| By Jason A. Churchill |  | By 01-10-2011 |
UPDATE 2:22 PM The M's have signed Adam Kennedy to a minor-league deal with an invite to Spring Training. Pretty nice insurance pick-up.
As you all probably heard last week, Brendan Ryan has agreed to a two-year, $2.75 million deal with the M's, avoiding arbitration for both seasons. He will make $1 million this upcoming seasons and $1.75 million in 2012 and has performance bonuses for each year based on plate appearances. Basically, that means if he's the starter at either second or third, he makes more money. Seems fair to me.
It's a good deal for both sides; the Mariners get some security in case of injury or lack of development, and Ryan could actually turn out to be a bargain if he finds his stroke again.
Locking up Ryan is simply a case of covering the bases, figuratively, of course, but there's a good chance he's the starting shortstop heading into 2012, and could lead the club right into the Nick Franklin era.
Last week the Mariners made it official that Chone Figgins would return to third base, and the most popular question in my inbox surrounded the timing of the announcement. Why now, why not in November or at the winter meetings?
The answer is simple: The M's wanted to keep their options open in case a third baseman fell into their laps. But what the announcement also means is that Figgins is not going to be traded this offseason, if that was ever a possibility in the first place.
For those that wish to hang onto that chance, just know that it's much more likely next summer after Figgins shows he can still play third well, and bounces back at the plate.
I had an interesting conversation Saturday with a former player who is now scouting for an AL East club on the 2011 draft class. I mentioned to him that an SD opined last summer that the '11 class was better in all areas, positions and levels, and the scout's response was a doozy:
"I was drafted in 1999 and started this job in '03, and did my homework before that first one (2003 draft). I'm of the belief that this year's class is the deepest in at least those eight years, and probably at least 10. There were drafts that had more sure things at the top, but there are players this year that may go in round 3 that would have been first-round talents in most of those years. Pretty absurd."
ryan\'s-deal,-notes
Comments
The following 37 comment(s) for this article are shown below:
| 1. By: slamcactus on 01-10-2011 14:50:53 Great deal for the team. Maickel Cleto and $2.75 million to cover 2B/SS with a gold glove quality defender for two years. I love that Zduriencik looked at our hole at 2B and plugged it not with a 1-year stopgap, but with a guy who could easily turn into a low-cost complementary player if the team gets on track for 2012/2013. Now let's hope the team can shave a couple million by jettisoning Wilson at the deadline. |
| 2. By: JohnMcD on 01-10-2011 15:33:34 Just wondering why we didn't claim Max Ramierez? Maybe I am way off, but would like to hear some thoughts on it... |
| 3. By: Rick Randall on 01-10-2011 15:41:17 The club has $7.5m invested in Olivo and they still are holding out hope that Moore can turn into a solid MLB regular behind the dish. Besides that, Max Ramirez hasn't proven anything at the MLB level...and he's only a .700 OPS guy in AAA (Moore is @ .789 in roughly the same time). |
| 4. By: slamcactus on 01-10-2011 16:06:52 Ramirez also isn't a catcher and is out of options. The team doesn't have the roster flexibility to keep a right-handed 1B/DH/emergency 3rd catcher on the bench with the hope that he can return to 2007-2008 form. Let's put it this way: Neither the Rangers or the Red Sox are exactly set at catcher for this year, yet both teams DFA'd Ramirez this off-season. His upside is as a quality NL bench bat against lefties, and the Cubs are the exact right place for him to try and reach it. |
| 5. By: Jason A. Churchill on 01-10-2011 16:15:30 Slamcactus is 100% correct. Maybe even 101%. |
| 6. By: Mackie on 01-10-2011 17:19:17 I like the Kennedy signing. It should create some interesting competition in spring training. Having Kennedy around to compete with Ackley, Ryan and Josh Wilson for 2B will be fun. And if Kennedy has something left and makes the team, it should make for some better depth on the roster for the coming season. If he can still play well enough, he could be a good insurance-policy back-up IF type. |
| 7. By: shortstop9 on 01-10-2011 17:32:55 Kennedy is not a bad pickup.He can play all over the infield.I think they should take a look at Andruw Jones too. |
| 8. By: rotoenquire on 01-10-2011 18:23:33 Jason said i could do this last year, so do it again.. Thanks Jason... It is almost that time of year and for those of you who are looking for a challenge and maybe a fantasy league style set apart for the usual Yahoo or ESPN type of drafts. Come on and check this out. Live in person auction style league Draft. Salary Cap is 275$ for 25 positions. This is a keeper league player run on 3 year contracts. The league has been around doing NL only leagues for 10+ years and just a few years ago we added an AL only league as well. So you wil be running 2 teams, share this with a friend or family memner or go into it hardcore and manage both yourself. It is a great league with a great group of guys. Entry for each team is 60$ for a combined sum of 120$ for both leagues. The league is a 5 by 5 league with also an 8 round minor league draft done Via E-mail. We have your uber experienced guys as well as novice people who have been added last few years. There are 3 openings the most we have ever had in one year. This league looks to keep going until we all die off or Baseball stops being played. THE BCTNL and AL leagues are taking people who are interested now. Please e-mail me at rotoenquire@yahoo.com Thanks |
| 9. By: Jason A. Churchill on 01-10-2011 19:48:02 shortstop is 100% wrong. Maybe 101%. Andruw Jones is an awful fit. Do a little research, man. |
| 10. By: shortstop9 on 01-10-2011 19:56:06 Sorry jason I thought we were allowed to have an opinion.I won't let that happen again |
| 11. By: StandinPat on 01-10-2011 20:06:44 Jones struggles with playing defense in CF, hitting RH pitching and spelling Andrew correctly... prob not the best fit |
| 12. By: Jason A. Churchill on 01-10-2011 20:12:49 Just stop throwing stuff out there like that. Because as much as everyone is entitled to an opinion, in this house you are also going to get the entitled opinion OF your "opinions." If you did any research at all, you'd see that Jones is not a fit in the least. Defensively, he's faded quite a bit, can't play center anymore and in a big place like left field at Safeco, that comfy UZR rating from 2010 gets swallowed up like a fish by a starving fat guy in an aquarium. His conditioning is a concern the past three years, and has certainly contributed to his performance, and lack thereof. Offensively he still has power, though it's all pull -- not a fit at Safeco, as 11 of his 13 homers at US Cellular last year went to left or left center -- but he can't hit right-handers, has never hit well at the Safe and isn't exactly going to like the idea of platooning. So how is he a good fit? |
| 13. By: Jason A. Churchill on 01-10-2011 20:14:10 BTW, is anyone else convinced that shortstop9 is actually Bill Bavasi? |
| 14. By: mauricewilliamsiii on 01-10-2011 22:47:10 Jason said; "Defensively, he's faded quite a bit, can't play center anymore and in a big place like left field at Safeco, that comfy UZR rating from 2010 gets swallowed up like a fish by a starving fat guy in an aquarium." Jason I'd really like to delve into this statement. It would seem to me that a reliable defensive metric would show your true level of play no matter what park you were playing in. It is swings that happen in UZR from switching parks that make people not trust it. Either you are a good defensive player or you aren't. Of all the freely published defensive metrics I find UZR to be the worst. Do you like any of the others better and if so which one or two? |
| 15. By: shortstop9 on 01-10-2011 22:47:14 Sorry edman but that's how he spells it.jones is a 4th of so that won't bother him.he hit 19 hrs last year so he still has some pop.who here thinks edman is in love with jason |
| 16. By: rotoenquire on 01-10-2011 23:22:34 I think this is another trying to find value in a minor league contract guy. If he works out GREAT! and he wil have trade value if not it is no risk. |
| 17. By: rocketdawg31 on 01-11-2011 01:06:35 Sorry edman but that's how he spells it.jones is a 4th of so that won't bother him.he hit 19 hrs last year so he still has some pop.who here thinks edman is in love with jason Wow, you know a guy has a rep for getting under people's skin when he doesn't even have to have said anything in the thread to be referenced! C'mon, shortstop9. Not to defend Edman blindly...the fella can treat your every last nerve-ending ganglia as something that he'll try to stomp into the cement like a 700-pound gorilla on uppers. Sure, you could say the guy lives to tweak the noses of those he thinks need tweaking. But I have seen Edman and Jason disagree several times. IIRC, Edman once very nearly got the permanent 86 from here as a result of being too flippant with his disagreement. So, to say that Edman is some sort of brown-noser to Jase really isn't fair to either. Like him or not, Edman has his own opinions. Jason contributes to those, I'm sure...but I doubt he's the sole basis. So, let's stop with the darn infantile innuendo. We're creative folk around here...let's erase winter doldrums in other ways on this site. |
| 18. By: Bionic_ben23 on 01-11-2011 03:04:36 two thoughts. I like the Kennedy signing, and damn, Tacoma is going to be stacked. |
| 19. By: jumpshot03 on 01-11-2011 03:19:59 Not a bad pick up if he does well in Spring. Jason, speaking of a 3rd basement falling in there lap, have you heard anything on Eric Chavez? I saw that the M's may be one of the teams taking a look. Could be a decent pick up for some power in the line up, back up at 3rd and DH if healthy. Any news on him? |
| 20. By: shortstop9 on 01-11-2011 09:08:47 Sorry Edman that was a bit out of line.With Jones I just think we need another bat(cheap little risk)to compete with Saunders.I think Bradley is going to vanish early in the season with an "injury" or something like that and if Saunders isn't ready we could use a good backup plan.I don't think Jones is going to solve all of our problems but he definately played much better last year than he has in a while.He is only 33 and played all 3 OF spots pretty well last year. |
| 21. By: jazon_24 on 01-11-2011 09:46:22 I am going to have to defend shortstop - at least a little bit. Note: this post assumes that Bradley is cut at the end of spring training and that Saunders is the starting LF (Jack Z doesn't trade for a LF). In reviewing the M's offense, I think that the M's could use (and probably need) a RH bench bat. Against RH pitchers, the M's look decent - starting several decent LH options (Ichiro, Cust, Saunders, and eventually Ackley) as well as two switch hitters that have historically hit better against LH pitchers. However, the RH bats that should be counted on to carry the load against LH pitchers include the three worst hitters on the team (Olivo, Ryan, and Wilson). Based upon the above, I think that it makes sense to add a RH bench bat that can be counted on (occassionally) to fill in at PH, DH, LF, and preferably RF (although Saunders could probably switch to RF or CF while the bench bat plays LF). From the above, the bench bat should not expect a lot of playing time, because the M's have stated that Cust and Saunders (if he starts the year with the M's) will play every day. While Andruw Jones may not be the right fit (for instance, he refuses to play the rather limited role of RH bench bat), I think that Shortstop was heading in the right direction with his comment. |
| 22. By: jgstecker on 01-11-2011 10:39:16 2011 Draft order update: The Mariners currntly sit at 66 overall with their 2nd rounder. They can move up if any of the following 7 players either re-sign with their old teams or fail to sign with anyone: Carl Pavano Rafael Soriano Grant Balfour Aaron Heilman Trevor Hoffman Felipe Lopez Chad Qualls Of those, Pavano is looking like he'll re-up with Minnesota. Hoffman and Lopez seem to be getting zero interest and may be unemployed (I believe they have to sign a big-league deal by Draft Day 2011 to merit the supplemental pick). Tampa needs relievers and may ultimately bring back one or two of Qualls, Balfour, and Soriano - my bet is Balfour's price tag falls low enough for them. So, maybe Seattle moves up 3 slots to 63rd overall. Not as good as many of us were hoping for. The way things currently stand, Seattle would also pick 96th, 125th (Stanek supplemental) and 127th. These picks would all adjust accordingly to any of the above players moving off the list. |
| 23. By: Decatur on 01-11-2011 11:35:35 Jason, are the Mariners still looking for a backup outfielder (preferably a right-handed batter) and a fifth starter? If so, would Jerry Hairston Jr. or Scott Hairston be a good fit to back up Saunders? For a starter, can they afford someone like Millwood, Bonderman, or Freddy Garcia? Or are there any guys coming off bad years (maybe Rodrigo Lopez or Brandon Looper) who would be both cheap and good to take a flier on? And thanks again for the good work you guys do on the site. |
| 24. By: FelixElRey on 01-11-2011 12:23:48 While I get the idea of wanting a RH bench bat, it seems that we would be better off getting a RH hitter whose value doesn't come from being a pull-happy power guy, because that value is sunk in Safeco. |
| 25. By: Edman on 01-11-2011 13:16:06 How in the hell did I end up in this thread, I didn't post a single comment? Imagine if I actually had posted? |
| 26. By: rocketdawg31 on 01-11-2011 13:34:35 While Andruw Jones may not be the right fit (for instance, he refuses to play the rather limited role of RH bench bat), I think that Shortstop was heading in the right direction with his comment. Sure, jazon24- but nobody was arguing the M's didn't need some better right-handed thump. That's an easy one to agree with. The thought was only that Andruw Jones ain't it. I think Safeco would deaden his bat if he had to play 81 games there. Imagine if I actually had posted? Edman, the mind recoils at the possibilities! |
| 27. By: vertigoman on 01-11-2011 14:57:44 Bradley isn't going anywhere so an Andruw Jones or another player like him really has no role on this team. I think betting house money on Bradley regressing back to being useful is safer than investing more on another question mark. Langerhans is a superior defender and he's already invited. BTW Jason, I know no one optimizes sites for Safari but the AD on the "log in" page for Safari blocks the username and password fields. Just though you should know. |
| 28. By: JohnMcD on 01-11-2011 16:17:05 Thanks for the info on Ramierez. Didn't realize he was out of options |
| 29. By: Edman on 01-11-2011 16:40:42 I have to admire Jack for not jumping into the market to overpay for a fifth starter. As things are shaping up, he should be able to land a Francis, Bonderman, Millwood, etc. by waiting. There are becoming fewer and fewer starting pitcher jobs available, and with almost a month to go, there is going to be pressure on the players to get signed. We'll see if Jack can find a taker at the right price, but you'd think that a pitcher who's trying to rebuild his worth, would love Safeco Field, especially a flyball pitcher. We'll see, the starting gun won't be too far off. |
| 30. By: eastcoastmariner on 01-11-2011 17:42:21 Jason/Chris/Rick - With the addition of Adam Kennedy, it would seem as though the M's are just about done adding position players to the fold before they head to Peoria. That being said, I know many of us, including myself, would be much more comfortable if the M's were to add another bat who could play the outfield and/or first base via free agency (minor or major league deal) or through a trade. Obviously, this would push guys like Josh Wilson, Tui, Mangini, and Langerhans out of the mix for a roster spot, which is certainly a scenario I think many of us wouldn't lose any sleep over. With that in mind, do any of these names make sense for the M's to make a run at through a trade or free agency: Ryan Rayburn Nolan Reimold Laynce Nix Looking forward to your thoughts. Appreciate the feedback guys! |
| 31. By: shortstop9 on 01-11-2011 18:17:33 Raburn would be a great fit just don't think Detroit will let him go without something of over value in return. |
| 32. By: rjfrik on 01-11-2011 18:35:16 Wow Jason that i really encouraging news on the draft front. It will be great to pick at the top of the second and third rounds this year. I literally can't wait. On a side note I got in Jason, cost me 1k but it was worth it, even though the outcome wasn't ideal for me. tough tough loss. |
| 33. By: StandinPat on 01-11-2011 22:34:58 ".jones is a 4th of, played all 3 OF spots pretty well last year." Not sure who sold you this bill of goods Shortstop, but you should ask for a refund. 4th OF's are typically relied upon to play solid defense and pinch run from time to time, seeing how Jones struggles with defense, and really, really struggles with running, I'd say that isn't the best fit. And how did he cover all 3 spots pretty well again? He was abhorred in Center, awful in Left, and just barely average in Right. How exactly is that pretty well? US Cellular Field is the antithesis of Safeco. Its cozy confines in the outfield hide his lack of range, while adding to his HR totals. Safeco on the other hand, has a LF that plays like some other other ballparks CF, say Cellular Field where Jones was god awful, and suppresses RH pull power, such as that of Jones. "I think Bradley is going to vanish early in the season with an "injury" or something" So your best move to improve this team is to sign a guy that is basically the same as the guy you currently have, because you don't feel like the team wants to keep said guy that's currently on the roster. In other words, hey why don't we cut Bradley and eat all his salary, and then go pay more money for a Bradley equivalent with a significantly worse work ethic. Lastly, you just had a GM come out and say he wasn't pleased with the work ethic and dedication of some of the young players, who then subsequently hired a Manager who has a no bs, work your butt off approach. So, how does bringing in Jones' fat lazy ass sit with what they are asking of every other player in the organization. |
| 34. By: shortstop9 on 01-12-2011 09:14:10 Standin Pat -way to earn your name.Where are you getting your facts about Jones. I have been around minor league baseball for the last 15 years and witnessed Andruw's commitment last year.He was a differnt player than the two previous years.He worked hard and was a very valuble player to his team last year. |
| 35. By: sexymarinersfan on 01-12-2011 13:54:37 Jason doesn't really respond to questions I've noticed. It's focused more towards opinionated posts that he disagrees with! ;-) |
| 36. By: sexymarinersfan on 01-12-2011 13:58:38 Shortstop is right about Jones' work ethic, however I completely disagree that he's even remotely a good fit for this ballclub. We already have a switch hitting A.J. on this team. He's just nuttier than Andruw is. |
| 37. By: StandinPat on 01-12-2011 21:03:40 "Standin Pat -way to earn your name" That doesn't make any sense, but ok... "Where are you getting your facts about Jones." From the guy who said "jones is a 4th of, played all 3 OF spots pretty well last year." "He was a differnt player than the two previous years" Ok, so Jones actually decided to put in some work after being notoriously out of shape for the past several years. Is he suddenly not a pull power hitter, with limited range in the outfield? Yup. Is Safeco still death to RH pull hitters with a cavernous LF? Yup. Is Jones still a bad fit for this team? Yup. |
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