How can Seattle be planning on rebuilding?  In order to rebuild something it has to be torn down first, and Seattle has nothing to tear down.

When I think of a baseball team tearing things down and rebuilding, the first team that usually pops into my head is the Florida Marlins.  The team won the World Series in 1997 and was stripped bare shortly thereafter.  Moises Alou, Devon White, Al Leiter, Jeff Conine, Kevin Brown and others were dealt before the 1998 season began, and players such as Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla, Charles Johnson and Felix Heredia were dealt before the trade deadline.  Not every trade was a success, but they were able to bring in several talented young players such as A.J. Burnett, Derrek Lee and Preston Wilson.

That was one of the most dramatic tear downs in baseball history, and obviously Seattle can’t do anything of that caliber. Of the guys the team would love to unload– Jarrod Washburn, Carlos Silva, Miguel Batista and Kenji Johjima– only one is likely to be traded (Washburn) and will bring next to nothing in return.  It would take divine intervention for any of the other three to be moved. 

As far as I can tell, there are only two big contract guys Seattle could move for significant value this offseason: Ichiro Suzuki and Adrian Beltre.

Trading Ichiro would relieve the organization of their biggest contract and would bring in a very nice haul of prospects.  That said, don’t expect Ichiro to be going anywhere this offseason.  For one, the organization needs to put something on the field to keep people coming to the ballpark.  As recently as a couple months ago I felt like I’d be content watching a team of youngsters take their lumps, but I’m quickly learning I wouldn’t be.  Last night’s lineup was made up of half rookies, even without Wlad Balentien and Jeff Clement, and the game was pretty boring and I found myself tuning out after about six innings.  If Felix Hernandez and Ichiro hadn’t been starting it might have been tough for me to tune in at all.  Another reason Ichiro probably isn’t going anywhere is because of the ownership’s Japanese connection.  Ichiro is one of the most marketable players worldwide in the game today, and probably makes Nintendo quite a bit overseas.

As far as Beltre goes, he will be moved at some point before now and this time next year.  Unfortunately, he won’t bring back a bounty worthy of his talents.  He’s underrated and running out of contract, but hopefully Seattle can get something more than the compensatory draft picks they’d get by letting him walk.

Beyond Beltre, Erik Bedard and JJ Putz are the only ones Seattle could deal for something of value, but neither will bring anything back until they show other teams they are effective and healthy next summer.

It doesn’t appear that Seattle can completely rebuild in the traditional sense this offseason even if they wanted to.  Looking back, President Chuck Armstrong never really said much about rebuilding.  Rebuilding is just the word everyone likes to throw around because that’s what typically happens when a team decides not to use every available resource to win.  In Seattle’s case, they could have money to spend this offseason to better their team, but instead they’re going to stay away from the expensive free agents.  They’re not rebuilding, they’re simply waiting.  Waiting for some of the bad contracts to burn off and waiting for the young players to get a little bit better. 

Seattle is going to be better in a lot of areas next season, even without spending any additional resources.  They could even make some noise in the AL West if everything were to go right.  Either way, this organization could finally be heading in the right direction.

They already have three young and effective starters in Felix Hernandez, Brandon Morrow and Ryan Rowland-Smith that can only improve from here on out.  Potential outfield cornerstones Michael Saunders and Greg Halman will be playing AAA ball next year, as well as probable future starters in Matt Tuiasosopo, Luis Valbuena and Adam Moore.  Add to that Dennis Raben’s expected quick rise through the system to give Seattle left-handed power and plate discipline at first base and Seattle could have a rock solid foundation to build upon in 2010 and/or 2011.  The highly touted Carlos Triunfel could even be ready by 2011, and there will still be a crop of high upside youths left in the system to be ready by 2012 and beyond. 

A full scale tear down isn’t possible and more importantly isn’t required.  Whether or not you like Seattle’s idea to lay low throughout the 2009 season, you should be excited for the possibilities to come.  If most of the players listed above pan out (not to mention the top three draft pick we’ll be getting next summer), Seattle could be in a position to sign plus talent to fill gaps rather than to try and carry the team.  That sounds like a winning strategy to me, but we just have to hope that the new GM doesn’t add anymore bad contracts or make anymore bad trades.

It’s not quite rebuilding, but that’s not a bad thing.