Mariners Potential Off-Season Targets

By: Anthony

Unfortunately our twitter followers were unable to suggest an idea for an article for today, I did only give them like 12 hours to do so but still. I wag my finger at you twitter followers. In other news, if you don’t follow us on twitter @Way_out_in_left for insight, article news and general comments on the Mariners. As you may be able to tell by the article title however, this post is not about our twitter account. (We wouldn’t try to pass that off as our last article of the week, {ok we might have thought about it, but then Brendan Ryan appeared to me in a dream and said “That’s a clown article bro”}). So now we move on to the actual article, you’re welcome for wasting a paragraph of your life.

                The Mariners have shown that they are going to rely on their farm system to supply the majority of their players of the future, cornerstones or building blocks if you will. Guys like “The Big Three,” Montero, Ackley, Seager, Franklin, Miller and Zunino. But that approach can only supply so much talent. Prospects can implode like a Smoak-bomb (see what I did there?). To win a world series, big free agents need to be landed and need to produce (Unlike Sexson, Richie or Figgins, Chone). The rest of this article will address potential free agents that the Mariners should and should not target this offseason.

                I will start this be eliminating a few positions that are locked down by young guys of the future, the building blocks. We don’t need a catcher, Montero and Jaso can hold down the fort till Zunino. Or maybe we sign a cheap minor league free agent to give Jaso a break. Anyway, catcher is not a place the M’s will be shopping aggressively. Shortstop, Second and Third base are all filled up to the brim, as I have detailed before. I will tentatively say that center field is filled by Franklin Gutierrez or Michael Saunders. Saunders is a solid fourth outfielder for a contender and Franklin is an all-star when he is healthy (So almost never). That combination is pretty good for center but the corner outfield has holes. Casper Wells, Eric Thames and Trayvon Robinson do not start for a contending team. They each have their own problems and at best will see some platoon action. First base is also a major problem with Smoak being horrible and Carp not being as good as last year (and injured).

                First base and corner outfield seem to be the places to add guys. Huzzah! Here are some names of people who will be free agents and play either of those positions. All of this comes from MLB Trade Rumors.

First Base (Age)-

Lance Berkman (36)
Jason Giambi (42)
Eric Hinske (35)
Casey Kotchman (30)
Carlos Lee (37)
James Loney (29)
Xavier Nady (34)
Mike Napoli (31)
Lyle Overbay (36)
Carlos Pena (35)
Ty Wigginton (35)

I removed all the players with club options for the sake of simplicity

 Centralia's Finest?

The names that interest me here are Napoli and Overbay. Napoli is a big right handed power hitter who can also catch but also strikes out a lot. He will probably be impacted by the wilds of Safeco field and suffer a bit of a power drain but he can still hit the ball a long way. Overbay is a little bit more interesting. He’s a lefty who has been all over the National League in varying roles and now is a pinch hitter for the Braves. I know that’s not a super exciting idea for a big splash free agent, but he has a history of getting on base and is more a gap power guy that could play well in Safeco. He would also be really cheap and would fill a hole and does not strike out much.  He is also from Centralia, fun fact of the day.

The first base free agent market kind of sucks, lots of old, almost washed up power hitters that I don’t see playing well in Safeco. Damn. How long till Rich Poythress is ready?

Now we move to the outfield where there are some bigger names

Left Field

Melky Cabrera (28)
Jonny Gomes (32)
Scott Hairston (33)
Josh Hamilton (32)
Eric Hinske (35)
Reed Johnson (36)
Andruw Jones (36)
Austin Kearns (33)
Carlos Lee (37)
Juan Pierre (35)
Delmon Young (27)

Right Field

Matt Diaz (35)
Kosuke Fukudome (36)
Torii Hunter (37)
Andruw Jones (36)
Xavier Nady (34)
Cody Ross (32)
Ichiro Suzuki (39)
Nick Swisher (32)

Let’s just think about this for a second, what if the M’s resigned Ichiro? What would the majority reaction be from fans? Would they be angry with management since we have been playing above average since he left or would they be happy he came back for a year? Either way, he is not going to be the answer in the outfield. Sorry.

Three names stand out to me on this list, Josh Hamilton, Melky Cabrera and Nick Swisher (How is Nick Swisher only 32? It seems like he has been in the league forever). Melky has had his trouble with testosterone, something I am not worried about for reasons I will go over in a bit. Josh Hamilton is the prize pig of this free agent class and many, including Brian Elsner of “Wait For It Seattle” are convinced he is the answer. Me, not so much.

"I might not have to face Felix anymore?" 

I like Nick Swisher, maybe it’s because he had a cameo appearance on “How I Met Your Mother” or that he has been abusing the short porch in Yankee Stadium, not unlike Safeco’s right field. I know that he is a big power/ big K guy that I typically do not like. But his consistent 20 home run seasons and OPS over .800 make him a pretty attractive target. He also will be cheaper than Hamilton and has played about 150 games a season throughout his entire career. Durability+ consistency+ left-handed power hitter is a nice recipe for success, especially in Safeco. His defense may be sub-par but with the Canadian Condor or Death to Flying Things next to him, he shouldn’t be too bad.

This is why I am not too concerned about Melky Cabrera drug testing scandal. Did anyone else know that a player can legally have up to 4 times as much testosterone in their system than a normal person? 4 times! That is ridiculous, we don’t know the specifics of Melky’s testing but he could have had 4.1 times as much testosterone and been in trouble. A guy could go a whole career at 3.99 times the normal amount and be legal. It’s crazy. So the drug thing isn’t that big a deal. He also will be dirt cheap after his suspension and was in the middle of the best season of his life. Of course there is some doubt about his stats because of the testosterone but he also hit about .300 the year before with the Royals and he is coming to the age where most MLB players hit their prime. I think he is an awesome addition. Cheap+ productive+ Prime age= Good signing.

Hey there Slugger, please don't sign with us

Josh Hamilton is one incredible story and one incredible player. He also is on the wrong side of 30 and has only played over 150 games in a season once. I know his career stats are awesome and he is still hitting the ball a long way often. But I would prefer to not spend a huge amount of money on an injury prone guy who has struck out more this year than he has in his entire career (And there are still over 20 games to play). I know people think that his production will be worth it but he will want a huge contract, lots of money and lots of years. Just like Albert Pujols got and I can guarantee you the Angels will be regretting that 10 year deal in four years. If we can get him for a four year deal, awesome. But I don’t see him not signing anything less than six years. This is his one chance to make a chunk of change and he will take advantage and I do not want to be the team paying him when he is 38 and awful. You may now argue about why I am wrong about him in the comments or on twitter.

So that is where I see the Mariners going in the off season. I know Overbay and Cabrera/Swisher isn’t going to make a huge splash and get everyone talking about us, but they will improve this offense and not drain the bank account so we can pay Felix when we have to. Go Mariners.