A Few Odds and Ends
by Jon Shields ~ November 2nd, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Aroldis Chapman and Felix Hernandez
The Aroldis Chapman market is going to be interesting to judge. The Mariners are the latest team to jump seriously into the bidding, possibly hoping to have another front-line arm so they can deal Felix Hernandez before he reaches free agency.
Rogers must have had a hard time figuring out how to open his article, because this is just stupid. The Mariners wouldn’t go after Chapman as a replacement for King Felix. The Mariners are kicking the tires on Chapman because he’s a good prospect, and good organizations tend to gather up as many good prospects as possible.
Chapman is no staff ace. Not yet, anyway, and there’s a pretty good chance he won’t become one, either. He’s a very good prospect and that’s it. He’s very much a work in progress. And he certainly isn’t “the left handed Stephen Strasburg,” as many have said.
Saying the Mariners are pursuing Chapman as Felix insurance would be like the team deciding to draft a pitcher instead of Dustin Ackley for the same reason. Just stupid. The Mariners are pursuing Chapman because he’s the best amateur free agent in the world.
Speaking of Chapman, Jason A. Churchill tweets:
One club’s negotiating exec says Chapman’s agent is eliminating anyone who won’t go $40m-plus.
Carlos Silva for Milton Bradley
The Seattle Mariners have been at the center of bad contract swap speculation over the past few seasons thanks to Bill Bavasi. Most of those contracts have died of natural causes, but Carlos Silva still remains.
Saturday ESPN’s Buster Olney had Silva at the top of his list of potential bad contracts the Chicago Cubs could swap Milton Bradley for.
“That’s a swap that makes a lot of sense for both sides,” one executive said Friday. Said another: “It would be dead money for dead money.”
I have no idea how likely this is to happen. I would guess that it’s a longshot, but you never know.
The Mariners would be idiots not to take that deal. Not only can Bradley still contribute in the win column, he is also a helluva lot more marketable than Silva. If I’m the Mariners and I get that offer, I take it immediately. Then, if I decide I don’t want Bradley’s baggage or injury history on the 2010 ballclub, I pick up the phone and talk to the other clubs that were interested in him. If I find another deal, great. If not, I have a guy that ran a .378 OBP in a down year as my DH.
Jarrod Washburn
Washburn told Jim Street that the Mariners will be one of his top choices this offseason when it comes to choosing a 2010 team. No thanks.
I believe Washburn has genuinely reinvented himself for the better this year, but for the most part he was still only as good as the defense behind him and the rabbit’s foot in his pocket. While I never bought in to Luke French being a Washburn clone that could put together similar results, I do think the Mariners have more than enough depth at starting pitcher that Washburn shouldn’t be considered in any capacity. Good luck in the National League, Jarrod.
Street also notes in his article that the Washburn deal “did not work out particularly well for either team,” citing Washburn and French’s numbers. What Street does not mention is that Mauricio Robles joined the Mariners organization and threw 32.1 innings of 2.71 ERA ball for High Desert, striking out 34 while walking 19. I’d say so far so good for the Mariners’ return.
