Seattle Mariners Offseason Report

By Matt Jussim

The Seattle Mariners surprised the baseball world in 2007 when they won 88 games and stayed in the wild card chase until late August. Since then, nothing has gone right for the Mariners.

Attempts to overhaul the pitching staff failed miserably. Carlos Silva was signed as a free agent to a four year $46 million dollar contract only to produce a 4-15 record and a 6.46 ERA. Erik Bedard, the 2006 AL strikeout leader was traded for, but the only thing he led the team in was scratched starts.

Their offense was one of the worst in the majors finishing close to last in every category. They also became the first team in history to lose 100 games with a payroll of more than $100 million.

All this thrown in with the fact that the team fired their GM and manager within ten days of each other midway through the season.

It would be an understatement to say that the 2008 season was filled with turmoil for the Mariners. But there is one positive thing to playing this terrible. The team can’t be that bad again. Can they?

Newly hired GM Jack Zduriencik, who helped turn around the Milwaukee Brewers, has his work cut out for him going into the 2009 season. One of his first moves was to hire Don Wakamatsu, the former Oakland A’s bench coach, as manager.

The 45-year-old relative unknown spent five years as a bench coach and third-base coach in Texas, then one year as bench coach for the A’s. He has never managed above Double-A. He also is the first Asian-American manager in MLB history.

Only time will tell if it was the right move to hire a manager with no big league experience. But maybe that’s just what the Mariners need to help turn their once successful franchise around.

The newly minted Mariner administration claims that they are not in a “rebuilding” phase presently. Their GM was quoted as saying “We have not spoken about the term ‘rebuilding.’ That isn’t a word in our vocabulary.”

Well, he may say that to reporters, but look at what players are gone from the 2007 team that won 88 games: RF Jose Guillen, LF Raul Ibanez, 1B Richie Sexson, DH Jose Vidro, RP J.J. Putz, RP Sean Green, RP George Sherrill, SP Jeff Weaver, SP Horacio Ramirez OF Adam Jones, and OF Ben Broussard. That’s 12 regular players gone off the 25-man roster. And I didn’t even include other players such as C Jamie Burke, and INF Willie Bloomquist. With a new GM, manager, coaching staff, and half the roster changed from two seasons ago, I would say that the team is “rebuilding”.

The Mariners have many holes to fill if they wish to compete with the likes of the Angels in the AL West in 2009. By trading for Erik Bedard last year, in the rarely seen but always ridiculed five-for-one deal, the Mariners depleted their once rich farm system. In the past the Mariners have attempted to spend money to cure their woes (Ex: Carlos Silva, Richie Sexson, Jose Vidro), but new GM Zduriencik seems to be making smart baseball decisions, and trying to stockpile young talent.

The Mariners made a splash at the recent winter meetings by trading closer J.J. Putz to the Mets in a 12-player, three-team deal. The Mariners sent Putz, OF Jeremy Reed, and RP Sean Green to the Mets, and 2B Luis Valbuena to the Cleveland Indians.

In return they received OF Franklin Guitierrez from Cleveland, and OF Endy Chavez, P Aaron Heilman, prospects Mike Carp, Maikel Cleto, Ezequiel Carrera and left-handed pitcher Jason Vargas from the Mets.

All three teams benefited, but none more than the Mariners. In exchange for four warm bodies the Mariners received a valuable group of young players.

Franklin Guitierrez has a ton of potential, and he is one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball. He will have a spot in center at Safeco Field for years to come, which will also allow Ichiro to move back to right field. Guitierrez doesn’t walk much, but he has some power, and he cut back a great deal on his strikeouts in 2008.

Aaron Heilman never got comfortable in New York, and he will benefit from a change of scenery, possibly becoming the Mariners next closer. Chavez will be a decent fourth outfielder, while Carp, Cleto, Carrera, and Vargas all have potential, but it will take time to see if any bloom into everyday players.

The trade was a smart move for the Mariners due to the fact that J.J. Putz has somewhat regressed since his phenomenal 2007, when he finished with a 1.38 ERA and 40 saves.

The team decided not to re-sign OF Raul Ibanez, who signed a three-year deal with Philadelphia. I would have liked to see the Mariners make a better effort to sign one of their most consistent players, but if the youth movement is hitting Seattle, there isn’t much room for a 36 year-old defensive liability.

The team recently signed 1B/3B/OF Russell Branyan, and would be wise to focus on another veteran bat such as Pat Burrell, Ken Griffey Jr., or Adam Dunn. For a team that had one of the worst offenses in the league last year, they need to find a way to improve their run production.

It’s still too early to tell if Brandon Morrow will remain a starter, or become the Mariner’s next closer. He is one of their best young pitchers, who in his season debut as a starting pitcher last year almost no hit the Yankees.

Felix Hernandez is still only 22 years old, but the Mariners will need him to grow us even faster than he has, and prove that he is one of the best pitchers in baseball. Erik Bedard will also have to rebound from a disappointing season for the team to be successful.

Both Adrian Beltre and Ichiro Suzuki’s names will be mentioned in trades as soon as the season begins. Beltre is in the final year of his contract, while Ichiro is getting older and older while the Mariners try to find their identity. I am a big fan of both Beltre and Ichiro, but it might be in the best interest of the Mariners to get some players for the future. I don’t think the Mariners will end up trading Ichiro, but it’s an almost guarantee that Beltre will be moved by the trading deadline.

With all the personnel and roster changes the Mariners have made, there is a great chance that they will improve from last season. I don’t see them finishing in the AL West cellar, but the Angels are the class of the division, while Oakland and Texas will both be competitive this year.

For all we know, the team Zduriencik put together could surprise us, and play some competitive baseball this season. One thing we know for sure though, this team will be better than the 2008 Mariners.