Mound Talk

The Seattle Mariners had an up and down season and were in the playoff hunt until late in the season when they collapsed. They finished with an 88-74 record which was very good considering they spent most of the season trying to figure out they back end of their rotation. They lost their manager early in the season after they had gotten off to the best start in years. Many people wondered how they would handle the change when everything was going so well but they were resilient, keeping up with the Angels for most of the season.

Seattle had a large increase in their payroll last season going from $88 million in 2006 to $106 million in 2007. With this large increase last season it is hard to believe they will have the funds to make much of an increase over last season. They have a few players that should be coming off their books but only one (Jeff Weaver) will make much of an impact on their payroll flexibility. They have a solid outfield already with Raul Ibanez, Ichiro Suzuki and Jose Guillen but they will be looking to make room for Adam Jones, Wladimir Balentien and Jeremy Reed. Adam Jones is a solid centerfielder which could mean a move back to right field for Ichiro. Balentien (who also plays RF) and Jeremy Reed could see time as bench guys who get their opportunities when Ibanez needs a day off. With the talent in the outfield it could leave Guillen the odd man out and Seattle has a couple options on what they could do. Option 1 would be to decline their club option and let him hit the free agent market. Option 2, which makes the most sense would be to pick up his option and trade him away, similar to what the Yankees did with Gary Sheffield last year. With the year he had this past season most clubs will see his one year left at $9 million very appealing. There greatest need is pitching and they should target Class A type prospects to continue to build their farm system or possibly a back end major league starter to help them out right away.

Potential Free Agents

Jose Guillen (OF) - $4 million ($9 million club option for 2008)

Jeff Weaver (SP) – $8.325 million

Chris Reitsma (RP) - $2.05 million ($2.7 million club option for 2008)

Arthur Rhodes (RP) - $1 million

Seattle will not likely retain any of their potential free agents which will free them up to go after starting pitching. Expect them to make offers to a high risk/reward guy like Randy Wolf, an innings eater like Livan Hernandez or Carlos Silva, or possibly look to bring back Freddy Garcia who had success in Seattle before he was traded to the White Sox.

Strengths

Deep Outfield – With Ibanez and Ichiro anchoring their outfield it allows them to give their young guys a chance to fill the third spot and backup rolls. With the talent that is ready to be placed into the lineup it allows them to make Guillen expendable which should help them in other areas.

Strong lineup – Up and down their lineup they have guys who can hit the ball for average and some power. Even though Richie Sexson is the only real big power threat they do have a lineup full of guys who should hit 20 homeruns a year. Coming in to 2008 they will have a platoon at catcher of Kenji Johjima and Jeff Clement which could prove to be the best hitting catcher tandem in the league. Expect Clement to get plenty of time as the designated hitter when he isn’t catching. Adrian Beltre had a good season at third base and while it didn’t live up to his walk year with the Dodgers it was very productive. The biggest weakness in the lineup may be Jose Vidro(DH) but he will likely loose at bats to new comers like Clement.

Weaknesses

Starting Pitching – The Starting pitching for the Mariners had potential last season to be solid but Jeff Weaver and Horacio Ramirez were busts and they finished with a 4.73 ERA, which was 10th in the league. They have a solid 1, 2 punch at the top of their rotation with Felix Hernandez and Jarrod Washburn. Miguel Batista is a decent number 3 starter but would be better suited as their number 4. If the Mariners want to compete again in 2008 they need to shore up their starting staff and bring in another solid reliever. As of today the Mariners staff will look like this in 2008:

Felix Hernandez

Jarrod Washburn

Miguel Batista

Cha Seung Baek

Horacio Ramirez

Off-season Priorities

The greatest need the Mariners have this off-season are to bring in one or two starters to compete with Baek and Ramirez in the rotation. Expect them to bring in a proven commodity(Silva, Hernandez, Garcia) and then a guy or two who they could sign to a minor league contract like a John Thompson or Victor Zambrano. Some good targets for the bullpen include: Jeremy Affeldt, Joe Kennedy or Troy Percival.

While I don’t expect them to go after any of the big free agents I could see them bringing in some role players to help off the bench. Jeff Cirillo would be a nice addition to this team as he hits left handed pitching very well and can play a variety of positions.

The Mariners will be active this winter trying to lock down their starting rotation. Look for them to resign Jose Guillen and then trade him away for prospects (check out Koby’s take on the Mariners Top 10 prospects). They have already brought in good and experienced baseball people to take over coaching vacancies, the big acquisition being Mel Stottlemyre to take over as their pitching coach.

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