Not everyone likes rumors, but for many of us they are what gets us through the offseason.

Unfortunately, the Pacific Northwest isn’t the greatest place to be when it comes to feeding our addiction.  Unlike many other cities, Seattle’s Mariner beat writers keep a pretty low profile during the offseason, popping up only for specific events or when something becomes official.  Because of this, national guys like Ken Rosenthal and beat writers from other cities such as Boston’s Nick Cafardo have uncorked more Mariners-related rumors and insider info than all of Seattle’s beat writers combined.  I understand that this is the offseason for the Geoff Bakers and John Hickeys of the world, but it would be awfully nice to get some winter insight.

Fortunately for us in the Seattle area, we have Jason A. Churchill and his website, Prospect Insider.  JAC isn’t connected with any newspaper, but he is well connected enough to keep the hot stove burning.  Here’s the highlights from his latest post (MLBTR style):

• JAC can see a situation in which the market for Rafael Furcal fizzles out enough for Seattle to swoop in and sign him to a reasonable deal.  I completely agree with this, and have been thinking about such a situation since Furcal and his agent turned down Oakland’s 4 year offer yesterday.
• Seattle has reached out to free agent Milton Bradley, but are unwilling to go four years.  Bradley won’t repeat the monster numbers he registered last season, but he’d still be a great fit for the Mariners.  I can’t see any team giving him four years though, so this one may not be dead.
• Sources tell JAC that a couple contract swap possibilities are very real, including a Carlos Silva for Juan Pierre deal, or possibly Jarrod Washburn for Julio Lugo.
• We already knew that the Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers and New York Mets were legitimate suitors for J.J. Putz, but JAC throws two more unexpected teams into the fray: the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays; mentioning that all five teams are “showing heavy interest.”

For more details, head over and read the rest of his original post.

Thank you, Mr. Churchill, for being there in times of need!