Rumors: Washburn, Bedard, Felix, Branyan

by ~ November 9th, 2009 at 1:59 pm

The GM Meetings are underway, so on to the rumors:

  • Larry LaRue and Jon Heyman are both reporting that the Mariners are interested in bringing back Jarrod Washburn.  LaRue also says they’d like Erik Bedard back at the right price.  Here’s hoping the Brewers outbid Seattle for Washburn.
  • Heyman reports that GM Jack Zduriencik isn’t thinking about trading Felix Hernandez right now.  “Felix is our property. We’re going to have him for the next two years and we’re looking forward to having him beyond that,” Zduriencik said here at the GM meetings.
  • Mark Feinsand adds these quotes:

“He’s our property this year and next year and we’re looking forward to him being part of our organization as we move forward,” Zduriencik said. “He’s one of the best in the game.

“I can’t control people calling or people wanting to have discussions. Certainly we’ll dot our Is and cross our Ts, but where we stand right now is that he’s an integral part of what we’re doing.”

  • Jim Street got some quotes from Russell Branyan, who is still waiting for the Mariners to call with a new contract.  “I’m not looking to break the bank. All I want is to be treated fairly.”

Small update: The Mariners aren’t ignoring Branyan.  Apparently they told last month that they are working on putting together a proposal.

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  • MarinerMan6

    Let’s be honest, anything Larry Larue or Jim Street reports has to be taken with a grain of salt. Street recommended the M’s do whatever it takes to get Jason Bay while Larue talks about how great the M’s pitching was based on ERA. These are old school guys that are obsolete in the sportswriting world. There is no way the M’s sign Washburn, they have a slew of back-end soft tossing LHP for league minimum already in the organization (including one they got in a trade for him).

    • http://proballnw.com Jon

      There is a difference between reporting and analysis. LaRue’s post features some terrible analysis, but there is no reason to believe this quote is fabricated, especially after being backed up by Heyman:

      Seattle has interest in bringing two veteran free agent lefties, Jarrod Washburn and Erik Bedard, back to the fold. That doesn’t mean it will happen. Contract demands will be the largest factor, and the Mariners aren’t about to overpay.

  • MarinerMan6

    I’d put the chances of Washburn playing in an M’s uniform about as likely at Albert Pujols playing 1B for the M’s next year. There is no direct quote from anybody on the M’s , just speculation and if anything I think all Zdurenciek would do is pay lip service to the idea. I did not imply anything was fabricated on the reporter’s side, just merely speculating which is fine.

    The M’s baseball operation guys are smarter than this and there is just no way they would bring back the ticking time bomb in Washburn that ended up exploding in Detroit. 35 yr olds with no out pitch that throws 85% fastballs coming off knee surgery are not exactly in high demand. Unless he is willing to play for the veteran league minimum (see Boras, Scott) no way Seattle touches him.

    • gsquared

      Agreed. I think it’s lip service. Remember the reports right before the trade deadline that the M’s were supposedly going to hold on to Washburn? Z can play the media like an accordion, and his FO is smart enough to know Wash’s ERA this year was a mirage.

  • eastcoastmariner

    All of this sounds good like good news other than the Washburn tidbit. MarinerMan6, I agree that it would be a terrible decision to bring back Washburn for anything other than pennies, and I also agree that our front office is smarter than that. However, Jon Heyman is very good at what he does. So, unfortunately, you cant quite compare Washburn in a Mariners uniform next year to Pujols playing 1B for the M’s in 2010. I wish you could though…