the Mariners, their acquisitions may have also created an opportunity to land a needed centerfielder and leadoff hitter.

Both Hart and Morrison were top targets for the Milwaukee Brewers who are looking to fill their need at 1B.  With both Hart and Morrison no longer available, the market for first basemen has thinned dramatically.  The Brewers’ current remaining options are trading for the Mets’ Ike Davis, or signing free agent James Loney.  However, the Mets are asking for top pitching prospect Tyler Thornburg in return for Davis, whom the Brewers are not willing to give up.  And Loney is seeking a three-year deal, also something the Brewers are not interested in providing.  To complicate matters even more, the Brewers are competing with both the Pirates and the Rays who are also looking to fill needs at 1B.

Enter the Mariners and newly available Justin Smoak.

By acquiring Hart and Morrsion, the Mariners not only added needed offense, but simultaneously positioned themselves for a possible trade with the Brewers.  But not just any trade.  Rather, a trade for centerfielder Carlos Gomez.  As we noted in our offseason lookout, Gomez is one of the games top up-and-coming players who would provide the Mariners with elite defense as well as production at the top of the batting order.  The Brewers have made no indication that they are willing to move Gomez, but the Mariners – via their acquisitions of Cano, Hart and Morrison – have created an abundance of tradeable pieces that could persuade the Brewers to think otherwise.

In return for Gomez, the Mariners could not only offer Smoak to fill the Brewers’ need at 1B, but also include any combination of Dustin Ackley, Nick Franklin, Michael Saunders, Jesus Montero, in addition to top pitching prospects Taijuan Walker and James Paxton.  We previously suggested a package of Walker, Smoak, Saunders, and top outfield prospect Stefen Romero.  But with the signing of Cano, the Mariners are now free to add Ackley or Franklin into the mix without creating a need in their own lineup.  Could a package centered around Walker, Smoak, and Ackley entice the Brewers to part with Gomez?  Maybe swap out Ackley for Franklin?  Perhaps offer Paxton instead of Walker, but include a few more prospects in the deal?  In any scenario, the Brewers would be receiving young cost-controlled players with upside, capable of stepping right into the starting lineup, and who would fill immediate needs.

Clearly, at this point, a possible Gomez trade is nothing more than conjecture.  But with the Brewers looking diligently to fill their need at 1B, the Mariners suddenly find themselves with a golden opportunity to make an offer to acquire that coveted center fielder and leadoff hitter, one that could find the Brewers hard pressed to pass up.

Robinson Cano and the Mariners

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Robinson Cano.  The Seattle Mariners.

The former an elite superstar looking for a mega deal.  The latter a franchise desperate to land an elite superstar, and willing to dish out the necessary cash to do it.

A match made in free agency heaven, or simply wishful thinking by the Mariners?

As the trade rumors continue to swirl at tsunami speed regarding a possible Cano signing by the Mariners – the latest being a possible 9 year, 225M offer – reactions to this unlikely marriage have resulted in the type of mocking, jeering and disapproval last seen in 1990 when Rosanne Barr butchered the national anthem at Jack Murphy Stadium .

For example, there was this from Keith Olbermann:

The Yankees, who put out signals tonight that they are still in the market for Cano, want that market for him to deflate, so their 7 year, sub 200M deal suddenly looks wonderful to him…and there’s nothing that can make that happen faster than making it look to Cano like the only place he can go is Washington State.

Not just the Mariners, but Washington State?  Ouch.

Then there was this from Ken Rosenthal:

I’ll come right out and say it: If Cano signs with the Mariners, it will be the dumbest move by a free agent since Rodriguez signed with the Rangers after the 2000 season.

Dumbest move since Arod?  Double ouch.

But my favorite was this little nugget from Dave Cameron at USS Mariner:

Mariners, I get why you like Robinson Cano. I get why he’s pretending to like you back. Don’t fall for it, though. Don’t be the nerd doing the pretty girl’s homework in hopes that she’s going to realize that the jocks are stupid and you’re the one for her. You’re just going to end up in the friend zone. Go find someone who is actually into you for you, and not someone who wants to use you for your money.

End up in the friend zone?

Look, here’s the thing.  Yes, as Cameron points out, the Mariners are “nerds.”  But what Cameron fails to understand is that the Mariners have been in the “friend zone” for years when it comes to trying to win the affection of top free agents.

You know, Seattle, the city that has enough qualities to make it a nice place to visit – i.e. a nice stadium, pretty scenery, abundant coffee, good bars and restaurants – but just not enough of that certain je ne sais quoi to make it a place worthy of a long-term relationship?

In recent years, the Mariners have courted the likes of Mike Napoli, Nick Swisher, Prince Fielder, and Josh Hamilton, all of whom spurned the Mariners, letting them know that while they liked them, they just didn’t like them in that way.

Even when the Mariners completed a trade for Justin Upton, the slugging outfielder invoked his no trade clause, in essence saying thanks, but no thanks to the Mariners’ overtures.

Yes, the Mariners are nerds.  But make no mistake, they are in the friend zone.  And the only players that have reciprocated the same level of affection shown by the Mariners have been baseball’s version of barflys – Jack Cust, Miguel Olivo, Jason Bay, Adam Kennedy, Mike Sweeney, and Eric Byrnes to name just a few.

Fast forward to current day, and what the Mariners have seemingly figured out with their recent pursuit of Cano is that in order to get that pretty girl, the nerd has to go big and over the top.

Sure, it’s irrational.  Maybe even foolish.  But there comes a time when it becomes necessary.

I’m not sure what has led to this realization.  Maybe Jack Zduriencik spent the Thanksgiving holiday watching a marathon of 80’s teen flicks.   Maybe it was watching Eric Stoltz trading in his college savings to spend on the school’s most popular girl on the date of all dates?  Or perhaps Patrick Dempsey paying the beautiful Amanda Peterson one-thousand dollars to be his girlfriend?

In either case, the nerd went irrational, maybe even was foolish, but by doing so jettisoned himself from the geeky friend zone and catapulted himself into an aura of cool and being someone everybody wanted to hang out with.  And that, in a nutshell, is what a Cano signing would do for the Mariners.

So, Zduriencik, quit hoping the popular girl will end up liking you.  Stop settling for less simply because you are smart, awkward, unfashionable and have confidence issues.  Instead, go big and do what it takes to make that popular girl realize how cool you truly are.

Go make John Hughes proud and get yourself Robinson Cano.

Mariners Bring Back Willie Bloomquist

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According to reports, the Mariners have inked utility player Willie Bloomquist to a two year deal for somewhere in the neighborhood of 5M-6M pending a physical.  Since his departure from the Mariners after the 2008 season, Bloomquist has gone on to play for Kansas City, Cincinnati, and most recently Arizona where he slashed a .289/.328/.368 the past three seasons for the D’backs.

At first glance, Bloomquist’s signing is nothing more than obtaining a versatile bench player who can play every position on the field other than pitcher and catcher.  However, Bloomquist joining the M’s could mean something more than just adding depth.

In constructing a 25-man roster, one’s bench ideally would consist of a catcher, an outfielder, and two backup infielders, one of whom is also capable of playing an outfield position.  As of right now, the M ‘s have that duo in Dustin Ackley and Carlos Triunfel, assuming that the M’s are not content with starting 2014 with Ackley in the outfield.  So why guarantee that type of contract to a 36 year old Bloomquist who would essentially be a minor overall upgrade over Triunfel?

One answer would be if the Mariners were going to lose Ackley as that versatile infield/outfield backup. And that scenario could come true if Nick Franklin were traded, allowing Ackley to move back to second base, or if Ackley were to be traded.  With the Mariners looking to obtain an impact bat this offseason, either of those players could be moved without leaving a hole in the starting lineup.

The other reason is if the Mariners signed Bloomquist to not just be a backup, but, rather, as someone who is going to play, and play a lot.   While, career-wise, Bloomquist has carried a below average bat, his split against left handed pitching has been decent, slashing a career .283/.339/.377.  Zduriencik has made it clear the Mariners will be employing more platoons in 2014, and with Bloomquist’s versatility in the infield and outfield, Zduriencik could be looking at Bloomquist to provide platoon options for Mike Saunders, Kyle Seager, Justin Smoak, and perhaps even someone like Shin-Soo Choo if signed.

Whatever the reason(s) that exists behind the Bloomquist signing, one thing can be said – the Mariners apparently are not worried about overpaying (even if minutely, relatively speaking) for someone whom they see as filling a need in 2014.  That, in itself, could be a good sign from a team looking to add impact bats, but who have been reluctant to pay market value to obtain such players.