General Off-Season Thread

[Sweezo]

Probably makes sense to just have one of these started to discuss items as the come in. And uh...bye bye Lopez:

The Mariners just announced that Jose Lopez has been traded to the Colorado Rockies for right handed pitcher Chaz Roe.

"Chaz is a former first-round pick with a nice arm,'' GM Jack Zduriencik said in a release.

Roe, 24, was a 32nd overall sandwich pick selected in the 2005 entry draft. He made 27 starts in Class AAA last season, going 9-13 with a 5.98 ERA.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/marinersblog

[TTown]

Maybe I was just caught up in all the non-sucking in '09, but I didn't mind Lopez's horrific OBP when he was going yard 25 times and knocking in 100 runs. But that .272 OBP (!!!) last season, when he lost all his power and didn't drive in squat, really stuck out. Talk about a black hole in the line-up.

He'll hit 30 HRs in Coors next year, I guarantee it. And people will wonder why we gave him up for so little, but such is life.

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

I never thought we'd be able to get anything of significance for Lopez, but this minor-league pitcher seems like hot garbage.

Lopez should kill it in Coors. 25-30 HRs. I'm just glad he's gone though. Welcome to the bigs, Ackley.

[Bulltalk]

You're right in that it's a good place for Lopez to have landed. But I am happy to see this guy fade farther and farther from sight in my rear view mirror.

[Sweezo]

I never thought we'd be able to get anything of significance for Lopez, but this minor-league pitcher seems like hot garbage.

True, but the real benefit here is simply being rid of Lopez without owing him any more money. Perhaps Roe can become a decent bullpen arm if nothing else. He did pitch in an awful league for pitchers last year...if he ever makes it to Safeco, there would be a bigger margin of error for him.

[Zyme]

You're right in that it's a good place for Lopez to have landed. But I am happy to see this guy fade farther and farther from sight in my rear view mirror.

Coors is not the launching pad it used to be since the humidifier was brought in. It'll be interesting to see how he plays. I think colorado would be happy if he would just continue to play good def at this point.

[Bulltalk]

You're right in that it's a good place for Lopez to have landed. But I am happy to see this guy fade farther and farther from sight in my rear view mirror.

Coors is not the launching pad it used to be since the humidifier was brought in. It'll be interesting to see how he plays. I think colorado would be happy if he would just continue to play good def at this point.

Call me ill-informed. I had no idea of such a thing. I guess I'm just an ignorant AL guy.

[bennith13]

Is anyone else flabbergasted by the Jason Werth deal? WTF are the nationals thinking?

[TTown]

The Jayson Werth deal is exactly why the world hates Scott Boras, but if you're a player he's the only guy you want representing you. He had the Nationals bidding against themselves, and probably got Werth a cool $40 mil (not to mention 2 or 3 extra years nobody else would dream of offering) more than anybody else could. Nats got taken for a ride.

[Sweezo]

They'll regret that contract. As much as I wish the M's could do certain things with their payroll, I do trust this regime to not panic and agree to deals like those.

Another thing i like about the M's is their activity on the international front.

The Mariners have signed Dominican shortstop Esteilon Peguero with the largest international signing bonus of the year, Baseball America reported Monday.

Peguero, 17, agreed to a $2.9 million deal, the report said.

Peguero, 6-foot-1, 185 pounds and a right-handed batter, is considered one of the most promising young hitters in Latin America. He is expected to move to second or third base.

The Mariners also signed Dominican outfielder Phillips Castillo for $2.2 million in July, giving the team two of the best hitters in the international amateur ranks.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/baseball/archives/230797.asp

People may have the M's pegged as budget conscious, but they have been willing the last couple years to grab young international players and draft picks. Baseball America's top ten prospect list for the M's also came out today:

1. Dustin Ackley, 2b
2. Michael Pineda, rhp
3. Nick Franklin, ss/2b
4. Taijuan Walker, rhp
5. Guillermo Pimentel, of
6. Mauricio Robles, lhp
7. Johermyn Chavez, of
8. Marcus Littlewood, ss
9. Kyle Seager, inf
10. Dan Cortes, rhp

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/rankings/organization-top-10-prospects/2011/2611021.html

Note how many of those are pieces Jack Z has added via draft or trade in the past two seasons. Sure, it's just a list, but it gives me hope for the future. The international signings give me hope for the future. An upcoming draft where we have the #2 pick gives me hope for the future.

Now...Jack just needs to keep this team competitive long enough to see that talent make it to the big leagues...

[bennith13]

Its not that the Mariners are budget conscious or don't spend enough, its that they are still paying people that Bavasi over paid for. Next year we will have some money because we wont be paying Milton Bradley or Betancourt etc.

I don't mind that the Mariners are not going after any big names this year at all. If Jason Werth is getting 7 years and $126 mil what will Carl Crawford and the like get.

[Zyme]

Is crawford worth the 2nd overall pick you would have to surrender?

Type A:
Carl Crawford (OF)
Vladimir Guerrero* (DH)
Jason Kubel* (IF/OF)
Paul Konerko (1B)
Magglio Ordonez (OF)
Manny Ramirez (OF)
Victor Martinez (C/1B)
A.J. Pierzynski (C)
Bengie Molina (C)
Derek Jeter (SS)
Adrian Beltre* (3B)
Cliff Lee (LHP)
Andy Pettitte (LHP)
Carl Pavano (RHP)
Rafael Soriano (RHP)
Mariano Rivera (RHP)
Matt Guerrier (RHP)
Scott Downs (LHP)
Dan Wheeler (RHP)
Jason Frasor (RHP)
Frank Francisco (RHP)
Grant Balfour (RHP)
Jayson Werth (OF)
Adam Dunn (1B)
Derrek Lee (1B)
Ramon Hernandez (C)
Miguel Tejada (SS)
Bronson Arroyo* (RHP)
Jorge de la Rosa (LHP)
Arthur Rhodes (LHP)
Takashi Saito (RHP)

Type B:
David Ortiz* (DH)
Johnny Damon (OF)
Brad Hawpe (OF)
Lance Berkman (1B)
Carlos Pena (1B)
Jason Varitek (C)
Gerald Laird (C)
Mark Ellis (2B)
Orlando Hudson (2B)
Jhonny Peralta* (IF)
Javier Vazquez (RHP)
Kevin Millwood (RHP)
Jon Rauch (RHP)
Koji Uehara (RHP)
Brian Fuentes (LHP)
Kevin Gregg* (RHP)
Joaquin Benoit (RHP)
Kerry Wood (RHP)
Randy Choate (LHP)
J.J. Putz (RHP)
Jesse Crain (RHP)
Chad Qualls (RHP)
Scott Podsednik* (OF)
Jonny Gomes* (OF)
Adam LaRoche* (1B)
Aubrey Huff (1B)
Miguel Olivo* (C)
Yorvit Torrealba* (C)
Rod Barajas (C)
Felipe Lopez* (IF)
Orlando Cabrera (SS)
David Eckstein (IF)
Juan Uribe (IF)
Aramis Ramirez* (3B)
Jose Reyes* (SS)
Omar Infante* (IF)
Alex Gonzalez* (SS)
Jon Garland* (RHP)
Hiroki Kuroda (RHP)
Vicente Padilla (RHP)
Kevin Correia (RHP)
Pedro Feliciano (LHP)
Octavio Dotel (RHP)
Trevor Hoffman* (RHP)
Hisanori Takahashi (LHP)
Aaron Heilman (RHP)
Chad Durbin (RHP)
Hideki Matsui (DH)
John Buck (C)

http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/10/29/2010 ... -rankings/

[Zyme]

P.S. How the hell did Rocky Rhodes get Type A status?

[Sweezo]

Is crawford worth the 2nd overall pick you would have to surrender?

I'm not sure if this year is any different, but typically I think the first 15 picks are protected. If the M's signed a Type A free agent, they'd surrender their second round pick.

Crawford would be awesome if we could afford him. I think he's different than Dunn because Crawford would still likely be contributing at a high level at the end of a 4-5 year deal. But he'll be too expensive.

P.S. How the hell did Rocky Rhodes get Type A status?

He put up great numbers...had his first All Star appearance of his career this last year too. I like Arthur; I don't root for another teams besides the M's but I was happy for him this past season.

[Sweezo]

If you take out those who have signed already...

Type A:

Carl Crawford (OF)
Vladimir Guerrero* (DH)
Paul Konerko (1B)
Magglio Ordonez (OF)
Manny Ramirez (OF)
Bengie Molina (C)
Adrian Beltre* (3B)
Cliff Lee (LHP)
Andy Pettitte (LHP)
Carl Pavano (RHP)
Rafael Soriano (RHP)
Matt Guerrier (RHP)
Scott Downs (LHP)
Dan Wheeler (RHP)
Derrek Lee (1B)
Arthur Rhodes (LHP)
Takashi Saito (RHP)

[TTown]

I believe the Nats first rounder (#3) was protected in the Werth deal, so I think you're right. We can sign anybody and keep our #2 overall pick.

[Sweezo]

Looks like we have a new DH:

Just spoke to new Mariners DH Jack Cust, who confirmed to me that he agreed to a $2.5-million base salary with the Mariners. There are also incentives in the deal, based on plate appearances, that could take it up over the $2.65 million he earned with Oakland last season.

Cust told me his priority is signing was to find a team that appreciated what he could do as a player -- make that, a full-time player.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/marinersblog/2013626031_jack_cust_says_it_sounds_like.html

I think it's a good deal. Cust hasn't been as good the last couple years, but he has power and he gets on base. And he's a good fit for SafeCo Field.

[bennith13]

What the heck is going on in baseball free agency? First Werth and now Carl Crawford. I love Carl Crawford but are you kidding me with $22 mil a year? He might... MIGHT... be worth half of that.

[Zyme]

Thank god we don't have to pay that. Watch his speed on the base paths be wasted by a conservative manager.

[Sweezo]

Well, I'm not a huge fan of this one but Miguel Olivo has agreed to a 2 year/$7 million contract