Overbay Could Be Seattle Bound

by ~ November 5th, 2008 at 2:23 am

Larry Stone:

9. Lyle Overbay, 1B (trade)

He’s yet another 1B option (and another state product, from Centralia). Word out of Toronto is that the Jays want to trade Overbay to Seattle and are willing to pick up some of his salary. According to one source, Overbay was part of the package (along with reliever Jason Frasor) for Raul Ibanez that was nixed by the Mariners at the trade deadline.

The deadline trade mentioned was engineered by interim GM Lee Pelekoudas and nixed by President Chuck Armstrong, and is one of the few times I can say I’m glad Armstrong stepped in.  It wouldn’t have been the absolute worst trade in the world, but the compensatory picks should produce more value.

Overbay is a nice fit for Seattle and fits the profile of what we’re looking for out of the first base position.  He hits from the left side of the plate at a .281/.362/.447 career clip, combining pop and good plate discipline.  He’s a very good defender as well, and has been among the top 5-10 fielding first basemen the last few seasons based on the +/- system.

Overbay will be 32 before next season, so he isn’t considered a long-term option.  His contract runs through 2010, making him a perfect stopgap type player.  He’s due to make just $7M each season, so I’m unsure why the Mariners would require the Jays to pay some of his salary, but we’ll take it!

The stars seem to be aligning on this one.  One, it sounds a lot like Overbay requested a trade to Seattle.  Two, GM Jack Zduriencik is very familiar with him and may have been responsible for bringing him to Milwaukee in the Richie Sexson trade prior to the 2004 season.  Three, Overbay is a near perfect fit for this team.  Four, he was born in the Pacific Northwest in 1977.  The perfect storm…

I can’t imagine it would take much to get Overbay, especially if Seattle has the upper hand in these negotiations.  I would think a couple of so-so prospects could do the trick, though it’s hard to say for certain (especially at 2 am). 

I’m all for bringing Overbay in, especially considering the other options.  He very well may be the best available (realistic) 1B option for Seattle in 2009.

Update:  Larry LaRue echoed Stone this morning:

Toronto is trying to trade 32-year-old Lyle Overbay to Seattle, and meeting with a decided lack of enthusiasm.

I’m having trouble figuring out what the second half of that statement means exactly.  Thoughts?

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  • The Kid

    I do not beleieve Overbay is the answer. I like the other options for our lineup much more than him. That being said, I would not object to him being a piece of the puzzle. I truly feel we need to make a huge sign and a big time trade. The M’s are two or three moves away from being serious contenders, but I don’t think this is one of the better moves.

  • Brandon

    I like Overbay as a stop gap. I think i’m less optimistic than The Kid in our ability to compete in the near future, so a relatively cheap, but very solid 1B makes a lot of sense, especially if we can pry him away for a couple of mid-level prospects.

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Jon Shields

    @ The Kid – It all depends on who those “other options” are.

    I know you’ve been campaigning for Seattle to sign Teixiera, but it’s a lost cause. One, good players don’t typically like coming to the worst team in the league. Two, President Armstrong has said Seattle won’t be making “a big splash,” mentioning Tex by name. Cross Teixiera off your list.

    You say we need a big trade, but what kind of big trade is going to help the Mariners become immediate contenders? Seattle isn’t going to be unloading any more top prospects or promising young Major Leaguers for a star player in hopes of contending right away, and if they trade any of our few remaining big name players it would most likely be a move with the future in mind.

    Seattle isn’t going to be preparing for a title shot in 2009. They’re going to be looking to improve and to build upon that. Baby steps, my friend.

    You’re absolutely right when you say Overbay would be a piece of the puzzle. He is obviously not pushing Seattle over the hump by himself, but neither would Teixiera. Other moves have to be made to fill the other gaps. Seattle has many gaps, and 1B is just one of them.

    Overbay is better than any first baseman on the free agent market with the exception of Teixiera, who is not coming to Seattle. He is also among the better first basemen on the trading block, and presumably one of the easiest to attain. I think Overbay would be a fine addition this offseason, and a good place to start as he strengthens a position that has been very weak the past couple of seasons for Seattle.

    We’ll see what happens.

  • The Kid

    Jon,
    For one, I loved, LOVED your idea of Rafael Furcal.
    Two, it may not be realistic to talk for Tex, but that is why we are not contenders. While the Angels, who were already better than us to start the season, go out and make the move to get an elite 1B, we sit on our hands and let a 100 loss season happen-not only losing flavor for potential players, but losing so much interest from fans.
    Back to the conversation, I liked the idea of Hardy to boost SS, but like I said I am a huge supporter of Furcal to fix the most problems with our lineup.

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Jon Shields

    We’ll be able to debate what is realistic and what is probable once Zduriencik tips his hand a little bit. Currently we don’t have any idea what he’s planning. We should be able to predict how much money is going to be spent and how soon the team plans on being competetive closer to the Winter Meetings.

    I don’t think we’ll be in on any top tier free agents at this point, and Tex and Furcal represent the clear-cut best available at their positions.

  • http://marinermelee.blogspot.com/ Mariner Melee

    I think what Larry is saying is that the Mariner’s aren’t “into” bring Overbay here.