• ESPN’s Buster Olney, Saturday: “If I were to set an early handicap on the upcoming Lackey sweepstakes, I’d throw out an educated guess on the rankings, from top to bottom, that looks like this: Mariners, Angels, Brewers, Mets, Red Sox, Yankees. The Mariners have a lot of payroll flexibility and a clear strategy predicated on strong pitching and defense.”
• Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo produces a quote that jives with my We Don’t Know Jack post from a few days ago: “I think they’ve been one of the most aggressive organizations in the early going,’’ said an American League GM. “They aren’t as restricted with their budget like other organizations are, so they have a chance to do some things.’’ Cafardo also expects the Mariners to make serious runs at Jason Bay and Adrian Gonzalez, but I have a hard time seeing either in Seattle colors next season.  I am curious to know what new Padres GM Jed Hoyer would be looking for with regards to Gonzalez, though.  He’d obviously be a great fit.

• On Thursday Larry Stone went through some Seattle Mariners rumors, noting that “the Mariners will look deeply into” John Lackey.  With regards to Rich Harden he writes “this one has legs.”  He discusses about ten other players as well, so check it out.
• Jason Churchill has a hot stove post up today, with the most interesting quote being: “Rich Harden is either really liking the idea of pitching in Seattle, or he’s using the M’s as leverage to get a better deal in LAA, LAD or Boston.”
• He also says the Mariners have no interest in Chone Figgins, and Orlando Hudson has no desire to play in the American League, among other things.  Check it out.
  

No word yet on the money, but I would say we’re looking at something like $10-12M.   Don’t act surprised– we all knew this was coming from the day he was traded to Seattle.  Will update…

Update: Dejan Kovacevis tweets: “Wilson’s deal believed to have total worth of $10 million.”  I guessed 2 years/$10M back on the 30th for whatever that’s worth (not much, but *toot toot).

Update: Kovacevis confirms dollar figure.

Glad that’s out of the way.

Update: Larry Stone has more contract details:

Two years, $10 million guaranteed ($5 million in 2010, $5 million in 2011), plus $250,000 in performance bonuses each year (mostly plate appearances) for a potential $500,000; plus the standard awards package worth a possible $450,000. Again, no option for 2012.

A few quick thoughts:

I’m cool with this deal.  The main point of contention, especially with J.J. Hardy off the table, is that there are similar shortstops on the free agent market that could be had even cheaper than Wilson in Adam Everett, Alex Gonzalez and Omar Vizquel.  Wilson is probably better than all three, but the difference between them has to be pretty small.  “A bird in the hand,” though.  If the Mariners cut Wilson loose and failed to sign a suitable replacement the Mariners could be in trouble.

It’s done, we’re cool.  Now, what about the backup?  Do we really feel comfortable with Jack Hannahan and/or Bill Hall as our backup shortstop (or Josh Wilson, stashed in Tacoma) when our starter has dealt with multiple heel, calf, hamstring and knee injuries over the past year and a half?  Hannahan is probably a capable SS and looked okay in his brief look there in 2009, but he has very little experience at the position and we really don’t know how well he’d do if forced to fill in for an extended period of time.

With that, I wonder if it would be smart to bring in a “true” shortstop to fill out the bench.  Vizquel?  He looked good at 3B and 2B last year too and was a better hitter than Hannahan.  Zduriencik was said to be interested in him last offseason as well.

I’d be fine with Hannahan as well (I love both players, really), but for ~$600K more I wouldn’t mind seeing Omar finish his magical career where he started it.  Just a thought.

Rolen’s offense would take a hit in Safeco, but not terribly.  He’s a line drive guy (12th best LD% in baseball for 2009) who hits from gap to gap.  For the most part, his home run power is to straightaway left field and his shortest home run of the year was 364 feet. All of his homers to left-center were well over 400 feet.  He’d use the gaps well and still be able to get his 10-15 homers playing half his games at Safeco.

Brandon Inge, Detroit Tigers – The Detroit Tigers are also looking to shed payroll and Inge could be one of the casualties.  He’s due a reasonable $6.6M in 2009, though I can’t say I’m much of a fan.  He’s a great defender, which is nice, but his big offensive first half seemed to be more fluke than breakout and his production fell off a cliff in the second half of his age 32 season.  He was hitting .268/.360/.515 with 21 home runs through July 12th while running an extremely high HR/FB ratio and low LD%.  Regression’s a bitch; he hit just .186/.260/.281 with 6 homers in his final 75 games.  That doesn’t look like a guy you’d want.  Oh, and did I mention that he’s known as a whiner and a clubhouse cancer?

Seattle is probably better off going with Matt Tuiasosopo and/or Jack Hannahan at 3B rather than picking up Inge’s walk year.

Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals - The Royals probably aren’t moving Gordon, despite the trade for Josh Fields.  That said, anything can happen and the Royals have made some puzzling moves in the past, so Gordon’s name is worth bringing up.  Gordon has been disappointing after being rushed through the minors and deemed the next George Brett by KC fans, but he hasn’t been a complete disaster and seems poised for a breakout.  He has a good approach at the plate, the raw power is there and he put up solid numbers in 2009 between the Royals and Omaha when healthy.  Given that Gordon is still under team control for four more seasons I don’t think even Dayton Moore would be willing to sell low, but you never know.  I love Gordon and would love to see him break through as a member of the Seattle Mariners.

It’s unclear whether or not Matsui would want to play for Seattle.  There has been some talk over the years that Ichiro and Matsui dislike each other.  If I recall correctly, Matsui even pulled out of the World Baseball Classic when Ichiro joined Japan’s roster.  I haven’t really followed the feud, but a quick Google search yielded some interesting material that suggests their conflict extends all the way back into their teenage years.  Depending on how real it is, discussing Matsui as a Seattle Mariner may be moot.

Some will be quick to dismiss Matsui, even after he posted an .876 OPS last season.  He’s 35, has had all kinds of knee problems and put up his highest home run to flyball ratio (HR/FB) of his career while playing in the Little League park known as New Yankees Stadium.  Those factors make his 2009 season seem like a fluke, but as you dig deeper the numbers paint a different picture.  He had a .275 batting average on balls in play (BABIP), the lowest mark of his career despite having his second best line drive percentage (LD%) of his career.  His power wasn’t just Johnny Damon-esque New Yankee Stadium power either, as his average bomb traveled 395.9 feet and his longest 445 feet.  The low BABIP and high LD% say his batting average should have been higher than the .274 mark he posted, and the power is still there.  It’s also worth noting that while he occasionally hit between some combination of Mark Teixiera, Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada, more often than not he was protected by Nick Swisher, which led to him seeing the fewest pitches in the strike zone of his career.  I wouldn’t be so quick to call 2009 a fluke.

Yes, his numbers would take a hit moving from New Yankee to just about anywhere, but there is still some left in the tank for ol’ Godzilla.  Matsui should command 1-2 years at $7-10M per.  I’ve never been a Matsui fan, but I could get behind him signing with Seattle.  That said, I don’t see him as the best fit for Seattle.  With Ken Griffey occupying a bench spot, Seattle would benefit from getting a DH that could play a defensive position from time to time.  Matsui claims that he can still play the outfield, but in all reality you’re not going to find a DH that can handle left field at Safeco.

But there will be, because chances are one or more of the trio will become trade bait.

GM Jack Zduriencik realizes that bullpens can be effective with cheap no-names and that there are still plenty of teams out there that overvalue relievers or are fooled by deceptive ERA. There is a great chance that Aardsma, Lowe or even White will be in the back end of someone else’s bullpen next spring.

Think about how many relievers Zduriencik brought in last year.  Jesus Delgado, Luis Pena, Eric Hull, David Aardsma, Chad Cordero, Tyler Walker, Aaron Heilman and Tyler Johnson were all brought in from the outside, and those are just the guys I could think of off the top of my head, not to mention all the guys that were already in the organization but weren’t viewed as big league bullpen candidates by most fans.  Sure, of those guys brought in only Aardsma made an impact on the big league club, but that’s no knock on the process.  You can’t fault Zduriencik for having a solid crew to choose from leftover from the Bill Bavasi era.

A fresh new crop of Shawn Kelleys figure to join the fun in Phillippe Aumont, Joshua Fields, Ricky Orta, Anthony Varvaro and probably several others who are not on our collective radars or are currently viewed as starters.  Add to those four waiver claims, minor league free agents, reclamation projects and middling organizational arms and you’ve got one helluva bullpen competition without even talking about the 2009 crew.

If the right deals are out there Zduriencik won’t hesitate to pull the trigger, I can promise you that.  A few teams that may be looking for relief help this winter: New York Mets, Tampa Bay Rays, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers.

It’s just one year worth of moves while the team was handcuffed financially by several large (and mostly bad) contracts as well as a tough economic climate and 100 loss season that slowed ballpark revenue.  Zduriencik was forced to make low profile moves and search for diamonds in the rough because he didn’t have a choice, not necessarily because that’s just his style.  Luckily, he is good at it.  Some seem to see Zduriencik as this guy that wouldn’t know what to do with a large allowance, but I’m sure that couldn’t be farther from the truth.  He wanted to go after some of the big name free agents last offseason (Bobby Abreu and Orlando Hudson are two examples that we know of) but the money just wasn’t there.

Based on the way he went about business last offseason it seems like a lot of fans are looking at the high profile free agents and trade targets and saying they’re not Zduriencik’s type of players without giving any followup reasoning beyond the price tag.   Well, Zduriencik has a lot more money to work with this offseason after having several major contracts expire and he’s going to spend it.  And then he’s going to try and get the payroll expanded so he can keep dealing.  Zduriencik wants to win a World Series in 2010 and sincerely believes he can pull it off.

Zduriencik will still make thrifty moves as they come to him, but he won’t be limiting himself.  Reclamation projects like Rich Harden and Ben Sheets won’t be the only hurlers he’ll be negotiating with.  He’s going to do more than just kick the tires on John Lackey, for example.  I’m lead to believe Lackey’s going to get a legitimate, competitive offer from the Mariners.

This may sound like crazy talk after last offseason but based on what I’ve heard as well as the publicly posted rumors, Zduriencik is going to show a different side this winter.  He’s not messing around.

• There were some rumors going around based on miscalculations that Brandon Morrow was eligible for arbitration as a Super Two.  Luckily, that turned out to be a false alarm.  The Mariners have five other players eligible for arbitration in Felix Hernandez, Franklin Gutierrez, David Aardsma, Mark Lowe and Ryan Langerhans.
• Jon Heyman tweets that the Mariners are among the teams checking in on free agent Mark DeRosa.  File this under “we’re kicking the tires on everyone.”  Most of DeRosa’s power is to left-center, he’s not a good defender, he wasn’t particularly good last season and he’s 35 years old.  No thanks.
• Bob Nightengale tweets that GM Jack Zduriencik says the Mariners’ signing of Ken Griffey doesn’t mean they won’t be looking to sign another DH.  This was implied, but it’s good to know for certain.

I’ll tack on whatever else trickles in this evening…

• Heyman tweets that the Mariners have their eye on John Lackey, but “won’t go to $100M.”  I don’t think Lackey gets $100M anyway.

Now that’s just silly.

The Seattle Mariners didn’t want Lyle Overbay last offseason, as you may recall.  The Toronto Blue Jays were apparently trying to push Overbay on them in November, offering to pay some of his salary, but Seattle wasn’t interested.

Maybe GM Jack Zduriencik does like Overbay but just didn’t have the money last offseason.  After all, Overbay is another former Milwaukee Brewer that Zduriencik is very familiar with. But Overbay just doesn’t make much sense this time around.

Overbay had a nice season in 2008, but between 2007 and 2008 he hit just .257/.339/.407.  Do you know who’s projected line that looks like?  Mike Carp could pull that off fairly easily and he just happens to be free.

Instead of sending a real live body over to the Blue Jays and paying part of his $7M 2010 salary, use that money to retain Russell Branyan and/or go after a Carlos Delgado, Nick Johnson, Jim Thome or any of the other 1B/DH types on the free agent market that are better than Overbay.

I’m in a state of shock… or something.  I’m not sure how I feel.  Disappointed?  That’s not the right word.  “Whatever,” perhaps.

It was always a real possibility that he could return– in fact, it probably should have been expected– but after the emotional sendoff it just didn’t seem right for him to come back and do it again.  I know it would be more deserving to send him off with a ring, but what he received in October is more than most players could hope for.

I love Griffey as you do and enjoyed seeing the Mariners have fun as much as anyone, but… well, you know.

Of course, this isn’t the end of the world.  Using a roster spot on Griffey doesn’t cripple the team, it just makes the rest of the moves this offseason even more important.  There is now a little less room for error if the Mariners want to make the playoffs in 2010, and there wasn’t much room to begin with.

Most reports leading up to the signing stated that Griffey was comfortable accepting a reduced role, so he won’t be seeing the 450 plate appearances he got this past season, probably getting between 200-300 instead.  I’d like to think that Griffey’s return has zero effect on the Mariners pursuing a “real” DH, but it’s probably too early to say either way.

Hopefully Griffey can use his super dooper clubhouse chemistry powers to lure in a free agent that Seattle otherwise would have trouble pulling.

As Dave mentions, this may spell the end for Ryan Langerhans.  Losing a true outfielder off the bench handcuffs the Mariners a bit, but they do have some flexibility.  All their projected starting outfielders can handle center field to an extent, and Bill Hall can probably handle all three outfield spots if healthy.  That said, the Mariners could just carry one less reliever instead.  We’ll see.

The Gold Glove is a pretty silly award, but that’s still impressive!

1987 – Mark Langston (P)
1988 – Mark Langston (P), Harold Reynolds (2B)
1989 – Harold Reynolds (2B)
1990 – Harold Reynolds (2B), Ken Griffey Jr. (OF)
1991 – Ken Griffey Jr. (OF)
1992 – Ken Griffey Jr. (OF)
1993 – Omar Vizquel (SS), Ken Griffey Jr. (OF)
1994 – Ken Griffey Jr. (OF)
1995 – Ken Griffey Jr. (OF)
1996 – Jay Buhner (OF), Ken Griffey Jr. (OF)
1997 – Ken Griffey Jr. (OF)
1998 – Ken Griffey Jr. (OF)
1999 – Ken Griffey Jr. (OF)
2000 – John Olerud (1B)
2001 – Mike Cameron (OF), Ichiro Suzuki (OF)
2002 – John Olerud (1B), Bret Boone (2B), Ichiro Suzuki (OF)
2003 – John Olerud (1B), Bret Boone (2B), Mike Cameron (OF), Ichiro Suzuki (OF)
2004 – Bret Boone (2B), Ichiro Suzuki (OF)
2005 – Ichiro Suzuki (OF)
2006 – Ichiro Suzuki (OF)
2007 – Adrian Beltre (3B), Ichiro Suzuki (OF)
2008 – Adrian Beltre (3B), Ichiro Suzuki (OF)
2009 – Ichiro Suzuki (OF)

Now, it would really be awesome if the Mariners could get a streak like this going for the Fielding Bible Awards.  The streak currently stands at two (Fielding Bible Awards started in 2006, but Seattle was shutout in 2007):

2008 – Adrian Beltre (3B)
2009 – Jack Wilson (SS), Franklin Gutierrez (CF), Ichiro Suzuki (RF)

Jim Street, Larry LaRue and Larry Stone have all hit on this, bringing different quotes and details to the table.  Check those out.

Okay, so here is the gist:

• The Seattle Mariners offered Russell Branyan a one year deal with an option for 2011.  Branyan turned it down because the dollar amount was lower than he was hoping for and he’s determined to get at least two guaranteed years.
• Branyan has played his entire career on one year contracts and is understandably sick of it.  He had the best year of his career, and he thinks it should buy him some security.
• Despite turning down the offer, Branyan is still optimistic about getting something done with Seattle.
• Branyan says he’s very happy in Seattle and wants to finish out his career with the Mariners.

Stone added the info about the option, which was a surprise to me.  I would assume it’s a straight team option. When news broke that Branyan declined Seattle’s one year offer, my immediate thought was that the Mariners should just tack on an option year to appease him.  I guess they’re two steps ahead of me.

So now what?  Can Branyan command two guaranteed years on the open market?  Like Branyan, guys like Nick Johnson and Carlos Delgado are also up there in age and have injury issues of their own, but they have the track record Branyan lacks.  With those two, as well as several other solid 1B/DH types on the market, will a team be willing to take a risk on Branyan?

I have a hard time seeing it, but much crazier things have happened.  I love Branyan, but I don’t particularly want Seattle to go two guaranteed years on him, especially if he’s asking for $5-7M per or more.  With the alternative options out there it just isn’t worth it.

Branyan isn’t settling for anything less than two guaranteed years until he’s sure it’s not possible, so unless the Mariners give in we’re probably going to see Branyan hit the open market on November 20th.  Maybe he still ends up a Mariner, but I think the best the M’s can do is offer one year guaranteed with a vesting option for 2011 based on plate appearances or something.

Can Johnson and Delgado even get two guaranteed years?  Am I misreading the market?

“I’m not a bad guy, not a selfish guy,” he said from his offseason home. “I don’t know if there is a two- or three-year deal out there for me, but I would like to have more than a one-year deal. I don’t want another one-and-done [contract].”

Branyan added that the offer was “pretty low” and that he’s “tired of playing year-to-year.”

Branyan isn’t being greedy.  He and his agent just know that this is the first and last time in his career that he’ll be able to get some real money and security.  If Branyan had stayed healthy and productive throughout the whole year he might have some leverage, but he’s been injury prone for years and will be 34 next season.  It just doesn’t make sense for Seattle to offer him a 2 year $10M contract.

The rejected offer doesn’t mean Branyan won’t be back, however.  The two sides will continue negotiating until November 20th when Branyan becomes an unrestricted free agent.  If they don’t come to an agreement by that point Branyan will test the open market.  There is a chance someone will offer him what he wants (the Mets?), but there is also a chance that he realizes  the grass isn’t any greener and settles with Seattle.

Branyan mentions in the article that he’d take a discount to play for the Mariners, for what that’s worth.

The Mariners have plenty of free agent options should Branyan end up elsewhere, but I would like Branyan back.  Those home runs are sure fun to watch.

Street also says this of SS Jack Wilson:

Meanwhile, it was reported by the News Tribune on Tuesday that the Mariners also had made a multiyear offer to shortstop Jack Wilson and it apparently was rejected, though club officials could not be reached to comment.

Here is the report he’s citing.  We’ll wait for a more concrete report comes out to tackle that one.

Update: LaRue gathers more quotes:  (after the jump)

“Money isn’t the issue,” Branyan said. “I’ve played my whole career on one-year contracts, and that’s tough. I’d like a little security. I’d like to come to spring training and know I’m part of the same team for at least the next two years.”

*snip

“Jack Zduriencik has always been completely honest with me, and he gave me the opportunity to come to Seattle and win a job last year,” Branyan said. “I appreciate that. I’m grateful for that. I’d like to play the next four, five years in Seattle – and I feel I’ve got better seasons ahead of me.”

*snip

“I think it became clear my agent and Jack weren’t on the same page, and in my mind it’s not the money, it’s the length,” Branyan said. “I’ve got it set in my mind I want two years.”

*snip

“If the Mariners offer stays at one year and another team or two offers a multi-year, what would I do? I honestly don’t know,” Branyan said. “I love the team, the city – everything from the PR department to the media. I’d like to be part of what’s going on there.”

• 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.

Jack Wilson, the Pirates’ shortstop most of this decade, is discussing a multiyear extension with Seattle that would keep him from becoming a free agent.

The Mariners are believed to have offered a two-year contract worth more than the two-year offer the Pirates made Wilson — $8 million — shortly before trading him July 29.

No big surprise here.  Wilson was brought to Seattle to be the shortstop for the next couple of years, not to be dumped after a rough debut.

The Mariners won’t be bringing back both guys, but there is a good chance at least one of them will come back.

Jim Street and C. Trent Rosecrans both reported yesterday that Griffey’s agent will be meeting with the Mariners in “the next few days” to discuss Griffey’s future with the team and the implication is that an announcement will be made sooner than later.  This one probably won’t be dragging out until Spring Training like last offseason.

Griffey wants to come back and continue to be part of the franchise turnaround.  He wants to be part of Seattle’s next playoff run with a chance to win his first World Series ring.  That would be the storybook ending, but 2009 was a fitting end in itself.  He came back “home,” got his nightly ovations and thank yous, produced a few exciting moments in a season that was a major turnaround for the franchise before riding off into the sunset on the shoulders of his teammates.

Do I want Griffey to come back? Not really. I’d like him to retire. But if Griffey wants to keep playing, I have to admit I’d rather see him continue his career in a Mariners uniform rather than somewhere else.  If he ended his career in another city it would make 2009 seem like a waste in some ways.  That said, could Griffey find a decent gig anywhere else?  Is it Seattle or retirement?

If Griffey does come back he wouldn’t be the regular DH.  He and the team would be best served if he served as Jack Wilson’s personal late inning pinch hitter, DHing once or twice per week.  If he gets any more playing time than that he’s hindering the team’s ability to make the playoffs.  That is, of course, if he’s playing at the same level in 2010 as he was in 2009.  Maybe he continues to decline, maybe he gets himself into better shape and improves a bit.

If Griffey doesn’t return Sweeney might step in.  Sweeney doesn’t have the sentimental connection, but in some ways he’d be the better fit if one of the guys is destined to return.  He hit .281/.335/.442 last season, OPSing around 1.000 over the seasons final two months.  He can run a little bit (compared to Junior).  Based on the reports, he seemed to me to be a greater clubhouse influence than Griffey.  He has no qualms with filling a small role.  According to Street, Sweeney has yet to be contacted by the Mariners about a 2010 role.

If Griffey or Sweeney do return, I think a quality solution would be to re-sign Russell Branyan and another aging, injury prone 1B/DH type like Carlos Delgado, Nick Johnson or whoever else.  Branyan and Delgado/Johnson/etc. can rotate between 1B and DH to stay fresh and healthy, with Griffey/Sweeney jumping in when one of them needs a day off.

The Seattle Mariners made a move today, claiming RHP Yusmeiro Petit off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Petit is a nice free pickup, but don’t get too excited.  After all, the Diamondbacks gave up on the 24 year old.  He has lackluster stuff that is aided by a deceptive delivery, but has had a few flashes of brilliance in his young career.  Petit adds to Seattle’s back of the rotation and middle relief depth, but perhaps Seattle’s coaching staff believes he can be groomed into the middle of the rotation arm he was thought to be as one of baseball’s top rated prospects a few years back.  I’m not holding my breath, and chances are the Mariners will be trying to shove him through waivers again right before the regular season.

Phil Rogers, Chicago Tribune:

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.