| By Adam H. Wong |  | By 12-19-2011 |
This weekend was full of action as the Seattle Mariners finally made some waves in the offseason, albeit small, unsurfable ones. Although it hasn't been officially announced, Jason A. Churchill reported that George Sherill and the Mariners have come to terms on a one-year deal worth about $1.1 million plus incentives, pending a physical. Greg Johns speculates that the physical will take place after the holidays.
LOOGY
Sherrill returns to the Emerald City, presumably as the left-handed specialist out of the bullpen. Sherrill absolutely devours left-handed bats, as made evident by his career .180/.241/.275 slash line against. He probably isn't going to face many right-handed bats, if any, because his career .272/.379/.414 is far less impressive.
Sherrill had a horrible 2010 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, posting a 6.69 ERA. But a year long stint with the Atlanta Braves in 2011 helped increase his value, where he posted a 3.00 ERA and held batters to a .248/.313/.346 slash line.
The left-handed pitching market is starting to thin out, and the Mariners made out with one of the better hurlers. Arthur Rhodes, Mike Gonzalez, and Darren Oliver are some of the LHP still on the market, but Seattle came to terms with the best pitcher that will fit their dire need for a left-hander out of the bullpen.
Going into the 2012 season, the Mariners only had Charlie Furbush available as a left-handed bullpen option. This move opens up the possibility of him slotting into the fifth starter role, or possibly opening up the season in Tacoma.
Aaron Laffey is still a free agent.
Rollins and the Phillies
Jimmy Rollins and the Philadelphia Phillies came to terms on a three-year, $33 million contract, with an $11 million vesting option for the fourth year. The Phillies got their lead-off man, but as he'll be 36 years old in the final year of his contract, one has to wonder if he'll lose a step or two, and how valuable he'll be to the lineup then.
The shortstop market is wearing thin, as Edgar Renteria, Cesar Izturis, Ronny Cedeno and Yuniesky Betancourt make up what's left of the pile. With Rafael Furcal re-signing with St. Louis and Alex Gonzalez signing with Milwaukee, there wasn't really another landing spot for J-Roll to finish out his career. Although he is one of the many faces of the Phillies franchise, the projection for their aging lineup is a question mark.
The San Diego Haul
The Cinncinati Reds and Sad Diego Padres filled each other's needs this weekend, as the Padres sent 24-year-old right-handed pitcher Mat Latos to the Reds for Yonder Alonso, Yasmani Grandal, and right-handers Edinson Volquez and Brad Boxberger. At first glance, this seems like a trade that works out well for both clubs in the present. The Reds got a top of the rotation starter in Latos, and the Padres filled needs at first base and catcher, while replacing Latos with a fifth starter in Volquez.
If I had to take a stance, I would say that San Diego came out on top, although not by very much. Though the Reds received a great young pitcher in Latos, it's hard to argue that the service time and production that the Padres will get out of Alonso and Grandal won't be a great benefit to their long term success.
In the wake of this trade, many have postulated that the Mariners could net a similar deal if they were to dangle Michael Pineda above the trade block. I thought, at first, that I would easily pull the trigger on this deal. Although the situation is murky at first base in Seattle, the Mariners would fill a need for a young catcher, and add a flame-throwing right-hander, the kind of bullpen arm Jack Zduriencik likes.
On second thought, however, I believe that the Mariners, if they were to offer up Pineda, could get more than the Padres got for Latos, based on the fact that he is two years younger, and has an extra year of club control. Plus, you don't get the circus that Latos might bring to a clubhouse. Pineda's intangibles thus far have shown that he will have the mindset and skillset of a bona fide No. 1 starter, and that's something that I don't think I'd be willing to let go.
Yu Darvish
Jon Morosi reports that the Nippon-Ham Fighters will accept the bid for the rights to negoitiate with Yu Darvish around 5-6 P.M. PST. The buzz around the baseball blogosphere seems to be that either the Toronto Blue Jays or Texas Rangers will win the rights to try to snag the 6' 5" Japanese ace. If I had to bet, I would wager that the Rangers will break the bank to try to attain his services.
The Rangers lost their "ace" C.J. Wilson to the Los Angeles Angels, and they will be looking for a front-line starter if they hope to contend in the playoffs.
Although the stats that Darvish has put up in the NPB will have to be taken with a grain of salt, they are still impressive. Over five years in Japan, Darvish has compiled a career 1.72 ERA, 0.890 WHIP, and a 9.5 K/9. Four out of the five years he pitched more than 200 innings, and in that "blemish" of a year, 2009, he pitched 182 innings, so his durability isn't a concern.
He has a fastball that sits in the 91-95 mph range, and I've heard that he throws a shuuto, which has the break of a screwball but has more velocity and puts less strain on the wrist. Keith Law has said that he is a potential ace on any staff, so it will interesting to see how he performs this upcoming season.
Once the bid is accepted, the winning club has 30 days to negotiate a contract.
weekend-wrap:-sherrill,-latos-and-darvish
Comments
The following 13 comment(s) for this article are shown below:
| 1. By: rjfrik on 12-19-2011 19:37:33 Looks like we signed 17 year old SS Angel Yente from the Dominican. He projects to be a top prospect down the road that hopefully develops the power that Engle and Co. think will come. His bat is ticket to bigs and reports are that he has the ability to become a top prospect. Exciting to say the least. Hanley 2.0 ? Maybe. Go M's |
| 2. By: titans12 on 12-19-2011 22:35:07 Well darvish is a ranger im sure they will get him signed.hopefully we get some offense soon. hopefully prince beltran cespedes just one would be nice |
| 3. By: Marlin Man on 12-20-2011 09:57:19 Come on Z- the West is really starting to pull away from you-- you don't get the Prince, or a REAL significant bat- you can kiss your job goodbye in another year. M.M. |
| 4. By: Saltydawg05 on 12-20-2011 12:57:13 Relax Marlin Man... We don't want Jack to do something just to do it. Remember why we are in this situation? Too many bad contracts. The Mariners need to spend more and more importantly need to spend more wisely. Whether or not we get Prince...there are other bats out there (via trade) that we can get as well. I don't wanna be all in on Prince no matter the cost, however I do want this offense to improve |
| 5. By: Marlin Man on 12-20-2011 13:12:29 Salty--- I stand by my statement They are indeed pulling away from us, they kicked our ass in standings BEFORE either made such moves, and if you follow old "monetball" you know Billy Bean WILL be back with his assosrtment of nobodies and will be winning again in a year or two I am a big fan of Z (so far) BUT still say we need a significant bat, or two in the lineup- to have any hope whatsoever in playing winning ball in ayear or two I just hope the two old muppets in the corner room WILL let him make the moves he needs to make?????????????? M.M. |
| 6. By: elsid on 12-20-2011 13:31:24 Marlin Man -- no offense meant by this, but if Billy Beane can win with an "assortment of nobodies", why can't the M's? Your assumption doesn't hold water. Granted, the M's have to make moves to improve their team over the last few years -- that is a given. However, if you jump, there may be no ground to land on. You can't just give Fielder 10 years and a billion $'s, when you possibly could get him for less. Patience always helps, as well as an open mind, especially in baseball. J -- love the site. It has come along way!!!! Hope I get the chance to make it up there this year and see ya, and whomever else is working with ya. |
| 7. By: maqman on 12-20-2011 13:44:36 It will be interesting to see how Darvish pitches in the Rangers bandbox in the summer heat in Big D. I for one don't want Fielder, he will end up an albatross and when he does Smoak or Carp could well be putting up better numbers but maybe someplace else. |
| 8. By: Saltydawg05 on 12-20-2011 13:45:49 Marlin Man... I agree with you on that we need two (at least) bats. Where I don't agree is the get Prince at all costs line of thinking. If it takes 250+ over 10 years no thank you. The M's need to spend wisely so we don't get into a situation where a few terrible contracts cripple the ability to contend. The M's need to spend and get better, just we need to do it wisely |
| 9. By: Saltydawg05 on 12-20-2011 13:52:03 For the record that may be signing H. Kuroda to a deal if his market falls and then trading some of the pitching in a deal for a bat. There are more ways to get better than simply throwing money at the best hitter. The M's are not a small market team, but at the same time they are not the Yankees, Red Sox,Phillies, or even the Angels either. Bad contracts hurt this team and that is something that needs to be avoided as much as possible. |
| 10. By: nwmsfan on 12-20-2011 15:17:57 There's just no way Prince gets a 10 yr deal, I know its boras and never say never and all that but look at the bidders. Cubs would go shorter yrs and higher annual value but the more I think about that it doesn't make sense. They are still a few years away of legitimate contention and the new brass will likely do that through smart player development. If they were inheriting a better team and farm system that's different but they need a big overhaul and dumping 25-28 million to a 1B with no dh option is something I can't see. TOR needs a frontline starter BADLY and that should be their priority. It's hard to imagine they would ship out top prospects and then bind themselves up with a huge contract after weakening the system. If WAS is impulsive enough to go for a long term deal with him then maybe that's your one dumb owner, but after Werth last year and commitments to Laroche, Morse plus no dh option they would have to be really dumb. Maybe I'm way off here but I can see us nabbing prince if Jack goes 8 years at a value south of 200 million because of the market. |
| 11. By: Mackie on 12-20-2011 16:01:44 Boras is doing a nice job playing out the FA situation so he can get the most for Fielder. I have to wonder if there will be offers as high as Boras anticipates. I wouldn't want to go higher than 8 years at 200 million. I'd like something better like 6 years at $150M. Any way, it will cost a lot of money. What is Cespedes likely to get paid, and how much do you think he would help the Mariners right away? I am reading things like $30M, and that he is a five-tool player who might compare to Raul Mondesi. What outfield position would he be best suited to? Is this a guy the M's should be in on? |
| 12. By: Timberwolf on 12-20-2011 20:00:31 Boras specializes in creating his own market. With the Yankees and Red Sox not a realistic option, that is a lot harder. I'm expecting a shorter deal with an even earlier opt-out for Prince, but coming close to Pujols dollars per season. Something like $150M for six years with Prince having an opt-out at the end of year 3 or 4. |
| 13. By: Panhead55 on 12-21-2011 11:38:02 I'd be nervous about expending a lot of $s on Cespedes. While scouts can make good assessments about his "tools", that doesn't necessarily guarantee success at the highest level. Supposedly the Cuban league falls somewhere between low A and high A in regards to level of play. We know Cespesdes is at least 26 yo, with the outside chance he is older. While Cespedes has put up exceptional numbers in the Cuban league, would we be that excited about a prospect who produced those kind of numbers at High Desert as a 26 year old? |
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