miguel olivo
Mariners Leave Two Behind
As per the Seattle Times, the Mariners bought out Miguel Olivo’s $3M option for $750K, and have sadly released Munenori Kawasaki.
Miguel Olivo’s $750K buyout is a sunk cost, so any evaluation of his option should consider his 2013 salary to be $2.25M. On that note, let’s take a look at some telling projections:
My analysis suggests that Olivo will be worth less to the Mariners next season than I will, and that his $750K buyout should be redirected to my bank account. I summarize my opinions on Olivo’s 2013 status with a Venn Diagram:
Kawasaki, while not much of a baseball player in Seattle, was very much a fun guy to have around. He will be missed by me, and I assume many of you.
Tags: featured, graphs, miguel olivo, Munenori Kawasaki, Off-Season, Popular, seattle mariners, venn diagram
Posted in: Mariners | No Comments »
Mariners Awards: Like You’ve Never Seen Them
Well, this gives away one of the awards. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-US PRESSWIRE
We’ve obsessed ourselves with league-wide MVPs, Cy Youngs and Rookie of the Years for long enough now. Don’t worry, you won’t find any of those, or Silver Sluggers, Roberto Clemente awards or any of that crap here. I instead present you with the Mariner Awards of Irrelevance.
Let’s get things started off with the Bored Fans Relief Award.* This player made sure to keep the game moving while additionally providing action that a bored fan would enjoy (or enjoy yelling at). Our winner swung at 54.4% of all pitches and 44.2% of pitches outside the strike zone, leading the team in both categories. Not surprisingly he averaged just 3.62 pitches per plate appearance, good for second on the team. He also managed homeruns in a whopping 3.7% of his plate appearances en route to appeasing all fans tired of long, monotonous batter-pitcher matchups with a remedy of quick plate appearances full of swings, strikeouts and homeruns. His catching was always an adventure in and of itself, and without further ado, I present to you Miguel Olivo.
The Manly-Man Award* was a difficult one to choose, and so I really had to split it between two tough, manly men. Each took a team-leading five pitches off his body without so much as a grimace, and promptly responded every time with, “thank you, sir, may I have another.”** Each played one of the most physically demanding positions on the diamond—shortstop and catcher, respectively—while sporting the manliest and ruggedest of facial hair. I present to you, Brendan Ryan and John Jaso.
The offensive Most Well-Traveled Award goes to the guy that covered more ground than anyone. Thanks to a team-best 9.6% extra base hit percentage, our winner covered 219 total bases with his hits, and tacked on a team-leading 21 bases through thievery and deception. Playing center field put him over the top for this award, so let’s give it up for Michael Saunders.
The pitchers deserve some of this credit, too, of course. We begin with the MVP—Mean and Volatile Pitcher Award. This hardly gentle man led the team with 12 hit batsmen, and before you start pointing at garbage like innings pitched, those twelve poor souls represent four times the number that teammate, Jason Vargas, hit in 217 innings. His 13 wild pitches represented 41% of all Mariners starters’ wild pitches, and were more than twice the next highest count. Additionally, our winner led the Mariners in something called WAR—quite the surly, temperamental sort, to be sure. I thus present this award to Felix Hernandez.
That’s how you help your starters’ ERAs. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-US PRESSWIRE
The Best Friend Award goes to Lucas Luetge, who allowed just 8 of his 50 inherited baserunners to score (16%), leaving the ERAs of many teammates intact. Additionally, he pitched 17 of his 63 outing on zero days rest, the top percentage on the team. I mean, who didn’t like Lucas Leutge? On the flip side, the Worst Friend Award goes to Stephen Pryor for allowing 10 of 17 inherited baserunners to score (59%). Side note: he also drew the most glares from his starters.**
The last award—the Pitching Efficiency Award—goes not necessarily to the pitcher that most efficiently recorded outs, but rather the pitcher that most quickly recorded outs. We fans have other crap to do, right?! This pitcher threw nearly 15% of the entire team’s innings, or about one-seventh, and did so with a team-quickest 20.0 seconds between pitches. His 5-minute, 9-second innings were the shortest on the team, and for that, we are thankful for Jason Vargas.
*Players required at least 300 PA
**Source not found
Tags: Awards, brendan ryan, featured, Felix Hernandez, Jason Vargas, John Jaso, Lucas Luetge, miguel olivo, Popular, seattle mariners, Stats, Stephen Pryor
Posted in: Mariners | No Comments »
Off-Season Story Lines
Well we have officially hit the offseason, so it’s time to start worrying about offseason stuff. Here are a few story lines to keep track of during the baseball-barren months of winter.
Bringing in a Bat
This has been discussed in depth by just about every Mariner blogger in the world, but the Mariners need some offense and there will be good options on the free agent market and available for trades. The name I think would be best for Seattle is Billy Butler, but there will be a lot more power hitter talks in the future.
According to a report by MLB Trade Rumors, Figgins wants out of Seattle. He also stated that he, “can’t take two more years of this.” Oh, the irony. The first thing I said when I saw this was, “well, I can’t take two more years of you.” I don’t believe that the 9 million dollar benchwarmer is needed much in Seattle, so I hope that Jack Z can find a way to appease all of Seattle by ridding the city of Figgins’ presence.
Another funny thing about the situation is that this is probably the best opportunity he will find these days. I can’t imagine that there is a team that would sign him to a major league contract, so if he leaves Seattle, he will probably find himself in AAA.
Resigning Free Agents
There are a couple of current Mariners whose contracts have expired. The most notable of these are Hisashi Iwakuma, Oliver Perez, and Miguel Olivo.
Iwakuma looked very good in the starting role this season, and will likely require more than his current 1.5 million dollar contract to stay in Seattle. At 31 years old, the Japanese pitcher probably has a few more good years in him and would be a nice middle of the rotation piece over the next couple years until the big 3 can take his place.
Oliver Perez went into the year as just another minor league pitcher at the end of his career, but he finished the year as a dependable lefty specialist out of the bullpen. He accumulated just 29.2 innings of work in 33 appearances, but he posted an ERA of 2.12 and a WHIP of 1.25. His 2.93 FIP was impressive as well, and proves that he has some value going forward. Between lefties like Furbush and Leutge, there may be no need for Perez in the pen this year, however. It will be interesting to see if Seattle pursues him.
I assume that Olivo will not be back in Seattle next year. The Mariners have a pretty solid catching situation right now between Jaso and Montero and Zunino on the way. Olivo doesn’t bring much to the table anyways. His BB% is 2.2 and his K% 26.3 which comes out to a .08 BB/K. Let that number sink in for a few seconds. I actually laughed when I read that considering he probably won’t be our problem anymore. In addition, towards the end of his Mariner career, he platooned against lefties, but Jesus Montero’s average against lefties was about 100 points higher than Olivo’s.
Finding a New Hitting Coach
Today, Chris Chambliss was fired as hitting coach in Seattle. He was here for two years, but the team OPS was .665 and .640 in those two seasons. There haven’t been many bright spots in the Mariner offense in the last two years. Ackley had a miserable sophomore season, Smoak has been a disaster all the time except during Septembers, Brendan Ryan has looked lost in the batters’ box, and the list of offensive frustrations extends forever. The Mariners will need to fill the role soon, and hopefully the new man will help turn around the offense.
Tags: Billy Butler, featured, hisashi iwakuma, Mariners General, miguel olivo, Oliver Perez, Popular, Prospect Reports, prospects
Posted in: Mariners | No Comments »
The Second Coming of Jesus Montero
Credit: Steven Bisig-US PRESSWIRE
On the night of the Supreme Court homage to Felix Hernandez, the Mariners found themselves a little overbooked. In addition to a Safeco Field-sized King’s Court, they were tasked with hosting Salute to Japanese Baseball Night and their third annual Trading Card Night.
Unless you were one of the 15,000 fans with an accommodating work schedule and a lucky parking spot, you may have missed out on the giveaway. The team tastefully omitted any relevant statistics, sparing fans the ugly sight of Chone Figgins‘ batting line (.189/.264/.283) and Kevin Millwood‘s W-L record (4-11). Instead, the cards limited each player to two notable achievements, hobbies, or peculiarities, not unlike those featured on the Jumbotron during games.
Here were the facts selected for Jesus Montero:
- Jesus entered this season rated as the Mariners No. 1 prospect by Baseball America.
- Jesus’ brother, Jesus Rafael Montero, is a catcher in the St. Louis organization.
Yes, you read that correctly. Famed prospect and current catcher Jesus Montero has a brother, the less fabled catcher also named Jesus Montero.
Sure, it’s not the most significant thing we could say about Montero. You can shelf this tidbit with the knowledge that Jesus’ favorite soup is beef and pollo. Still—even considering that the name ‘Jesus’ is the Venezuelan equivalent of Tom, Dick, or Harry—the resemblance between the brothers piqued my curiosity.
First, “our” Jesus. As you may have gleaned from the Mariners’ in-game player profiling, his full name is Jesus Alejandro Montero. At 22 years old, this marks his first full season in MLB and the sixth year of his professional baseball career. Jesus (or Alejandro, for the purposes of this article) began his minor league service at the ripe age of 17, when he signed with the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 2006.
From 2010 – 2012, Baseball America ranked him among their top ten prospects, finishing at No. 6 prior to the 2012 season. Although Montero spent his entire minor league career behind the dish, scouts clung tighter to his batting average (above .280 in each of his five seasons) and power numbers (peak SLG: .583 for the high-A Tampa Yankees).
In the shadow of his brother’s fast track to The Show is Jesus Rafael Montero. A year and a half younger, Rafael measures 5’10″ to Alejandro’s 6’3″, though from their headshots the brothers may as well be twins. A year after Alejandro signed with New York, Rafael was selected as a non-drafted free agent by the St. Louis Cardinals. Four seasons later, he has yet to break into the majors, though his path to pro ball also began at age 17.
While both brothers have made names for themselves behind the plate, Rafael has also logged time as a first baseman (17 appearances), designated hitter (2 appearances), right fielder (one appearance), and reliever (one appearance). According to Scout.com, he was named a New York-Penn League All-Star this month, but rendered ineligible to play with a last-minute trip to the DL. A current Batavia Muckdog, Montero’s value may lie more with his glove than his bat: he’s touting a batting line of .287/.360/.434 through 162 PA, a hair above last season’s .276/.339/.347.
Even with the impending departure of Miguel Olivo, this is anything but a plea for the Mariners to lay claim to another Jesus Montero. By age 21, Alejandro made his MLB debut in Fenway Park and notched 20 H, 8 XBH, and 12 RBI in 18 games with New York. By age 21, Rafael is sidelined in the Cardinals’ farm system, with four rungs of minor league levels left to climb.
Perhaps, given a few years’ time, the Monteros will become the Molinas of MLB. Or, just as likely, Jesus Rafael Montero will be known not for his own accomplishments, but as the counterpart to Seattle’s prized backstop.
Tags: Chone Figgins, Jesus Montero, Jesus Rafael Montero, kevin millwood, Mariners General, miguel olivo, seattle mariners
Posted in: Mariners | No Comments »
A Defense of Brendan Ryan
Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE
Back in May, when the AL West was more or less an even playing field, and Mariners fans had little to complain about, I used to keep a short list of players who got on my nerves. It was always a toss-up between Miguel Olivo and Chone Figgins, depending on who made the lineup that day, but Brendan Ryan was indisputably inked at the top of the list.
Perhaps my annoyance sprung from his sagging batting average, a mere .207 in 96 PA. Or, more likely, my distaste was fueled by a penchant for basing my support and appreciation of a player on offensive production alone.
Sometime around the All-Star break, I read this. Then, this. And I discovered, in the shadow of the Mariners’ ever-plummeting record, that Brendan Ryan wasn’t just a good defensive shortstop. He was—is—the best defensive shortstop.
I realize that it might seem like something of an overstatement. The best shortstop? What about Derek Jeter (kidding)? What about J.J. Hardy, Elvis Andrus, Yunel Escobar?
Let’s look at the numbers, because unlike me, they don’t show favoritism.
In 2012, Brendan Ryan holds a WAR of 1.9, tied 8th in MLB with Derek Jeter and Zack Cozart, and tied 5th with Jeter in the American League. With a .991 fielding percentage, the second highest in the NL, Ryan Carries just 4 fielding errors in 845 innings and 96 starts. Digging a little further, he also leads the majors in UZR (14.8) and DRS (25).
Compared with a handful of MLB’s top shortstops, the aforementioned J.J. Hardy, Elvis Andrus, and Yunel Escobar, Brendan Ryan comes out on top in every category but WAR, likely due to his anemic batting average.
Ryan: 1.9 WAR, 14.8 UZR, 25 DRS, .991 FP, 74 DP
Hardy: 1.1 WAR, 5.6 UZR, 14 DRS, .991 FP, 74 DP
Andrus: 4.1 WAR, 7.9 UZR, 3 DRS, .979 FP, 61 DP
Escobar: 1.7 WAR, 10.0 UZR, 18 DRS, .983 FP, 71 DP
Of course, this isn’t groundbreaking news. Over his last full four seasons, Ryan’s defense has cracked the list of the top ten shortstops in MLB each year. In 2011, he finished first in the AL with a .974 FP, and first in MLB with 18 DRS—4 more than Houston’s Clint Barmes. 2010 saw a UZR of 11.5, which was also good enough to top the MLB leaderboard, just a hair above Chicago’s Alexei Ramirez (10.8). And, in 2009, Ryan marked his first full MLB season at short with 22 DRS and 7.2 UZR, both of which put him at the top of NL shortstops.
While numbers don’t lie, you don’t have to look at charts to witness Brendan’s incredible defensive prowess. There’s the way he converts line drives into outs. There’s the way he turns anything into an out. There’s the fact that in the week or so he sat out with an elbow injury, the Mariners only turned one double play. In fact, if you closed your eyes during his at-bats, you could even call him one of the best current Mariners.
As this season starts to wind down (or gear up, for those whose teams remain in contention), there are few things that will propel Mariners fandom. Brendan Ryan, I’m pleased to say, is one of them.
Tags: brendan ryan, Chone Figgins, Mariners General, miguel olivo, seattle mariners
Posted in: Mariners | No Comments »
Wrapping Up The Last Few Days
The trade deadline has come and gone, and the Mariners walk away from it making just two minor moves. It’s difficult not to be mildly disappointed. After all, the landscape of the team is not that different than it was prior. As a matter of fact, the addition of Capps and Pryor from Tacoma is a much bigger splash than anything the Mariners did through this deadline. Acquiring Thames for Delabar alone was a slight steal for the Mariners, but while his power is intriguing, his ceiling probably resides as a platoon bat or a fourth outfield type. There is always the possibility that he figures it out and becomes a useful regular, but that technically that caveat applies to any player. The two minor league players acquired for Brandon League, makes us all look rather silly for assuming that Belt was ever involved in any deal involving League. Leon Landry and Logan Bawcom represent exactly what our former closer was worth. Bawcom was closing for his club in Chattanooga, and Landry while extremely toolsy and an interesting player, is benefiting from playing in a hitters environment. Landry is the key to this deal, and if his power development is legitimate, then in a few years–when hindsight is 20-20–this deal will look much better than the mediocre beige feeling it is currently inducing.
But as I said before the real news comes from the recalling for Stephen Pryor and the promotion of Capps. Over the course of the last decade (and several regimes) the Mariners have been very good at building a cheap and effective bullpen. Capps and Pryor are both guys who sling it up there well faster than my first car*. With that 100 MPH heater, comes secondary stuff that is still a work in progress, but there is still enough there to prevent the opposition from cheating on the fastball. Pryor and Capps are both potential closers, and they won’t come cheap forever. But that is a long ways into the future, and for now you might as well enjoy watching them light up the radar gun.
The Mariners may have missed their opportunity to trade Vargas, but missing the trade deadline doesn’t preclude them from making a few other moves. There is still the possibility of moving Millwood, and dumping the contracts of Figgins and Olivo. The waiver period may not attract as much attention as the trade dealine, it is still essential for many teams who are looking to acquire players to help propel them into the playoffs. Players obtained after the August 31st cut off won’t be playoff eligable, so expect the majority of waiver deals to happen before the beginning of September.
The landscape of the Mariners may not be that different with the addition of a few shrubs, but they still have time to plant a few new seeds in hopes of growing something fruitful. I would throw my percentage predictions on the possibility of the players being dealt, but It proves to be quite inaccurate. But if the Mariners do make a move, you can be sure that we will be here to talk about it.
* – My 1992 Mercury Topaz topped out at 80 MPH.
Tags: Chone Figgins, featured, Jason Vargas, kevin millwood, Leon Landry, Logan Bawcom, Mariners General, miguel olivo, Popular
Posted in: Mariners | No Comments »
Mariners Trade Deadline Recap
Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE
In light of yesterday’s trades, not so much as a peep was heard out of the Mariners’ front office this afternoon, even with the trade deadline looming. Following yesterday’s 4-1 win over the Blue Jays, the team shed Brandon League and Steve Delabar for some outfield depth and a Double-A reliever.
The first name dropped was that of Eric Thames, a 25-year-old left fielder in the middle of his second major-league season. Thames (pronounced as it appears, not as the ancient British river) debuted last spring for Toronto, where he batted .262/.313/.456 in 95 games and 394 PA.
In 2012, Thames saw 46 games with the Blue Jays before being optioned to Triple-A, where he boosted his wOBA from .281 to .403 and his BABIP from .308 to .383 in just 54 games. Defensively, he has been used exclusively as a left fielder this season, holding a .989 FIP and a single error in 456.1 innings.
On the heels of the Mariners’ second swap during a series (albeit one not quite as dramatic as Ichiro’s departure), news broke that the Dodgers won the Brandon League bidding war. In his place, they sent two low-A prospects: outfielder Leon Landry and RHP Logan Bawcom.
Landry holds a respectable .328/.358/.559 line in 80 appearances with the Dodgers’ high-A affiliate. He split his 2012 season in left and center field, putting up a respective 1.000 FP in 58 chances and .990 FP in 103 chances. Currently, Landry holds a 6-game hitting streak, his most impressive performance a 3-home run explosion against the Padres’ Lake Elsinore Storm.
Logan Bawcom, a 23-year-old Double-A reliever, was the Dodgers’ 17th round draft pick in 2010. Like Landry, Bawcom has one year of minor league service under his belt, and just a handful of appearances for the Chattanooga Lookouts in 2012, where he posted a 2.60 ERA and 2.88 FIP. In his trade round-up, Larry Stone relayed some scouting reports from Keith Law and Baseball America, both of whom pegged Bawcom as promising but far from solid:
Bawcom, he [Law] says, “might surface as a middle reliever, but his command right now would make him an up-and-down guy. Despite some tail on his fastball, he doesn’t generate enough ground balls to survive without cutting his walk rate.”
However middling the prospects, it looks like a win-win for both sides, and a relief to have Brandon League off the shoulders of the Mariners. With several corresponding roster moves to make, the team sent Carlos Peguero back to Tacoma, and recalled relievers Stephen Pryor and Carter Capps.
Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE
Capps has seen just one game in Tacoma, striking out 3 of 4 batters in 1.1 innings of relief. He capped a 37-game stint in Double-A earlier this season with 19 saves, a 1.29 ERA, and a 1.63 FIP in 49 IP.
The Mariners have not seen Pryor since June 12, when he injured his groin on a play at first base. Since then, he has made 7 appearances for the Rainiers, allowing 6 hits, 4 walks, and no runs in 8 IP.
One last note on the trade deadline: Jack Zduriencik spoke to the media this afternoon, explaining his hesitancy to trade Jason Vargas and Kevin Millwood. Via Greg Johns:
If there wasn’t a nice match, I wasn’t motivated to do something that would take away from where we are currently,” Zduriencik said. “We’ve played decent baseball lately, we have pieces here for the future, and in order to make a move, it would have to be the right thing to do.
For now, it looks like a smart move on his part. As long as Millwood remains in the rotation, he buys Hector Noesi more time to develop in Triple-A. And even though teams passed on the pair today, there could be a trade in the works by the offseason. These may not be the blockbuster moves we hoped to see, but for the price of never having to watch League play in Seattle again, I think the Mariners did just fine.
Tags: Brandon League, Carter Capps, Eric Thames, Hector Noesi, Jack Zduriencik, Jason Vargas, kevin millwood, Leon Landry, Logan Bawcom, Mariners General, miguel olivo, seattle mariners, Stephen Pryor, Steve Delabar
Posted in: Mariners | No Comments »
Choose-Your-Own-Adventure: Mariners Edition
Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE
You are 17.5 games out of first place.
To build a team capable of taking the AL West, skip ahead three years.
To abandon all hope of seeing .500, skip ahead to the end of this series.
If only the Mariners were more like a choose-your-own adventure book. We could fast forward the nasty parts, the paths that lead to oblivion, the rebuilding strategies that fall through, and the months of record low attendance. We could jettison players who will never pan out, gloss over lopsided trades, and head straight towards that inevitable World Series championship run.
Unfortunately, the only options we’re presented with right now are the fluctuating philosophies of manager Eric Wedge; that is, methods of coping with the fourth-losingest team in MLB. Most days, especially those following a blown save or failed rally, Wedge exhibits the perfect measure of indignation and resolve. When he says, “We’re not going to keep watching people do the same thing over and over again and live with it,” we believe him, at least until he trots out an identical lineup the following day, usually one with Olivo batting above the 8-spot or Ichiro leading off at DH.
As fans, it’s easy to connect with the fire-and-brimstone Wedge. We’re frustrated, too. We’re the ones paying anywhere from $15 to $60 to watch Jesus Montero ground out on the first pitch and Albert Pujols take Felix deep in the heart of unhittable Safeco Field.
However, fire-and-brimstone Wedge vanished somewhere between Prince Fielder claiming the Home Run Derby title and the collective National League shutting out the collective American League. By the time the All-Star break drew to a close, Wedge was preaching a radically different message to his team. Instead of the improve or pack your bags approach, he advocated a mantra of love, tolerance, and relaxation. Per Geoff Baker in The Seattle Times, Wedge said, “One thing we have to do is get them in a better position where they can come out and perform. Relaxing and being confident is part of it.”
Credit: Steven Bisig-US PRESSWIRE
Don’t get me wrong: there’s nothing wrong with a little TLC toward a team that battled through a 36-51 split in the first half. Managing a major league ballclub, especially one as raw as the Mariners, cannot be easy, and I applaud Wedge for doing what he can with the players he’s been entrusted.
Still, it’s clear that everyone, from the front office to the blogging community, is at the end of their rope with the way this season has been handled. Moving in the fences doesn’t seem to be the answer; nor does moving players back to Triple-A. Trading for key pieces is almost impossible, as any Mariner of worth to another club is under lock and key.
What we need from Wedge at this point is just what he’s asked from his own players: production and consistency. I can accept that The Plan is more likely to span ten years than two, that Montero will not be the superstar catcher/DH in 2012 that we anticipated, that Chone Figgins will be warming the bench for a lot longer than he should. What I cannot accept are these shifting moods from the manager responsible for creating game-winning lineups.
Make a choice, Eric Wedge. You can be the good cop—the one who nurtures the team, who encourages them to try harder after each brutal loss, who draws from a never-ending supply of patience with struggling rookies and veterans alike. Or, you can be the bad cop—the one whose fiery words will inspire players to pick up their game and ship them off to figure things out in the farm system if they don’t.
Whatever you do, don’t threaten to demote under-performing players, then tell us that we need to put more trust in The Plan to iron out the kinks with this crop of Mariners. You may be on the path to building a stronger team, but you are not doing anything to strengthen the hearts of Mariners fans.
Tags: Chone Figgins, eric wedge, Felix Hernandez, Jesus Montero, Mariners General, miguel olivo, Popular
Posted in: Mariners | No Comments »
Trade Bait
Here we are again, sellers at the trade deadline. The deadline is now less than a month away, and it’s time to start looking at what the Mariners will be selling and what they might get in return.
First on the block: Jason Vargas
Vargas may be the biggest piece the M’s have to offer this trade season. Despite his respectable 4.31 ERA in 117 innings of work, his value isn’t as great as the stat line indicates. Safeco Field is the perfect conditions for a left-handed pitcher. Vargas lacks tremendous tools on the mound, but the spacious outfield at Safeco combined with the marine layer makes a perfect combo for him. Take a look at these splits.
|
Innings |
ERA |
FIP |
wOBA |
K/9 |
HR/9 |
|
|
Home |
57 |
2.84 |
3.58 |
.270 |
6.95 |
.95 |
|
Road |
60 |
5.70 |
6.29 |
.344 |
5.40 |
2.40 |
While there is still value for Vargas, he would be a 4th or 5th starter on most playoff-bound teams, so the Mariners wouldn’t get more than bottom of the rotation value. A comparable trade could be the Jerrod Washburn deal in 2009 when the M’s sent him to Detroit for Luke French and Mauricio Robles. Vargas and Washburn share the similarities of being crafty lefties, but Vargas’ age and contract will raise his value a bit over Washburn’s. The Mariners would likely get one or two mid level prospects in return for Vargas on the market.
Next up: Kevin Millwood
Millwood has had a respectable season posting a 4.00 ERA in 83.1 innings of work, but teams trading for him would be getting no more than a 5th starter/long reliever and veteran presence in the locker room. This skill set can be valuable to a playoff ballclub. Still, I wouldn’t expect to get any more than a low-level prospect and maybe some cash. A Millwood trade would also open a rotation spot for quickly progressing prospect, Danny Hultzen who has three starts in AAA currently. If Seattle can get a decent offer for Millwood, I would expect them to accept considering they will have no use for him next year.
How about dealing Miguel Olivo?
Like Millwood, Olivo is a veteran presence, but he can also pitch in a little power. A team with a suspect catching situation may be interested in him to add some depth and pop at the position. The Rays, Angels, and Mets are a couple of playoff contenders that may be interested in a guy like Olivo. Again, Seattle wouldn’t get much in return, perhaps a minor prospect or two. John Jaso could probably get a bit more in return, but I don’t see the Mariners being willing to part with him.
Of Course, Brandon League
League is no stranger to trade rumors; his name has been mentioned for the last couple seasons. Unfortunately, his stock is at an all-time low due to his demotion from the closer role. Nevertheless, an organization with an unstable closing situation could still see him as a potential closer. It would be interesting to see what a team would sacrifice for League. Some teams may be willing to pay a typical price for a closer who is one year removed from an all-star year, and some teams may pay the price of an average reliever. I could see League fetching anything from a plus prospect to a low A pitcher.
Believe it or not: Chone Figgins
Yes, I said it, Chone Figgins has trade value. Very little value, but value nonetheless. An article from a while back
Chone Figgins stealing a base. Credit: Steven Bisig-US PRESSWIRE
indicated that the Rangers might be interested in our disaster. There is a market for the pinch runner/utility man mold that Figgins fits, and I don’t think any Mariner fan would object to ridding themselves of the most hated man in the Mariner organization. The M’s would likely have to eat most of Figgins’ salary and get little in return, but if that’s what it takes to make sure he never wears a Mariner uniform again, then I wouldn’t hesitate.
Mike Carp and Casper Wells
Depending on the team, both of these players could be a 3rd or 4th outfielder or even a pinch hitter which is basically a position of its own in the national league considering that pitchers need to be pinch-hit for in late innings. One guy is a lefty, and the other a righty, but I could see teams showing interest in these two guys, especially Wells considering the year he is having.
Tags: Brandon League, Casper Wells, Chone Figgins, featured, Jason Vargas, kevin millwood, Mariners General, miguel olivo, Mike Carp, Popular, Rumors, Trade Deadline, trades
Posted in: Mariners | No Comments »
The Demotion of Casper Wells
Tags: Casper Wells, Chone Figgins, featured, Mariners General, miguel olivo, Popular
Posted in: Mariners | No Comments »
Unlucky?
With a look at the stats, you will see the Mariner’s disappointing .238 batting average and .275 BABIP. These are pretty discouraging numbers, but don’t mark this offense as a failure yet.
What the batting average doesn’t show is … [visit site to read more]
Tags: alex liddi, brendan ryan, Casper Wells, Chone Figgins, dustin ackley, featured, Ichiro, Jesus Montero, John Jaso, justin smoak, kyle seager, Mariners General, Michael Saunders, miguel olivo, Munenori Kawasaki, Popular, Stats
Posted in: Mariners | No Comments »
Eric Wedge Is Not On The Same Page As Zduriencik
I’d love to have guys with good makeup and good character, committed to the city and the ballclub. But, when all is said and done, talent wins.
- Jack Zduriencik
If you ever believed in Eric Wedge, it is time … [visit site to read more]
Tags: eric wedge, featured, Jack Zduriencik, Mariners General, miguel olivo, Popular
Posted in: Mariners | No Comments »
How Long do They Have?
There comes a time in every season when you look at some of your players and ask, “How long do we give them before we take them out of the order/rotation?” Well the time to start asking these questions has already come, so let’s take a look at … [visit site to read more]
Tags: brendan ryan, Charlie Furbush, Erasmo Ramirez, featured, Hector Noesi, John Jaso, kevin millwood, Mariners General, miguel olivo, Popular
Posted in: Mariners | No Comments »
Why Olivo…ever?
Tags: eric wedge, featured, John Jaso, Mariners General, miguel olivo, Popular, seattle mariners
Posted in: Mariners | No Comments »
Justice
It is refreshing to see a different lineup tonight.
Last night Brendan Ryan took up a couple of wooden planks and made himself comfortable. Wedge stated that it was an “accountability” issue. This mode of thinking … [visit site to read more]
Tags: featured, Jesus Montero, John Jaso, Mariners General, miguel olivo, Popular
Posted in: Mariners | No Comments »