Prospect Insider - M's add two

M's add two

By Jason A. Churchill

By 01-20-2011

The Mariners added outfielder Jody Gerut and left-hander Nate Robertson on minor league deals today, extending both invites to spring training.

Gerut, a left-handed hitter, has bounced around quite a bit and had a few OK seasons, but at 33, has never been more than a reserve, and has often times been nothing more than a fifth outfielder, let alone a legit option in the American League as a No. 4 candidate.

He only appeared in 32 games a year ago due to a heel injury, and didn't do much in 2009, either. But he went .296/.351/.494 in 100 games with the Padres in 2008 -- a performance he's lived off ever since.

Gerut is a solid athlete and can help in center on occasion, but isn't exceptionally good defensively anywhere. With his bat carrying similar weight, his only use to the Mariners is in relief of a starter -- and no, Gerut should not make the team to "challenge" Michael Saunders. If Gerut makes the club and plays regularly early and it's not because of a long-term injury, Eric Wedge is an idiot.

But I don't believe there is much chance that occurs, so Gerut may simply be battling Ryan Langerhans for the extra outfielder spot. Thing is, the roster is so bad, Gerut may fit somewhere.

Robertson is probably not a better option than Luke French or Doug Fister at the beck-end of the rotation, though he's probably better than he showed last season in 101 1/3 innings, all but one of those frames for Florida. He has to be 100 percent healthy to have any shot to be an asset, but has never been more than a No. 4 starter and is most likely an extra man or a long-relief option for a second-division club ... if that.

Considering the holes in the staff, however, Robertson has a shot to win a role.

Not much to see here, but ...

m\'s-add-two

Comments
The following 4 comment(s) for this article are shown below:

1. By: rocketdawg31 on 01-20-2011 20:00:33

Not much to see here, but ...

...we at least see more than tumbleweeds rollin'.

I give Gerut more of a shot to make the club than Robertson. Reason? Wedge knows him, probably likes him quite a bit and he's probably as good a 4th OF as Langerhans would be for this team. If he's cheaper,too? Hey, I can see it.

2. By: Jason A. Churchill on 01-20-2011 23:03:50
I think it's splitting hairs between Gerut and Langerhans, but I much prefer Langerhans. And how much cheaper can he be? Both guys are in camp on minor league deals.

'Hans is a better baserunners and one of these days he'll get some luck on the BABIP and hit .260. If he does that, he might OBP 340-350 to go with decent power for an extra OF.

3. By: 11records on 01-21-2011 02:34:44
Hey Jason,

I have a Michael Pineda question. Well, it might be more of a pitching training and development question, but it came to mind based on Pineda's circumstance.

Odds are the M's start him off in the Minors this season to delay his arbitration clock, and to limit his innings. I think speculation is that his ceiling for innings this year should be around 160 or so.

Now - if he's going to make 12 or so starts for Tacoma in April and May before coming up to Seattle in June, why is it doctrinaire that he just throw 5 innings a start? Doesn't that get him accustomed to only throwing around 75 to 80 pitches, then when he comes up you risk injury if he goes 8 innings in a shutout start?

Has anyone ever tried a routine more akin to distance running training, or powerlifting training, in which you work different intervals?

Hypothetically you could limit his total innings the same way, and still stretch him out within reason if you staggered his starts such as:

Starts 1, 3, 5: 5 innings
Starts 2, 4, 6: 4 innings
Starts 7, 9: 6 innings
Starts 8, 10: 4 innings
Start 11: 7 innings
Start 12: 5 innings

That way he'd be at like 54 innings though 12 starts. So, if the Mariners call him up to make 18 starts over the remainder of the season, they could let him go 6+ each start if he's effective. And they wouldn't need to worry that the first time he gets into the 6th and 7th innings that it's totally uncharted territory.

Feel free to tell me I'm crazy.

4. By: 11records on 01-21-2011 02:38:36
Or you could tell me I suck at math. I think that's 59 innings through 12 starts - still less than 5 IP/start. But - again, those numbers are totally hypothetical. You could make starts 2 and 4 just 3 innings each if you wanted to trim some usage.

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