Designated Hitter

The Mariners designated hitter position was some what of a joke last year. We saw so many people play in the DH spot last year. Despite all these different players there were a few things in common: Injury problems and lack of offensive output.

This spot in the lineup is usually filled by a good hitter. The Mariners saw hardly and production out of their designated hitters. The line that they put was .194/.269/.340- that’s just wrong! Carlos Zambrano has a career average of .236 in 10 MLB seasons. The Mariners really need to find some pop this year because that number is just embarrassing

So many players played DH last year for the Mariners, there are almost too many to list. The beginning of the year we saw Ken Griffey Jr end his career with the Mariners while playing DH but he put up disappointing numbers. Mike Sweeney started off the season at DH but was traded on later in the season to the Phillies. He hit .263 in 99 at bats. Milton Bradley also saw time here but he dealt with injury problems that sidelined him for a majority of the season. Even when he was healthy he put up poor numbers.

Help didn’t arrive until June 28^th when the Mariners acquired Russell Branyan from the Indians and he automatically became Seattle’s best power hitter. He did experience back problems throughout his time with the Mariners but he was still able to put up good power numbers despite having a very poor average.

Russell Branyan

Looking onto 2011 it seems very easy for the Mariners to improve at this position. Players on the 40 man roster that could see time at DH are Milton Bradley, Mike Carp, Jose Lopez,and Greg Halman. Out of that group I think Bradley will see the most time. I think Lopez will be traded so he shouldn’t factor into the equation. Seattle does have these players on the roster but I don’t think they should be the starting DH. The answer is via free agency or possibly a trade.

Russell Branyan has expressed a strong interest to return to Seattle. He is soon to be 35 and he dealt with back problems throughout the year in 2010 which might affect the Mariners interest in him. He had somewhat of an off season last year hitting .237 but he still hit 25 homeruns. You would figure that Branyan come cheap but this offseason he has stated that power doesn’t come cheaply. He would be a good option for possibly a 1 year deal if it isn’t too pricy.

Rumors have said that the Mariners also are interested in Hideki Matsui. Matsui is a solid left handed bat that could also help out in left field when needed. He hit .274 last year with 21 homeruns and 84 RBI. He is 36 and I figure he would ask for similar numbers compared to Branyan.

Another way the Mariners could go is to trade for a young bat that appears to be blocked by a super star at his current position



Yonder Alonso



One of these guys is 23 year old Yonder Alonso of the Reds. The left handed hitting 1^st baseman is blocked by MVP Joey Votto. They have been working with him in LF but I think he is a better fit at 1^st. Scouts say he has a poor arm and is bad defensively which makes him a great fit for DH. He did put up somewhat disappointing power numbers last year but he projects to develop a powerful bat. I think he would be made available by Cincinnati.

Another player like this is third baseman Mat Gamel of the Brewers. He is now 25 and both corner infield positions appear to be blocked in Milwaukee with Fielder at first and McGehee at third. He bats left handed and projects to have a great bat. Just like Alonso, scouts are not too thrilled about Gamel’s fielding.



Brandon Laird of the Yankees is another option but he may be a little further away than the other options. He plays third and bats right handed. His power is not nearly as hyped as Alonso’s and Gamel’s but he could post 20 homerun seasons. He shows great gap power with to go along with a good average. Not to mention he knows how to knock runs in, recording 102 RBI last year which the Mariners could use. I don’t see him as any part of the Yankees picture so I would expect him to be traded sometime in the future.



I really like the idea of trading for one of these young bats. A young bat like theirs would look great in the middle of the lineup in a few years to go along with Justin Smoak. Laird appears to need a little more time in the minors as he finished the year at AA but I think that both Alonso and Gamel are ready. I do not think that it would take too much to acquire one of these guys.



Which ever move the Mariners make, they need to improve their DH for the 2011 season. It’s hard to tell which way they will go but I figure they will sign Branyan for 1 year. I would love to see them trade for one of the young guys but Branyan is more of a sure thing despite his age and injury problems.

Who knows, maybe Jack will bring in some big bat at the Winter meetings but until then, Branyan looks like the most realistic choice.

M's Announce Minor League Coaching Staff

The Mariners announced their Minor League coaching staff for the upcoming season. The staff looks very similar to last years. And why change it? The majority of the Mariners affiliates made it to the postseason last year. The Tacoma Rainiers and Everett Aquasox both won their league championship.

The PCL champion Tacoma Rainiers have Daren Brown returning as the head coach after he filled in as an intern last year when Wakamatsu was fired.

Their coaching staff will remain the same as last year.

• Pitching Coach- Dwight Bernard
• Coach- Alonzo Powell
• Trainers- Tom Newberg and Jeremy Clipperton
• Performance Specialist- Charlie Kenyon
• Clubhouse manager- Eddie Romprey

After changing their name to the AA Jackson Generals, they will now look to new head coach Jim Pankovits to lead the team. He played in the majors from 1984-1990 for the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox with a .250 average and 8 homeruns in 318 games. He has spent the last 16 years in the Houston Astros player development system and has seen time as a head coach. He appears to have a good knowledge of the game defensively as he been a Minor league infield coordinator and a Minor league defense Coordinator.

Two more additions to the Generals coaching staff have been made. Cory Snyder is the new coach and Rob Fumagalli is the new Performance Specialist.

The rest of the coaching staff is as follows:

·         Pitching Coach- Lance Painter

·         Trainer- Matt Toth

The High Dessert Mavericks while have the same coaching staff as last year.

• Manager- Jose Moreno
• Pitching Coach- Tom Dettore
• Coach- Tommy Cruz
• Trainer- Eduardo Tamez

Single A Clinton will also be bringing back almost the same staff after reaching their league finals last year. The only addition is Trainer Jake Naas.

The rest of the staff includes

• Manager- Eddie Menchaca
• Pitching Coach- Rich Dorman
• Coach- Terry Pollreisz

The rest of the organization also filled out their coaching jobs (BOLD= new hire)

Everett Aquasox:

• Manager- Scott Steinmann
• Pitching Coach- Andrew Lorraine
• Coach- Mike Kinkade
• Trainer- Spyder Webb (Interesting Name)

Rookie Pulsaki Mariners:

·   Manager- Rob Mummau

·   Pitching Coach- Nasusel Cabrera

·   Coach- Rafeal Santo Domingo

·   Trainer- B.J. Downie

Rookie Peoria Mariners:

• Manager- Jesus Azuaje
• Pitching Coach- Gary Wheelock
• Coaches- Andy Bottin and Brent Johnson
• Trainer- Randy Roetter
• Performance Specalist- Gabe Bourland
• Clubhouse Manager- Ryan Stiles
• Clubehouse Assistant- Issac Ruiz
• Interpreter- Sung Kun Yun

Dominican Summer League:

• Field Coordinator- Freddy Tiburcio
• Manager- Francisco Gerez
• Pitching Coach- Danielin Acvedo
• Coach- Manelik Pimentel and Joel Guerrero
• Trainer- Leonardo Santiago

Venezuelan Summer League:

• Manager- Russel Vasquez
• Pitching Coach- Carlos Hernandez
• Coach- William Oropeza and Jose Umbria
• Trainer- Jhonny Molina and Luis Fermin
• Clubhouse Manager- Melvi Piedra

We also have the Roving Instructors:

• Field Coordinator- Andy Stankiewicz
• Pitching Coordinator- Rick Waits
• Catching Coordinator- Roger Hansen
• Hitting Coordinator- Jose Castro and Rick Down
• Infield and Baserunning Coordinator- Darrin Garner
• Latin America Field Coordinator- John Tamargo
• Latin America Pitching Coordinator- Nasusel Cabrera
• Director, Sports Science and Performance- Marcus Elliot, MD
• Performance Specialists, Coordinator- James Clifford and Danny Garcia
• Supervisor of Athletic Training- Chris Gorosics
• Rehabilitation and Athletic Training Coordinator- Sean McQuenney
• Mental Training Coach- Rafeal Colon
• Player Education Coordinator- Kevin Almond

Now with the entire minor league coaching situation figured out… Let’s get ready for some baseball! I expect another great year out of the Mariners farm system with some great coaches and talented players.

Outfield

Let’s talk about the Mariners outfield. The majority of the play time in 2010 was seen by Ichiro in right, Gutierrez in Center, and Michael Saunders in left.

Ichiro put together another great season in right for the Mariners in 2010. He hit .315 with 214 hits (Most in AL) and 42 stolen bases while setting a few milestones. This was his 10^th straight season in which he has recorded over 200 hits and was awarded a Gold Glove. Pete Rose is the only other player to record 10-200 hit seasons but Ichiro did them consecutively. He also tied the AL record for gold gloves by an outfielder.

Ichiro has always been one of the most reliable hitters for the Mariners year after year. Although Ichiro is getting older I don’t expect him to slow down at all. He is still showing great athleticism in all aspects of his game. Ichiro is one of the surest things the Mariners have going into the 2011 season.

Franklin Gutierrez came to Seattle in 2009 via a three team trade involving the Indians and the Mets. Guti put up fantastic numbers in his first season with the Mariners while showing great defense. He hit .283 with 18 homeruns and 16 stolen bases. We saw his numbers drop last year.


Last year he hit .245/.303/.363 with 12 homeruns, 25 stolen bases, and 64 RBI which was the highest among Mariners last season. He is still only 27 and I believe he could put up 20-20 numbers with homeruns and steals as he still develops his bat.



Franklin Gutierrez



Despite having a drop in offensive numbers last year for Guti, the defense certainly was there. He was awarded his first Gold Glove as he showed he is one of the best defensive players in the league. Gutierrez did not make one error last year in a total of 1277.1 innings!

Just like Ichiro, Gutierrez is a lock in center for 2011. He is under contract through 2013 and he has an option for 2014. I think he could be one of the games top center fielders if his bat is back to what it was in 2009.



While right field and center field are all locked up, left field is where it gets crazy. The Mariners have so many options to go.

Last year Michael Saunders and Milton Bradley saw a majority of the playing time.



Michael Saunders put up disappointing numbers but he did show signs of serious pop in his bat. He hit .211 with 10 homeruns and 33 RBI. He still needs to work on his plate discipline as he struck out 84 times in 289 at bats. I think he has the potential of putting up a 20 homerun year. He is still only 24 and I expect to see him platooning in left field this year for the Mariners with him seeing a majority of the play time.

 Milton Bradley had a disappointing year marred by injuries and off the field problems. The Mariners paid him 9 million dollars last year for only 244 at bats in 73 games. That’s $36,885 an at bat and $123,287 a game. In the short time he did play he hit .205 with 8 homeruns and 29 RBI. It would be very hard to trade Bradley because of his contract, disappointing numbers last year, and off the field problems. I think the Mariners will just stick with this project and hope he can get even somewhat close to when he was hitting near .300 with 15-20 homeruns. I think we will see him at DH and LF this year.

Saunders and Bradley appear to be the guys that will see the most time at left field in 2011 but there are some guys that could certainly emerge after a strong spring.

The Mariners have a few young outfielders in their system with a lot of raw talent that could potentially put up great power numbers.

One of these guys is Greg Halman. His natural position is center field but with that blocked by Gutierrez I think we could see him shift to Left Field to platoon with Saunders. He has shown great power, speed, and a great glove but he just hasn’t been able to put everything together. He hit .243 with 33 homeruns and 80 RBI but he still strikes out far too many times. He is still very young at the age of 23 and he still has plenty of time to improve his discipline.

 Similar players to Halman in terms of their raw talent that are also on the 40 man roster are Carlos Peguero and Johermyn Chavez. Peguero, age 23, finished the year at AA where he spent the whole season. He hit .254 with 23 homeruns. Chavez, age 21, spent all of last year in the hitter friendly High A California league. He hit .315 with 32 homeruns and 96 RBI. Let’s hope these numbers continue as he advances his career.

These guys still may be a little too far away to consider them to be a part of the Mariners outfield for 2011. There is still a chance that we could see one of them as a September call-up but out of the three I think Halman is the best bet to see time this year.

We still can’t rule out free agency or a trade to fill left field. Some possible free agents that may appeal are Brad Hawpe and Jose Guillen.

 Hawpe has had a disappointing year and a half going back to 2009 after the all-star break. From 2006-2009 Hawpe hit about .280 with 20 plus homeruns in each year. Last year he hit .245 with 9 homeruns which has greatly hurt his FA value. He would probably come pretty cheap and if things work out he may be back to producing to where he once was. That would be a steal for the Mariners.



There has also been the whole Justin Upton theory. Arizona discussed that Justin Upton is available and the Mariners were indeed interested. Then there was the whole confusion about his no trade list- First the Mariners were not on the list and then they were on the list and now they are not on the list. When it’s all said and done I don’t see the Mariners seriously pursuing Upton. They would have to give up 2 of the big 3 (Ackley, Smoak, Pineda) Arizona also expressed that Ackley will need to be a part of a deal but there is no way the Mariners trade him.

 

The Mariners could also look to acquire Colby Rasmus. There were rumors that he requested a trade and it seems his days in St. Louis are over. He is under contract through the 2014 season with the MLB minimum salary so you would expect a raise to be coming his way if he is traded.



Michael Saunders

Seattle could possibly piece together a big package around Aardsma and Saunders for the talented 24 outfielder. He does play center field but I think they could transition him to left field. I still don’t see the Mariners acquiring him either but we can’t totally rule the possibility out.

It would be great for the Mariners to acquire a for sure bat via free agency or a trade but I’m not sure it will happen. Michael Saunders could be a great MLB outfielder but the chances aren’t the best for that to happen. This is a big year for Saunders and by the looks of it currently he will be the Mariners starting LF on opening day.









 

Shortstop

The Mariners have been looking for a solid everyday shortstop to remain apart of the Franchise for a while now. It was another crazy position for the Mariners last year- the year of the “Wilsons”. The two shortstops, Josh and Jack Wilson, put up disappointing offensive numbers.

Jack Wilson

Jack Wilson was supposed to be the everyday shortstop last year until injuries changed that. Wilson hit the disabled list twice in 2010; once for a hamstring injury and then for a fractured bone in his right hand which ended his season. While healthy Wilson hit .249/.282/.316. He had only 14 RBI and failed to record a homeruns in his 193 at bats. Wilson made $5 million dollars last year and will make an additional 5 million this year.

While Jack was sidelined with injuries, 29 year old Josh Wilson took over the shortstop duties. He hit .227/.278/.294 with 2 homeruns and 25 RBI in 361 at bats. He is simply a reserve type player and shouldn’t factor in to the 2011 shortstop plans for Seattle.

The Mariners need to find a shortstop that can provide some offense for 2011. Having only 2 homeruns out of the shortstop position last year is very sad. The future Mariner shortstop, Nick Franklin is not quite ready yet therefore the Mariners should find someone to fill in for the next few years.

There is the option for the Mariners to stick with Jack Wilson and hope that he can get back to his old self where he hit around .275. He is typically a very good defensive shortstop which always appeals to the Mariners. He is under contract for 2011 but after that I couldn’t see him being resigned by them. He did kick around the idea of retirement after and injury plagued 2010 season which would totally eliminate the option of him being the everyday shortstop for 2011.

The Mariners could also look to the Rule 5 draft or spring training invitees to go along with Jack for the shortstop position. They recently signed 2 players’ to minor league contracts; 30 year old Luis Rodriguez and 26 year old Sean Kazmar.

Rodriguez has appeared in 363 Major League games, appearing last in 2009 with the Padres. His career line in the big leagues is .243/.316/.323 in 855 at bats. Scouts say that he has a good eye and still predict that we could still find some life in his bat similar to what happened with Andres Torres year. That is good news for Mariners fans. He would be a much better option than Josh Wilson when it comes to splitting time with Jack Wilson.

The younger shortstop signed by the Mariners, Sean Kazmar has very limited experience at the big league level. He has only had 46 plate appearances in which he has hit .205 (only 8 hits) Last year in AAA his numbers were better. He hit .275 in 499 at bats while knocking in 53 runs. There is a chance that he makes the Mariners 40 man roster with very solid spring training but what I think will happen is that he is not on the 40 man roster and he will be playing for AAA Tacoma.



Jed Lowrie



There is the chance the Mariners could go out and trade for someone. Some possible guys are JJ Hardy of the twins, Jason Bartlett of the Rays, and either Marco Scutaro or Jed Lowrie of the Red Sox. Hardy, Scutaro, and Bartlett would be paid similarly (5 million) to Jack Wilson but with possibly a little bit more offensive output. Out of these guys I think Jed Lowrie would be the best bet. He hasn’t really been able to put much together over his career in Boston and he seems to be out of the Sox plans for the future with talented Jose Iglesias making his way through the system. I am sure the Sox would love to get a solid reliever for Lowrie.



With all these options the Mariners have, I think they will go the route of having Jack Wilson the starting shortstop and having him split time with Luis Rodriguez. This would be a cheap option and could work out great if Wilson posts his typical offensive numbers.

Hopefully 19 year old Nick Franklin will be ready by 2012 but until then… Stay healthy Jack Wilson!





Third Base

Going into the 2010 season the Mariners hoped Jose Lopez would be able to transition from second to third base after a great year offensively and defensively in 2009.

This did not work out so well. Jose Lopez saw his offense decrease in nearly every offensive category. His average dipped .033 points and he had 15 less homeruns. His final line was .239/.270/.339 in 622 plate appearances.



His defense was also disappointing. You could make a case to not slam him too much for his decline in defense due to the fact that he was playing 2^nd base the year before and this was his first time every playing 3^rd base. His fielding percentage dropped from .975 to .960. He had about the same amount of throwing errors as the year before but he had slightly more fielding errors.



Chone Figgins Fielding third for LAA



So the answer for 2011: Assuming that Ackley is moved to second base, the best bet is to move Chone Figgins to his natural position at third base and trade Jose Lopez for some prospects.

Despite having a very disappointing season last year, I think that Chone will feel more comfortable at third base. His last 3 seasons with the Angels in which he played primarily 3^rd base he posted the following averages; .330 in 2007, .276 in 2008, and .298 in 2009.

I don’t want you guys to think that I’m saying ones position directly affects a player’s offensive out put but it could possibly affect is his comfort and focus. A player learning a new position might be putting more focus on their fielding and less on their hitting. A player needs to be comfortable with all aspects of their game and if they are not comfortable with something it could trigger a domino effect hurting other parts of their game.

The way Figgins finished the 2010 season also shows promising signs of him returning to his typical offensive numbers. He improved his average nearly every month last year. He began the season hitting .210 the first two months. In September and October he hit .350. His speed was there all season posting 42 stolen bases which was tied with Ichiro for the most on the Mariners.

I predict and expect much bigger things this year from Figgins. He is a great candidate for comeback player of the year. My predictions for him are that he hits .289 with 46 stolen bases and 5 homeruns.

Let’s say Ackley doesn’t start at second base and Chone Figgins has to play second base opening day. There are some young guys that saw some time as September call-ups last year that are capable of playing 3^rd base.

The guys I am talking about are Matt Mangini and Matt Tuiasosopo. They did not put up very good offensive numbers in their short time with the Mariners but it is too small of a sample size to see what kind of player they could be. Neither one of these players are blue chip prospects with big expectations. They are at most solid utility men that will be seen playing a variety of positions. Both of these guys are on the 40 man roster and are both capable of holding down third base in the scenario that Ackley is at AAA and Figgins is at second base on opening day.

People might ask about the Mariners top third base prospect Alex Liddi but I just don’t think he is ready yet. He still strikes out far too many times to be major league ready and he needs to develop his power some more. He finished last year at AA so I assume he will begin the year at AAA and play most of the year there. We may see him as a possible September call up but he would only see occasional starts behind Figgins.

If Figgins puts up a great first half then I think he would draw lots of interest from teams at the deadline. It would be a smart move to trade Figgins, especially if his value is higher than it is now. I believe he would allow the Mariners to acquire some talented prospects and clear lots of salary space. That may be looking to far into the future so for now we will just look forward to opening day.

I really think that Chone Figgins will be the Mariners starting third baseman for the 2011 season and Ackley will be at second. I hope Figgins turns it around just as all other Mariners fans do.

Second Base

There are two ways the Mariners could go this year at second base beginning on opening day.

We could see Chone Figgins as the opening day starting second baseman which would mean Dustin Ackley would be seeing a little bit more time in the minors to work on a few more things.

Chone Figgins

Chone Figgins was the Mariners starting second baseman all of last year. He was one of the big acquisitions for the Mariners prior to the 2010 season. Last year he made $8,500,000 and this year he will be making nine million dollars. That is a lot of money for someone that hit only .259 and had only one homerun!

Looking at 2010, Figgins’ numbers were very disappointing. Looking onto 2011 there is no reason why Figgins can not get back to his old self. He increased his average nearly every month last year.

I do think that Figgins will put up much better numbers next year and could possibly be a candidate for comeback player of the year; but I don’t think he should be the opening day second baseman.

Dustin Ackley should get the nod at second base on opening day. This young man was drafted by the Mariners 2^nd in the 2009 draft right behind Stephen Strasburg. He was drafted out of North Carolina as an outfielder but Seattle has been transitioning him into a second baseman.

Ackley started off his first full MLB season at AA where he didn’t put up the prettiest numbers. He hit .263 which was disappointing but this didn’t stop the Mariners from calling him up to AAA Tacoma after 289 at bats in 82 games. Ackley put up better numbers while playing for Tacoma which is where he finished out the 2010 season.

Let’s take a look at Ackley’s overall numbers from all of last season: He posted an average of .263. He recorded 7 homeruns, 51 RBI, 10 stolen bases in 13 attempts, 75 BB, .407 SLG, and a .368 OBP in 587 plate appearances.

Ackley really began to take off offensively recently in the Arizona Fall League. He was awarded the MVP after leading the league in average (.424), walks, SLG, OBP, OPS, and runs. These numbers appear promising but AFL stats don’t always translate to success at the big league so we can’t get too excited!

Dustin Ackley

Ackley appears ready offensively but may be holding him back is his defense. He has greatly improved his defense at second base over this season. It is still is a work in progress but I think by opening day he will be even better defensively.

Ackley stated he was confident with his throwing and his ability to field grown balls. What he thinks needs most improvement before opening day is turning double plays and his footwork.

While some people think Ackley should have a little more polish at AAA, I think he should be the starting second baseman opening day. Figgins could then be moved to his original position at third base.

Ackley is a fantastic young hitter. He has been working hard all year and it is time for him to get some much needed rest before spring training begins. I think it is his time to shine in Seattle starting opening day. Let the Ackley era begin!

First Base

First base was very disappointing for the Mariners last year offensively. Casey Kotchman showed little signs of life with his bat, and reinforcements in Russell Branyan didn’t arrive until later in the season. Then on June 9^th, the Mariners received one of the biggest pieces to the franchise. 

Justin Smoak

The 24 year old switch hitting Justin Smoak arrived in the Cliff Lee trade from Texas. The young man from Goose Creek, South Carolina is projected to develop a very powerful bat. He appears to be a lock at first base on opening day.



Smoak did not put up the prettiest offensive numbers over his first Major League season finishing with a .218 AVG. When he first came over in the Cliff Lee deal, he hit .159 in his first 63 at bats as a Mariner. Seattle then sent him down to AAA to work on his swing. This appeared to be successful.

He returned to end the season on a tear. He hit .325 in September and October. In his last 10 games he hit .441 with 3 homeruns earning a hit in each of those 10 games. Ending the season on such a hot streak appears very promising for the upcoming season.



We could also see the 24 year old left handed hitting Mike Carp see some time as a back up to Smoak. Carp hits for decent power but poor AVG as well. He finished with 29 homeruns and .257 AVG for AAA Tacoma. I got the chance to watch him play quite a bit and he can hit the ball a long way. Tacoma has huge outfield walls and is pretty large. There were some balls he hit that cleared the wall by a large margin. He would be a cheap option that is already in our system.



There are also some appealing guys that the Mariners could pursue via free agency. Some possible guys are Jorge Cantu, Adam LaRoche, and Troy Glaus. These guys would be much cheaper compared to big names like Adam Dunn, Derek Lee, and Carlos Pena. A guy like this we could stick at DH and as well at 1^st base on Mr. Smoak’s off days.



Justin Smoak will be the Starter opening day! All these other names would simply be backing up Smoak and seeing time at other positions. I couldn’t imagine a scenario where he is not the starting first baseman. I am expecting big things out of him this season and for him to provide some much needed pop in the middle of the lineup.

Catcher

I am going to begin a series of posts regarding a position by position breakdown for the Mariners and the 2011 season. You will be able to view all of the player breakdown posts along the right hand side under blog lists.

Let’s start with the Mariners catching issues. Just like nearly every other position, the Mariners saw very little offensive production out of their catchers. Then again, catcher typically is a position that does not put up “sexy” offensive numbers.

The Mariners saw a total of five different catchers play last year. The majority of the play time was with Adam Moore (on the right) followed by Rob Johnson, and Josh Bard. Eliezer Alfonzo and Guillermo Quiroz also saw very limited playing time. Going into the 2011 season Josh Bard is a free Agent and Moore and Johnson are the only catchers on the 40 man roster.

The Seattle catchers combined for a total of only 10 homeruns and 32 RBI. Although the offense was not there for the catchers, the defense was. The main three (Moore, Johnson and Bard) put up good fielding percentage numbers. Moore and Johnson had a percentage of 99.0% and Bard was just slightly better with a fielding percentage of 99.1%.

Going into the 2011 season Josh Bard is a free Agent and Moore and Johnson are the only catchers on the 40 man roster.

There aren’t really any appealing catchers on the market this offseason. Majority of them are veteran catchers past their prime. There are a few other options. They could stick with Moore and Johnson at catcher which would give them very little offense. But then there is the idea of trading for a young major league ready catcher or one that is near ready. Although a player like this would not be a proven player they have a higher cieling thatn Moore and Johnson.

There are some guys out there that I really like that I think the Mariners have the pieces to acquire. Taking a look at last years trade deadline the Nationals were able to acquire one of the games top catching prospects in Wilson Ramos and they gave up reliever Matt Capps. The Marines could possibly work out a deal similar to this.

One name that comes to mind is Colorado Rockies Wilin Rosario. He is a very good fielder with an excellent arm and he was really starting to hit the ball before he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee which ended his season. This injury will not have any long term affect for the talented young backstop. The Rockies have shown interest in Jose Lopez who could potentially be involved in a trade.

Another appealing guy is Alex Avila of the Detroit Tigers. The recent signing of Victor Martinez could greatly hurt Avila’s playing time. Despite getting off to a very slow start he turned it around in the later half of the year showing promising things to come. He isn’t going to be a huge offensive threat or an amazing fielder but I do believe he would be an upgrade over Moore and Johnson.

The Nationals have two talented young catchers in Derek Norris and Wilson Ramos. Since they recently acquired Ramos and he appears to be major league ready maybe the Mariners would be able to acquire Norris. I am sure the Nats might show interest in a veteran reliever like Aardsma to go along with Storen and Clippard.

A few more guys that come to mind are Devin Mesoraco of the Reds and Travis D’arnaud of the Blue Jays.

I am not sure if the chances of a scenario like one of these is very good but there is nothing wrong with some ideas. I really like young talented prospects as opposed to maybe a safer veteran player. It would be great to add another talenter piece to the future to go along with Smoak, Ackley, Franklin, and Pineda. It would be taking more of a gamble to trade for one of these young guys but what would sports be without taking chances?

Next I will be bringing you the Mariners first base outlook for the 2011 season.

Welcome

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog. This is my first post so I would like to tell you guys a little bit about myself and my plans for the blog moving on in the future.

I am your average High School student. I play sports, take all AP (Advanced Placement) classes, and I do many other things with my friends. There is one thing that makes me a little different. I am a die hard Mariners and Baseball fan. I love reading about the Mariners and now I want to write about them.

So far the blog consists of a blog in the middle of the page and on the right hand side you can find: my twitter feed; Mariners Today; News; About me; Links and more.

I conveniently live In Tacoma very close to Cheney Stadium, Home of the PCL Champion Tacoma Rainiers. I usually attend lots of games through out the season and this year I plan on taking pictures and maybe even videos at games. These would then be posted on the blog for everyone to see.

I am really excited to begin writing and I will have a lot to write about with the offseason really starting to kick off.

The last day for free agents to accept salary-arbitration offers is November 30th and then the next thing we know winter meetings will be under way December 6-9th in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. I am really excited to see what Jack will do this offseason.

This offseason will say a lot about the Mariners plans for the season and season’s to come. We have a few of the games top prospects as well as many more talented youngsters making their way through the system. It will be interesting to see if Jack chooses to trade any of these guys. He has to do something to improve last year’s worst offense in the Major Leagues.

While Mr. Zduriencik and Wedge, as well as the rest of the coaching staff are making moves to get ready for the 2011 season, I will be here every step of the way providing you guys with the information you need to stay on top of everything Mariners. In the mean time I will be trying to survive in this nasty western Washington weather we have been having thus far.

And one more thing! Check me out on twitter @MsMLB_MiLB as well.
Thanks!