From time to time this offseason Dustin, Rob and I may post various offseason plans that we think would put an improved Seattle Mariners team out on the field for 2009.  In these plans we’ll try our best to be realistic.  Sure, it would be easy to say “sign Mark Teixiera, Rafael Furcal, Orlando Hudson, CC Sabathia, Milton Bradley and Adam Dunn,” but that really doesn’t get us anywhere. 

Obviously we have no influence on what Seattle does and these are just a fun way to play GM for a day and try to determine what kind of team we’d build if we had the chance. 

Major Transactions:

Sign Jeremy Affeldt to a 2 year contract worth $7M.

Sign Mike Cameron to a 2 year contract worth $18M.

Trade Jarrod Washburn, Jose Lopez and J.J. Putz to the Milwaukee Brewers for J.J. Hardy and Brad Nelson.

Sign Chad Cordero to a 1 year deal worth $1M guaranteed and up to $4M in incentives for number of appearances, innings pitched, et cetera.

Roster:

C: Kenji Johjima ($8M)
1B: Brad Nelson ($400K)
2B: Luis Valbuena ($400K)
3B: Adrian Beltre ($12M)
SS: J.J. Hardy (arbitration eligible, up from $2.65M.)
LF: Wladimir Balentien ($400K)
CF: Mike Cameron ($9M)
RF: Ichiro ($17M)
DH: Jeff Clement ($400K)

Bench: Rob Johnson ($400K)
Bench: Yuni Betancourt ($2M)
Bench: Jeremy Reed (arbitration eligible, up from $400K.)
Bench: Tug Hulett ($400K)

Second base could easily go to Betancourt, but I like the plate discipline Valbuena brings to the table.  Spring Training performance would determine the winner.  Also, Jeff Clement would probably get time behind the plate and at first base.

CL: Chad Cordero, R ($1-4M)
SU: Jeremy Affeldt, L ($3.5M)
SU: Sean Green, R ($405K)
MR: Roy Corcoran, R ($400K)
MR: Mark Lowe, R ($400K)
MR: Justin Thomas, L ($400K)
LR: Miguel Batista, R ($9M)

SP: Felix Hernandez (arbitration eligible, up from $540K)
SP: Erik Bedard (arbitration eligible, up from $7M)
SP: Carlos Silva ($11M)
SP: Ryan Rowland-Smith ($400K)
SP: Brandon Morrow ($400K)

With this roster the payroll drops from almost $118M in 2008 to about $87M.

First of all, this offseason plan is pretty low key, featuring just one trade and no mega signings.  This isn’t a team built to contend for a World Series, but it would be an obvious improvement over last year’s product and could be a darkhorse type of team.

Compared to 2008 Mariners:

C: If anything, Johjima matches the production offensively and defensively as the 2008 catchers, with a decent chance of bouncing back and being an improvement.
1B: Nelson couldn’t be any worse than the guys put out there in ’08, and would probably be slightly better offensively than what Richie Sexson, Miguel Cairo, Bryan LaHair and others produced.  Defensively it’s probably a push.
2B: Jose Lopez is one of the better offensive second basemen in professional baseball, so his production will be missed.  However, Valbuena or Betancourt should provide a decent upgrade defensively.
3B: No changes here, but the argument can be made that Beltre will put up better numbers offensively because he’s in a contract year and he’s expected to be healthy for the first time in a few years.
SS: Hardy is a huge upgrade over Betancourt defensively and is one of the top producing shortstops in baseball offensively.
LF: Raul Ibanez’s offensive numbers will be missed, but the defensive upgrade makes up for it slightly.
CF: Cameron gives Seattle a huge upgrade offensively and defensively over the likes of Reed and especially over Balentien.
RF: Ichiro’s production dipped slightly offensively and defensively in 2008, but his career trends hint at a nice bounce back season and a healthy hamstring won’t hurt.
DH:  Seattle used a million players at DH in 2008, but hopefully Clement can show his true colors and at very least equal the production.

Possible lineup:

1. Ichiro
2. Cameron
3. Hardy
4. Beltre
5. Clement
6. Nelson
7. Balentien
8. Johjima
9. Valbuena

Player/Position Future:

Johjima hopefully rebounds enough for teams to consider trading for him sometime before his contract expires in three seasons.  If he is able to do that then the catcher position will be handed off to either Clement or Adam Moore… Nelson isn’t viewed as a long-term option, but he still has some upside.  He could turn out to be a pleasant surprise, but it’s more likely that he is merely a stopgap to either Dennis Raben or someone else the team brings in later… Beltre is a free agent after the 2009 season, at which time Seattle will try to re-sign him.  The chances of it happening appear slim, and it will probably be Matt Tuiasosopo time… Hardy would be under team control through 2010, and hopefully Carlos Triunfel could be ready to take over for the 2011 season, though that could be a bit too fast… Cameron is a stopgap to either Michael Saunders or Greg Halman… If Cordero stays healthy he can be flipped at good value at the deadline to a team desperate for late inning relief help.

I like this team and it appears fairly easy to assemble, though I’m unsure if the Milwaukee trade could work or if Cameron has any willingness to come back to Seattle.  The team assembled above would be an offense and defensive upgrade from 2008′s team, and would feature an improved bullpen and starting rotation as well. 

I’d like to hear what you would think about this team, and feel free to post your own scenarios in the comments.