How do RRS and Morrow look so far this winter, as trade fodder? And how do they look so far as candidates for #5 starter job? I don't know if those are necessarily 2 seperate questions, but it feels like it to me.

Still think Jones, Clement and Beltre for Santana is reasonable, provided a) one could get someone like Tejada for 3rd base and b) Santana can be enticed by 20mil for 7 yrs, working with Stottlemyre, mentoring Felix, and feasting on the AL West for a good part of the year. I'd think more would be made of that last bit; his numbers against the AL West looked pretty good IIRC.

Santana and another starting pitcher would be great, no doubt we need to bolster that rotation. The one thing that concerns me is nobody has been talking about strengthening our bullpen. Even if we have 2 studs at the top of the rotation, we need to ease the burden on Mr. Putz and keep him from those multi inning saves. Geoff, do you see any options out there that can help us shorten things up to a 6 inning game? Thanks.

Glad to be getting going again.

Think the Minnesota/Tampa trade is really interesting and brings up that some "mid-" or even lower level teams are not planning on rolling over to play the roll of a minor leagu practice team to the likes of Boston and New York.

Puts more emphasis, in my mind, on the Mariners either getting active or sliding even further down. I love the new coaching staff ( except Jeff Petland whom I don't see as helping particualrly if you look at the likes of Richie Sexon among others).And coaches don't hit and field.

I am trying not to get my hopes up, however, as Bavasi disappoints time and time again.................trying to "out clever" himself. Looking for an angle and a bargain.

The Mariners persuit of the Japanese pitcher (is it Kuroda?) makes sense but other teams are after him as well and have resources. Bavasi is likely to underestimate what other teams will do.

And I don't see him doing much elese really .......possibly cosmetic but no serious reach for the ring.

Unless he finds a clever way to get rid of Sexon ( I doubt he is that clever), we are stuck. The obvious move is to get rid of him somehow, put Ibanez at first and one of the rookie fielders in the outfield. And it doesn't have to be Jones. In fact, I am not sold on Jones and have seen him play poorly in the field, strike out alot and have bad attitude.I like Balentin and Mike MOrse in addititon to Clement and these players seem close to the majors.

........and finally, when I hear Bavasi say that he still has hope for Horacio Ramirez.....................it makes me kind of sick. Here we go again. He has manged to bury Chris Reitsma ( total flop), Weaver ( what can you say........massive headcase in addition to Ramirez.

So there are many moves possible but it is a long way off considering where we are now

Geoff's blog is back, the first rite of Spring arrives!

I have a couple of questions?
*Will the M's look to move the Big Sexy and his fat contract or is there no market even if they are willing to pick up a ton, a couplle of k's on opening day and the Boo Birds could break him in my opinion.
*Santana is the big catch and the M's should move Jones, Morrow, whoever to get him but are there any indications they want to and if not what is Billy boys big plans? I haven't heard one national outlet talk about the M's being a player in that. I have heard Willis who I actually like if the price is right. David Riske local kid, could help if Morrow moves.

CFB, Morrow has been looking very good in Winter Ball. In his first two starts he's been going about five innings and giving up no more than a run or two. Walks are also way down. I can only believe he'll just get better and better.
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IMHO, Morrow should be viewed much more than trade fodder. He's a guy with TOR stuff for the M's rotation for years, and other teams know this. He and Felix would make a great TOR duo, and as soon as sometime in 2008. I'd be very reluctant to deal him for anyone not named Johan. That includes any available Erics out there.
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And with guys like Chris Tillman, Tony Butler, Juan Ramirez, and Phillippe Aumont, and a few who could really surprise like Robert Rohrbaugh or Justin Thomas, the future looks bright for the M's rotation. Of course, some will falter, get hurt, or be moved. But, if just a couple come through to compliment Felix and Brandon that would be fantastic.
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RRS also looked very solid in his Winter League stint. Most likely he'll begin '08 as a starter in Tacoma. But he's already well ahead of Feierabend at this point, in my opinion. Long term, and not that far down the line, he'd make a very solid BOR lefty in the mold of Detroit's Nate Robertson. Possibly even better. Maybe it's the "glasses" thing. However, his trade value may be minimal until he actually gets himself more established at the major league level.

MJ, so you're aware, a guy from Minnesota who was talking on KJR this morning said that to his knowledge Bavasi HAD spoken to the Twins' GM about Santana. But, nothing more was said about it. So, apparantly it's not like the M's are staying out of the Santana sweepstakes altogether. However, nothing that was worth creating a rumor over. Not at this point, anyway.
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The guy from Minnesota did feel Santana would be dealt within a couple of weeks, but that was just his opinion.
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Maybe Geoff will be able to dig up something along those lines. I'm sure he's digging.

The Twins are preparing the club for the two big trades they must do for the good of the team:
1)The trade of Johan Santana
2)The trade of Joe Nathan
and both for the same reason due to salary demands to sign any extension deal and the fact they are both FA after the '08 season.
By this trade with the Rays the Twins have address fully the loss of Torii Hunter.

The Twins are expecting a package of players which include MLB ready pitching from who ever wins the Santana sweepstakes.

According to ESPN the most likely winner will be the Yankees while the Mets will be the most motivated to aquire him but Boston will be the dark horse in that they are as usual trying to stop the Yankees from getting him.

In a way I like the idea of the Yankees getting him because the cost in prospects and young players will be very high because of the competition with Boston,the Mets,and the Angels.

Anything that drains the already weak farm system the Yankees have and emptys their wallet that much more I'm for cause of the effect in the long run.

The Twins will also be asking a high price in talent for any team who becomes a suitor for closer Joe Nathan so look for the Twins have a lot of holes and weaknesses closed up and shored up by ST.
I just wish Bavasi could do a third of what the Twins are doing with the pieces they having to move.
So many weak points and holes both on the MLB roster and MiLB system of the M's would be filled and shored up to wher the M's could count on the MiLB system to deliver the goods in MLB ready players that can literally fill the shoes of any player on the field.

I think the latest Twins trade takes the Mariners out of the Santana sweepstakes. The Twins are now looking for young pitching and a third baseman. The M's won't part with Beltre, and other teams like the Yankees (Chamberlain) have better pitching to offer.

What this does show is that the Rays now have a stockpile of young pitching, and the Mariners should be talking to them about picking up one of those. I'm thinking Balentien for Howell is a deal that could work. Another team with an abundance of pitching is the Giants, and they might even have some interest in Sexson if we eat most of the salary. How about Sexson, Balentien and cash for Lowry? I'd even throw in Clement if we could get Lincecum instead.

It's looking less likely that a bona fide starter will be even available via trade. The M's need to make it a priority to sign Kuroda, then trade for some young pitching. Let Morrow, RRS, newly acquired pitching, et al, battle it out in spring training and let the best man win.

Shannon Drayer of KOMO Radio is reporting that Bavasi held a pre-Winter Meetings news conference in which he said 1) the M's have offers out to free agents 2) the M's have trade proposals on the table and 3) the team must get more offensive production from second base.

Can I just say that all this talk of Santana is starting to drive me crazy? It's fun for about 10 minutes, until you realize that Santana in an M's uniform is about as likely as Babe Ruth in an M's uniform.

I realize there are trade scenarios that might make sense, and it's fun to fantasize about Johan and Felix. But really, stop! The Mariners are not a baseball superpower (for lack of a better term). This deal simply will not be made. There are better, more-loaded teams with deeper minor league systems. Not to mention Santana has to decide he wants to spend the prime years of his career with a rebuilding team with no promising position players (especially in the absence of Adam Jones) coming through the system until the 17-year-old Carlos Triunfel.

IN WHAT ALTERNATE UNIVERSE DO YOU LIVE, WHERE THE MARINERS OUTBID THE ENTIRE WORLD FOR CY YOUNG???

Could we move on to something more likely? The hype is killing me.

Really, I'd love to see Santana at Safeco every five days as much as the next guy. But I'm willing to bet the farm that it doesn't happen. We really are talking about Roger Clemens here. Pedro Martinez.

Teams like the Mariners TRADE AWAY Randy Johnson, they don't TRADE FOR Johan Santana.

Geoff,

I understand that the Santana trade price is really going to cost any team who lures him away from Minnesota. Your anaylsis of the situation has been the best that I have read to date.

That being said, I have another question. If Santana does in fact end up on the East coast (which sounds plausible), do you think that the Mariners have a shot at trading for Dan Haren? I know that teams usually are reluctant to trade within their own division. He seems like a pretty solid player, and he is only 27. Your thoughts?

Geoff, thanks for the extra detail on your opinion of Garza and Young. I'm still a little confused by your take on Jones. When discussing dealing him in a package for Santana, Jones is expendable partly because his future value is uncertain. But in saying you wouldn't trade him for Bedard, part of your argument is that he is a future franchise player.

Now, It's perfectly reasonable to say you would trade a future franchise player for Santana and not Bedard, but the reason for the different conclusions should be found in the variable, Santana instead of Bedard, not the constant, Jones. Instead, you diminished Jones' value (uncertain future) when saying you would part with him for Santana, and increased his value (future franchise player) when arguing you wouldn't move him for Bedard.

In other news, Matt from Issaquah: do you have any confidence in Bavasi dealing with Beane? That gives me shivers.

Geoff I glad to see some of the M's faithful have finally had a V8 as the ad says and realizes that any Santana trade is a pipe dream of size of the Alaskan oil pipeline it's not going to happen move on.
Santana is destined to wear either Yankee pinstripes or Boston Red Sox.

Matt from Issaquah and David H while I would love to see Dan Haren in a M's uni considering what a pain he is on the mound againist the M's.
I don't have the confindence in Bavasi to make a deal for a discount on hamburger meat without paying for a T-bone steak price.
In either case neither need worry about that happening the trade or even Bavasi and Beane saying anything other than Hi to each other cause Beane won't trade within the division under no circumstances no matter what the offer is.

'Does the KC signing yesterday of reliever Yasuhiko Yubuta make Kuroda any more likely to sign with the Royals? Who knows? But it didn't sound yesterday like the hurler was any closer to a decision after his agent, Steve Hilliard, apprised him of the situation at a meeting in Hiroshima, Japan.'

I don't think so. Hillmann was a week in Japan and wanted to meet with Kuroda. But they did not meet. Kuroda said that he want to go to a contender. KC is out I think.

'"Right now, I haven't decided anything," Kuroda told a Japanese newspaper. "Teams are on a line. Steve explained a lot to me, including (the) environment I am concerned about. I'll take time to think about my future."'

Kuroda is a good student to the MLB agent.
He is also very loyal to his (former) club Hiroshima Carp. HE must meet with Hiroshima FO to report that he has made his mind to cross the ocean officially. Than he can speak about MLB clubs of intrest.
It will be Dogers or M's because these are the teams he had a meeting together in Japan.

Now Mr. Yamauchi pushing for Kuroda I see that Lincoln is on a hot seat if M's cannot land Kuroda. Any chance that you can make a interview with Mr. Yamauchi? It will be much more interesting than the one with Bavasi.

When we look back in a few months at the trade rumors of today and seeing who Santana signed with and who the Twins received in return, it will be obvious that the M's didnt have enough to trade to get him and if we somehow do manage to pull it off, we will have depleted the young nucleus of the next 5-10 years. Our goal should realistically be to continue to strengthen our weak links as the younger kids develop into top players and recognize that between 80 and 90 wins is a likely best case for the next year or two. This will leave us on the fringe of the wild card and at least keep the fans interested in the team as we build off the improvements of the last few years. I would like to suggest that we flood Bavasi with realistic email proposals involving trades. His stretch with several free agent signings and being "out clevered" in some trades means we should help with suggestions.

The Pirates and Giants appear to have excess pitching and could use some of our young outfield talent or bullpen surplus. The Twins need a 2nd baseman and Lopez should be potentially available for a young pitcher in the Twins system. What do the A's need that would pry Haren from them? what do the Orioles require that might pry Bedard from them?

Between Morrow, Baek, RRS, Feiraabend, Rohrbaugh and young guns like Tillman on the way, we might be able to get through the 4th and 5th spot in the rotation next year, maybe Stottlemeyer can work magic with Ramirez even. But let's not give away Jones, Clement etc when the next five years could be quite exciting, especially when the large contracts like Sexson come off the books after the "08 season.

Lets get creative and help Bavasi with potential trade ideas

any trade for Santana would be a welcome trade.
Can sign a proven reliever in free agency.ie Affeldt. Why not unload sexson in the trade instead of one of one of the pitchers. Just think of a rotation with kuroda, santa, hernandez would be one of the leagues best.

Has anyone noticed/mentioned that Dan Haren is being shopped by the A's?

A sinkerballer like him would be a nice compliment to our infield defense, but do the A's know something the rest of the league doesn't? Is he going into a contract year like Santan?

What is this attraction to Edwin Jackson? I see nothing in his history that makes him worth giving up a thing to acquire him. It scares me to see names like Jackson, or a fading Cliff Lee. Nothing is better than a "got to do something" Jeff Weaver or Horacio Ramirez!