What To Do
Listed in: BaseballOk, so the MLB trade deadline is three hours away. The Mariners, fresh off their biggest win of the season, are likely feeling some pressure to make a move, now that the team is legitimately contending for the first time since 2003. Furthermore, while GM Bill Bavasi wasn't with the team at the time, he knows that the biggest complaint about his predecessor "Standing" Pat Gillick is that he wouldn't make trades at the deadline to improve his team, even if it was clear (as it was in 2002 and 2003) that the Mariners needed a boost to remain in contention.
The first item of business is to address the team's needs. Then, we can see if there are any players available who would fit those needs. Lastly, we speculate on what it would cost to obtain those players, and whether such a move would be prudent.
The Needs
The most glaring weakness on the team is the back end of the rotation. I've already covered this in some detail, but I'll summarize: Horacio Ramirez sucks, and the team doesn't currently have a better (healthy) option. Still, with the way the rest of the rotation has been pitching, I see this as less of a need. Plus, there are practically no starters available who would provide anything more than a marginal upgrade over Ramirez. I'd much rather wait and see if Cha Seung Baek can come back, and to be fair, this appears to be the approach the team is taking as well.
Left field is another area of concern: Raul Ibanez has a .694 OPS which is dropping daily. It certainly seems like his career as a useful offensive player is over, meaning he needs to be out of the lineup last month. Plus, he plays atrocious defense. Oh, and the Mariners have the perfect replacement just rotting away at AAA. Unfortunately, the team seems committed to Ibanez, since they've made him into the face of the franchise. If the Mariners aren't willing to sit Ibanez to promote Jones, I can't see them making a trade for an outfielder.
Similar to Ibanez, Richie Sexson has been something of a black hole in the lineup as well, what with his .706 OPS and shoddy defense. But like Raul, the team refuses to sit Richie and give Ben Broussard (.797 OPS, decent defense) more playing time. It's true that they like having a left-handed bat on the bench, but it's more true that they're paying Sexson $14 million this year and next and are desperate to get some return on their investment.
Much lower down on the list is the bullpen, though oddly this seems to be the area the team is most likely to address. JJ Putz is the best closer in baseball, and George Sherrill owns lefties. He's pretty good against righties as well, but manager John McLaren seems unwilling to let him pitch the eighth inning. Sean Green has dominated righties and shown improvement against lefties, while Brandon Morrow is in the midst of his best stretch of the season, showing much improved command of late. Plus, they've just got last year's breakout sensation Mark Lowe back from injury, and Eric O'Flaherty has been solid as the second lefty in the pen. While Bavasi seems to think they need a legitimate set-up guy, I'm more than OK with letting McLaren piece together an eighth inning from whichever of those guys is pitching the best or is the most rested. If the team wants to add another power righthanded arm, they've got Kameron Mickolio hanging around Tacoma, though calling him up would require adding him to the 40-man roster. The other in-house option is to bring back Julio Mateo, who was banished to AAA for sucking and beating his wife, and not necessarily in that order. Still, he's been decent at the big league level other than this year and has utterly dominated AAA since coming off suspension. The team has said they won't bring him up until the case against him is finished, but principles be damned, we have a pennant to win! The team is said to be looking hard at Al Reyes, who's been good this year but is 37 and has had major arm surgery twice already, and Octavio Dotel, who's decent. Why the team would deal away a good young player like Jeff Clement or Wladimir Balentien to marginally upgrade an already-excellent bullpen is beyond me, but perhaps they're just feeling the pressure to do something, anything, so they can show the fans they're serious about competing. Still, at this point I'm just hoping the deadline comes and goes without any deals happening.
