Thoughts: Bench Situation
by Conor Dowley ~ March 22nd, 2010 at 9:38 pm
With the news that IF Jack Hannahan will be unavailable to start the year, the Mariners’ bench situation has been thrown into a mild disarray. Hannahan was being counted on to back up all four infield positions, and was going to be particularly needed at shortstop, where starter Jack Wilson has never really been a shining beacon of health.
So what’s to be done?
In-house options include Matt Tuiasasopo (who we looked at for a similar role a couple months ago) and Josh Wilson. Wilson’s a decent defender all around the diamond (and can throw an inning of relief here and there to boot), but is bat is simply awful. Tui has a decent and developing bat, but his defense is far from stellar, especially at short. As hard as it could be to imagine, he’d probably be worse than Yuniesky Betancourt there. You could theoretically throw Chris Woodward into that mix, but things would probably have to get pretty dire for the Mariners to turn to him at this point.
With these decidedly un-exciting internal choices, who else might the organization turn to?
Dave Cameron at USS Mariner has suggested Jayson Nix, lately of the Chicago White Sox. He had been looked at as a second base stopgap option for both the White Sox and the Colorado Rockies the last few years, but never really panned out in that role. Both teams ultimately used him as a super-sub, much like the Mariners used Hannahan last year, and he fared well in the role. Nix, who turns 27 this season, is not a huge whiz defensively (although he does seem to be above-average at 2B), but his bat profiles similarly to Hannahan’s, only coming from the right side of the plate instead of the left. That he can also fill in in the outfield from time to time would only serve to help the team’s depth off an already-limited bench. With him seeming to be on the verge of losing his spot on the White Sox roster to Brent Lillibridge, it probably wouldn’t cost a ton to acquire him.
Other external options are… well, there’s not really that many. The Mariners could try to trade for Reid Brignac or Willy Aybar of Tampa Bay, but they’d cost a fair amount to pry away from the Rays. If either could be had for a reasonable cost, the Mariners should jump at the opportunity. Aybar, a 27-year old switch-hitter, has thrived as the Rays’ utility man the past couple of years and combines a fairly decent bat with slightly better-than-average defense. Brignac, 24 and a shortstop by trade, brings a left-handed stick to the middle infield as well as defense that while only average, profiles well at any infield position. Both would be under team control for several more years as well, but that would only serve to drive up their cost to acquire.
The rest of the utility options around the league are hardly endearing. They’re either too expensive, or are hardly different than the options we already have. Nix is, in the end, the most realistic option that seems to be available outside of Tui or Josh Wilson. This injury definitely throws things out of whack to start the year in Seattle.
10 Responses to Thoughts: Bench Situation
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moethedog
March 22nd, 2010 at 10:58 pm
Tui, Tui, Tui.
He’s a lock.
Conor Dowley
March 22nd, 2010 at 11:55 pm
Much as I love Tui, he’s hardly a lock. Defense is a priority for the organization at this point, and at short, where he’d be most important… Well, to put it bluntly, Tui is a butcher defensively at short. And he’s not that much better at third or second.
Much as I hate to admit it, Tui’s long-term major-league future likely lies with another organization, probably in the NL.
Jon
March 23rd, 2010 at 10:49 am
I think I’m okay with Tui in the short term until Hannahan is back with Woodward stashed away in case it gets reeeeeeally ugly.
maqman
March 23rd, 2010 at 11:41 am
Eventually they are going to have to give Tui a shot or get rid of him, this might be as good a time as any to do it.
friedgreensooner
March 23rd, 2010 at 12:20 pm
I smell another “Choo” experience that Dr. D talks about if we let Tui go without a full shot. We were lucky to get Raul back after Kansas City let him play and he proved himself. I have this “feeling” that Tui is a 300/360/500 player ready to happen. Of course, I remember telling my son “Randy Johnson will never be more than a .500″ pitcher. Shows you what kind of a prophet I am!
MarinerMan6
March 23rd, 2010 at 12:45 pm
What about trading and/or Ramon Vasquez?? He was terrible last year but put up a .346 wOBA just a year ago in Texas and the Bucs are currently looking to trade him or outright release him. He can play all the IF positions, including SS, at a slightly below avg. level (UZR at SS over his career is -2.6 over 1900+ innings). This guy could essentially come free or for a C+ prospect if we don’t want to wait for him to be released.
MarinerMan6
March 23rd, 2010 at 12:46 pm
I meant to say trading and/or signing Ramon Vasquez.
CrustyJuggler
March 23rd, 2010 at 5:02 pm
Hannahan won’t be hard to replace. If they are looking for outside options, just grab another all-glove/no-bat MIFer off the scrap heap (much like they did when acquiring Hannahan). Chin lung Hu is on the outs in LA. Frandsen in SF is also rumored to be available. Either guy should be cheap. And those are just a few of the external options.
My bet is on Tui making it personally.
Conor Dowley Reply:
March 23rd, 2010 at 10:12 pm
Fransden intrigues me. Kid’s got some upside, and has already shown a decent ability to play around the infield. Hearing that the Giants are looking to get rid of him has me very curious at just what it would take to get him.
Chin-lung Hu…. eh. He’s never excited me much. He’s basically the second coming of Josh Wilson, except he’s probably not as good of an emergency pitcher.
Mekias
March 24th, 2010 at 6:26 am
I’m beginning to wonder if maybe the “idea” of Tui is better than the real Tui. His major league equivalency for 2009 is .229/.311/.399. (www.minorleaguesplits.com). He’s a career .271 minor league hitter with a career best of 13 homers. In my opinion, he’s going to have to have a real big breakthrough to be a major league regular. He certainly shows flashes of brilliance with the bat but I don’t think he’s yet reached the point where his bat would make up for his defense.