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Geoff Baker covers the Mariners for The Seattle Times. He provides daily coverage of the team throughout spring training, and during the season.

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January 28, 2009 9:13 AM

Heilman to the Cubs?

Posted by Larry Stone

Could the Aaron Heilman era in Seattle be over already?

Bruce Levine, a well-connected radio reporter in Chicago, is reporting this morning that the Cubs are close to acquiring Heilman from the Mariners in a deal that would net the M's infielder Ronny Cedeno and a young pitcher.

This makes some sense because the Mariners are overloaded with starting pitching candidates, and had assured Heilman that he'll get a crack at the rotation. They also have some depth in the bullpen (despite not having a clear-cut closer). Jack Zduriencik has made it clear that he's looking for infield depth,and Cedeno would fill the bill.

If it happens, though, you've got to feel for Heilman, who dutifully showed up last week for the team's spring luncheon and FanFest and talked about how excited he is to be a Mariner. He was clearly relieved to escape the rabid fan base in New York, which made him a scapegoat for the past two Mets' collapses. Now he's possibly going to one of the few fan bases more rabid than New York.

We'll keep track of this one as the day progresses.

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