Prospect Insider - prospects, scouting and the draft

By Jason A. Churchill02-07-2010

We're certainly into the dog days of the winter when it comes to player acquisitions, although considering the fact that Johnny Damon, Jermaine Dye, Pedro Martinez, Carlos Delgado and other big names have yet to find home, we'll probably see some more in the coming days leading up to spring training. But the Mariners are probably done adding impact talent for the rest of ... month.

Yes, I said 'month.' I think there's a good chance the M's get serious in trade talks during the Cactus League schedule, with Jose Lopez and/or involving a start pitcher or two, but until then, this may a good place to presume they are done until the pre-season begins.

So while I don't have any additional rumors to share, nor do I have any breakdowns or analysis coming just yet, I thought I'd take this time to catch everyone up on where we're headed between now and March.

Pitchers and catc...

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By Chris Crawford02-04-2010

UPDATE All done, with a mutual option for 2011. Mutual options are almost exclusively not picked up -- but maybe if he pitches well and loves Seattle there's a chance. Not too much to hate about this, folks.

UPDATE: FoxSports.com's Jon Morosi is tweeting the same thing: Bedard a...

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By Chris Crawford02-01-2010

With the addition of Ryan Garko, the M's lineup -- particularly against left-handed pitching -- has improved, but has also brought about numerous questions.

Youre going to see Garko more than likely play 1B and DH vs lefties, which would mean you would have a bench of backup catcher, Hannahan...

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By Chris Crawford01-29-2010

According to Shannon Drayer, the M's have signed Eric Byrnes to a one year deal.

It seems likely he wont be paid much more than the league minimum.

Byrnes was a 3 to 4 WAR player until an injury plagued poor 2009.

This probably puts an end to the position player additions, minu...

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By Chris Crawford01-29-2010

As everyone is well aware, the Mariners didn't get Ben Sheets. It's looking more and more likely that if Seattle wants to gain a decent middle of the rotation starter, its going to have to go the trade route.

A little while ago, there was some speculation that Seattle was debating internally about adding Francisco Liriano. Liriano of course showed enormous potential early on -- and then unf...

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By Chris Crawford01-27-2010

Joel Sherman is reporting that Randy Winn has agreed to a one-year deal with the New York Yankees for around $2 million. With an outfield of Winn, Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner, this all but shuts the door on Johnny Damon returning to the Evil Empire.

It's probably time for the Mariners to open said door.

Damon is not an ideal fit. He is another left handed hitter in a lineup full of them, though he isn't incompetent vs left-hand pitching (.776 OPS). His power numbers may have been inflated playing in the softball field that is the new Yankee Stadium, but he wasn't bad on the road either (.795 OPS). A lot of people have made a big deal out of his arm, and yes -- its one of the worst among outfielders, and he had easily his worst UZR (-9.2) of his career.

But Damon is too good of a hitter for the Mariners to say no to now, if the asking price really is the $5 million dollar range. If the Mariners can get 140 games out of Damon's bat, playing mostly DH with some LF, the M's can probably expect to add around two and a half to three wins to the roster.

The M's aren't good enough right now to say no to that. Not with what's left on the market.


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By Chris Crawford01-26-2010

If you close your eyes and clear your mind of all thoughts (not hard for me) you might be able to hear a fungo bat. Spring Training is getting really, really close -- and it's getting pretty intense.

A couple of weeks ago, I posted the major moves made by the AL west, to go along with their CHONE 2010 projected Wins Above Replacement. If they did not have a CHONE projection, I went with what they produced last year.

A lot has changed since the post -- but it still illustrates how good the M's off-season has been.

Oakland Athletics:

Coming: Coco Crisp (1.6), Jake Fox(1.7), Aaron Miles (-0.3),Kevin Kouzmanoff (2.0) Ben Sheets (2.7 from the fangraphs fans) TOTAL: 7.7 wins

Going: Nomar Garciaparra (0.9), Bobby Crosby (0.4), Jeff Gray (0.2),Scott Hairson (0.6) TOTAL: 2.1 wins

Limbo: Adam Kennedy 0.8 wins

Summary: It's not quiet anymore. If the Athletics can find a way to score runs, this could be the sleeper team in the AL West. You're still asking an awful lot out of young pitching and while Sheets is potentially an ace, hes potentially a $10 million dollar landfill, too.

Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim

Coming: Hideki Matsui (1.1), Fernando Rodney (0.3), Joel Pineiro (3.4 fangraphs fans)TOTAL: 4.8 wins

Going: Chone Figgins (3.2), John Lackey (3.8), Kelvim Escobar (1.3) Darren Oliver (1.5 last year, it should be right around the same this year), Vlad Guerrero (1.6) TOTAL: 11.1 wins

Summary: Still looks like a bad off-season, but not the disaster it was before. While Pineiro has his obvious detractors, he also had the best command and highest GB rate of any starter in baseball last year. He's no where near the...

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By Jason A. Churchill01-26-2010

UPDATE 10:44 AM: Jon Heyman is reporting its actually $10 million with $3.5 in potential bonuses.

So,Ben Sheets picks Oakland, since they ended up offering more dough than anyone else -- one year, $10 million....

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By Chris Crawford01-24-2010

As Jason tweeted here, the Ben Sheets race may be coming to its climax, and it may be a dramatic affair.

The Cubs, once believed to be the frontrunners, have put Sheets on the backburner, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. The L.A. Dodgers went with Vicente Padilla, the L.A. Angels went with Joel Pineiro and Milwaukee signed Doug Davis. All three are believed to be out of cash to the level Sheets is asking.

Boston is not believed to be as interested as the Mets and Mariners, and the Astros may need Sheets to give them a big time home state discount.

Texas is the wildcard here. The ownership situation is getting ironed out and they really could use another high-quality starting pitcher to...

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Previous Reports
Draft Prospect out for season
As Keith Law reports on the ESPN MLB Draft Blog, a potential first-round pick -- and a kid that could have made a big jump into the top half of the round with a strong year -- will miss the season due to injury.
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