Rumors: Counsell, Heilman
by Jon ~ January 19th, 2009
The Mariners and Brewers are among the teams interested in free-agent utility man Craig Counsell. The Brewers declined Counsell’s $3.4 million team option, but could bring him back at a lesser salary. Counsell, 38, had a .355 on-base percentage in 302 plate appearances last season. He also drew interest from the Indians before the Tribe traded for Mark DeRosa …
The Mariners likely are willing to move right-hander Aaron Heilman, who they did not consider a key component of their six-player return in the J.J. Putz trade. Heilman, 30, is entering his second year of arbitration, and could make sense for one of the many teams looking for an affordable starting pitcher. The Mets used him as a reliever, but he prefers to start …
Counsell is a solid defender at second base, shortstop and third, walks more often than anyone on the current Mariner roster, and has a knack for finding himself on very good teams (including the World Series champion Florida Marlins and Arizona Diamondbacks). That said, I’m not sure why Seattle would be looking for any more utility players. They’ve already got Reegie Corona, Callix Crabbe, Chris Woodward and others vying for that 25th roster spot.
Could Counsell be considered a starter? It’s a scary thought at first, but Counsel would be a better option than Yuniesky Betancourt. He plays better defense and gets on base a lot more, which is important out of the ninth spot of the lineup. Since Counsell isn’t really a high batting average or power guy, moving to the American League wouldn’t have as much effect on him as other hitters, in my opinion. Interesting…
As far as Heilman goes, this isn’t a surprise. We’ve been talking about this on and off since he was first acquired from the Mets. The Cardinals and Dodgers seem like good fits for him right now, whether he’s a starter, reliever or swing man.
4 Responses to Rumors: Counsell, Heilman
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moethedog
January 19th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
I haven’t been shy in my little bit here in saying the Yuni must go….But not for Counsell.
He’s 38…and his .355 OBP last year was an aberation. The two previous years it was .327 and. 323. Over the last three years his OPB has been
-23, -21 and +16 when conpared to the league average. He is a part time player…PA’s over the3 last 3 years are 415, 334 and 302.
Last two years he has slugged .309 and .302. Buddy Harrelson or Freddy Patek could probably step onto the field this year and slug that much…
Yuni’s PA’s have been 584, 559 and 590 over the same bit of time. His OBP compared to the league is -26, -25 and -31 (only last year did Counsell show any advantage)…And he has slugged .400, give or take the last three seasons…
Counsell is a bit better with the glove…but range looks to be about the same…
The Mariners definately need an upgrade here…but Counsell isn’t it!
Keith
Jon Shields
January 19th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
I wouldn’t necessarily want Counsell in there for 150+ starts, though it reads like that in the post.
If they’re serious about signing Counsell, they could bring him into ST and have him compete with Yuni. If Yuni is in shape and looking good, then he is the full-time starter. If Yuni doesn’t look good, Counsell could get 60-100 starts or so.
I still like the idea of having a guy that walks close to 12% of the time hitting ninth as opposed to someone who walks just 3% of the time.
I’m not saying “Get Counsell now!!” but I wouldn’t mind if he was brought in to push Yuni.
Keith
January 19th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
If we want a different SS, how about swapping Betancourt and Heilman to Pittsburgh for Craig Wilson and somebody else…we’d have to eat a little of Wilson’s contract, and Pittsburgh could then deal Heilman away if they wanted to. The question would be, who else to ask for? Any ideas?
Jon Shields
January 19th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
You mean Jack Wilson. I wouldn’t mind going after him, although his contract may be more of a problem than I used to think. I think we could use Heilman to get someone a bit better/younger elsewhere (not a SS necessarily).