As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, the Seattle Mariners have signed Ryan Garko.

Mariners DFA Gaby Hernandez

To make room for Garko, the Mariners designated for assignment right handed pitcher Gaby Hernandez.  Acquired in the Arthur Rhodes trade, Hernandez was once a hot prospect that has lost some velocity and the bite on his curveball the last couple of years.  He’s no longer a prospect, and unless something changes in his skillset, his upside is no more than the the 5th or 6th man in a bullpen (middle relief, swing man).  He’ll probably clear waivers, but if he doesn’t it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

The contract

Garko signs for a little over a half-million dollars, with bonuses based on plate appearances taking his potential earnings up to a little over a cool million.  He’ll probably land somewhere between $600-700K, barring an injury that turns him into a full-time player.

That is a steal of a deal, in case you’re wondering.

Role

“It’s pretty obvious I’m here to help against left-handed pitching, whether as a first baseman or DH, and be around to catch if the situation comes up,” Garko was quoted in this Larry Stone blog post.

Yes, it is pretty obvious.  Garko will steal some starts from Ken Griffey and Casey Kotchman, and will be one of the pinch hit options for Jack Wilson or Rob Johnson or whoever else.

Head over to Lookout Landing for more on the Kotchman/Garko platoon.

On to Garko the catcher.  Here’s another quote from that same Stone post:

“I caught all the way to Triple-A, and really would have kept doing it except Victor Martinez signed a five-year deal (with the Indians),” he said. “I felt it (switching positions) was my best path to the big leagues. It’s there. Jack and I talked about it. Just in terms of giving Don the opportunity to make moves in games, it’s important for us to have that third catcher. It just gives us more versatility and I think it can help the team.”

I’m trying not to pay any attention to this, and you probably should too.  Every team has an emergency catcher, and it’s usually someone who hasn’t caught for years and years, or in some cases never at all.  Mike Sweeney, Willie Bloomquist and Raul Ibanez are some of Seattle’s recent emergency catchers.  Chances are, Garko is no different.  Chances are, Garko will keep a catcher’s mitt in the back of his locker in case Rob Johnson’s surgically repaired wrist disengages and Josh Bard gets ejected when an umpire confuses Bard’s self-directed insults for an attack on his own mother, or any other bizarre combination of events that wipes out Seattle’s catching depth for the day (whoever those catchers might be; Johnson/Bard are my defaults for now).  Chances are, the most time behind the plate Garko sees with the Mariners will be early in Spring Training when the team needs extra catchers to handle the tons of pitchers that will be hanging around throwing bullpens.  It’s nice to think it gives Seattle some flexibility, but do you really see Garko, a guy that hasn’t played catcher regularly in half a decade, behind the plate, no matter who he might be catching?  Garko makes it sound like moving to first base was his decision, but he was a bad defensive catcher back when he moved to get around Victor Martinez (according to old Baseball America scouting reports).

So, Garko will play some first base, DH, maybe some left field in emergencies and will let his catcher’s mitt collect some dust.  But an emergency catcher is something that is required even if it’s not high on the checklist, so it’s nice to be able to cross off that minor role, I suppose.

11 man pitching staff

As mentioned in previous posts and across the blogosphere, bringing in another non-outfielder means Seattle probably goes with an 11 man pitching staff.  Manager Don Wakamatsu seems okay with this, based on these quotes from Doug Miller’s MLB.com article:

Since the team also has Ken Griffey Jr. as a part-time DH and occasional outfielder and will carry two catchers and an infield that consists of Garko, Kotchman, second baseman Jose Lopez, shortstop Jack Wilson, third baseman Chone Figgins and utility man Jack Hannahan (or Matt Tuiasosopo), there would only be room for 11 pitchers.

“That’s the way it slots out right now, but you just don’t know,” Wakamatsu said. “So many things can happen in Spring Training, and you’d always rather deal from a position of strength than one of weakness. As manager you can never have too many. It’s a good problem to have.

“Plus, with Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee as your No. 1 and No. 2 starters, you’d like to think there’s some benefit there and that maybe we’ll have that luxury at the top of the rotation to do that.”

So, unless something unforeseen happens between now and Opening Day, let’s assume Seattle will go with just six men in their bullpen.

Roster scenarios

First, let’s start off with the snenario I posted a couple days ago, when I inserted Garko as a hypothetical.

Lineup vs. RHPs:

C: Johnson/Bard
1B: Kotchman
2B: Lopez
3B: Figgins
SS: Wilson
LF: Bradley/Langerhans
CF: Gutierrez
RF: Suzuki
DH: Griffey/Bradley

Bench:

Hannahan (utility infielder)
Byrnes (utility outfielder, pinch runner)
Garko (first baseman, emergency outfielder)
Langerhans (utility outfielder)/Griffey (pinch hitter, emergency outfielder)
Johnson/Bard (catcher)

Lineup vs. LHPs:

C: Johnson/Bard
1B: Garko
2B: Lopez
3B: Figgins
SS: Wilson
LF: Byrnes
CF: Gutierrez
RF: Suzuki
DH: Milton Bradley

Bench:

Hannahan (utility infielder)
Langerhans (utility outfielder)
Kotchman (first baseman, pinch hitter)
Griffey (pinch hitter, emergency outfielder)
Johnson/Bard (catcher)

That is still my ideal scenario.  It’s hard to envision Garko getting much time at DH except for days when Bradley and Griffey will both be on the bench at the same time, which will happen from time to time to keep them fresh and healthy.  I can’t imagine Seattle going with any other basic bench structure as things stand now.  They could carry an extra infielder instead, and use Chone Figgins as the on-field 4th outfielder against lefties, but that would be far from ideal.

Emergency scenarios with the above setup

With the lineup against right handed pitching, the Mariners can lose any one player without being in too much trouble.  Wilson getting hurt would put the most pressure on the team, leaving Figgins or Hannahan to play the position.  But that’s fine for just one day or even two.  If Wilson misses some real time the Mariners have reinforcements in AAA.

The only combination of losing two players that would put Seattle in a serious bind would be if two non-1B infielders were hurt, which would leave Garko to play 3B, presumably.  Obviously, that’s not likely to ever happen, and given the likelihood I suppose Garko would be good enough in a pinch.

With the left handed lineup, the same deal applies for the most part.  Seattle could lose any one player for the day and get by, and could absorb a loss to any two players with the biggest strain coming if Garko had to play 3B.

An extra infielder would be nice, but what are the odds two non-1B infielders get hurt in the same game?  If that is the case, Seattle has bigger problems than having to rely on a guy like Garko to handle the hot corner.

In conclusion

I like the current setup.  Let’s bring on that last pitcher and get this season underway!