This offseason, the Seattle Mariners made a couple of moves that defied logic. They dealt the talented, but often injured, Rafael Soriano to Atlanta for the incredibly horrific Horacio Ramirez. They also dished out the big payola ($8.3 Million smackers) for one Jeff Weaver, who despite his playoff success in 2006, had an ERA of 6+ for the Angels and 5+ for the Cards.
These are just the latest in a long history of bizarre decisions by the M's front office. They could have had one of the best teams in baseball for years. Instead, they have guaranteed themselves another lower-division finish for 2007. Let's look at some of the transactions, and maybe we will learn how not to run a franchise.
2007
Signed Jeff Weaver for $8.3 million...He is worse than some of the minor leaguers Seattle could have called up, including Ryan Feierabend...So far, has given up 7 runs in 2 innings...if he was so good, St. Louis would have resigned him.
Signed Arthur Rhodes for $1 million...His ERA in 2006 was 5.32 and he's 37 years old...the A's snatch up Embree, the Angels get Speier, and the M's fall farther behind in the arms race.
Traded Rafael Soriano for Horacio Ramirez...Soriano was 1-2 last season for the Mariners with a 2.25 ERA in 53 games with 65 strikeouts in 60 innings....Horacio had a 4.48 ERA with a whopping 37 K's (and 31 walks) in 76 innings...Soriano makes less than half of what Ramirez does in 2007...Soriano has not given up a run in 5 appearances so far this year, while Ramirez' only start was snowed out (he was losing).
Traded Chris Snelling and Emiliano Fruto for Jose Vidro...Snelling has impressive power and speed...perhaps just needs another year to develop...Fruto is only 22, and has a great fastball...Vidro is just an awful choice to be a starting DH...7 HR and 47 RBI last year in 463 AB...nice.
2006
Traded Matt Thornton for Joe Borchard...Thornton had a nifty 3.33 ERA for the White Sox in '06, while the M's were busy figuring out that Borchard was expendable...less than 2 months after the trade, Seattle put Borchard on waivers and he was claimed by the Marlins.
Traded Shin-Soo Choo and Shawn Nottingham for Ben Broussard...It remains to be seen how Choo and Nottingham turn out, but Broussard is already a bust in Seattle... He hit .238 with the Mariners in '06, and has 2 AB so far in '07...He has been bumped out of his starting DH role by the deteriorating Jose Vidro...Choo hit .295 with the Indians in '06 after the trade, and has an intriguing power/speed combo. The fact that the Tribe also got Nottingham makes this a baaaaaad deal for the M's.
Not getting anything for Gil Meche...The sometimes talented, yet inconsistent pitcher landed with the Royals this offseason for over $10 million per year. The Mariners, of course, got nothing in return. A little foresight would have led to the M's trading him last year and probably getting at least a couple of prospects, if not a starting position player.
2005
Traded Miguel Olivo for Miguel Ojeda and Nathanael Mateo...When Olivo left the Mariners, he proceeded to hit over .300 for the Padres in '05, then hit .263 with 16 dingers for the Marlins in 2006. The M's put Ojeda on waivers three months after the trade, and Mateo is now 26 years old, and hardly a prospect anymore.
Traded Randy Winn for Jesse Foppert and and Yorvit Torrealba...Winn exploded after his trade to the Giants, hitting .355 with 14 homers in the last couple of months in 2005...he is still the Giants' regular center fielder...Torrealba was in Colorado by 2006, and Foppert pitched all of 10 innings for Seattle before being let go this spring.
2004
Traded Freddy Garcia for Jeremy Reed, Mike Morse and Miguel Olivo...The M's traded a top-tier starting pitcher for a guy who was recently sent down to AAA (Reed), a guy who should be in AA (Morse), and a good catcher who was traded away for virtually nothing (see 2005).
2003
Signed Scott Spiezio...December 2003 started one of the more forgettable chapters in Mariner history...He cost the Mariners almost $6 million for two seasons...Spiezio hit .215 in '04 and .064 in limited action in 2005...Then he went to the Cardinals and hit .272 in 2006 and got a ring to boot.
The list of bad deals goes on and on. Going farther back, the Mariners traded away David Ortiz, Carlos Guillen, A-Rod, Randy Johnson, Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe (the last two in one deal for Heathcliffe Slocumb). They also traded Brian Fuentes (current Rockies' closer) back in 2001 for Jeff Cirillo, who hit .249 and .205 in two rough years with the M's....Cirillo also "earned" a total of $13 million for those two seasons.
Here is a post from another blog about Mariners GM Bill Bavasi that pretty much sums up this mess:
"It's one thing to get worse by attrition, as your best players leave due to free agency or retirement. It's another to get worse as part of your core strategy, giving away talented young players in exchange for oft-injured mediocrities, just making things that much harder for your successor in the GM chair."
These are just the latest in a long history of bizarre decisions by the M's front office. They could have had one of the best teams in baseball for years. Instead, they have guaranteed themselves another lower-division finish for 2007. Let's look at some of the transactions, and maybe we will learn how not to run a franchise.
2007
Signed Jeff Weaver for $8.3 million...He is worse than some of the minor leaguers Seattle could have called up, including Ryan Feierabend...So far, has given up 7 runs in 2 innings...if he was so good, St. Louis would have resigned him.
Signed Arthur Rhodes for $1 million...His ERA in 2006 was 5.32 and he's 37 years old...the A's snatch up Embree, the Angels get Speier, and the M's fall farther behind in the arms race.
Traded Rafael Soriano for Horacio Ramirez...Soriano was 1-2 last season for the Mariners with a 2.25 ERA in 53 games with 65 strikeouts in 60 innings....Horacio had a 4.48 ERA with a whopping 37 K's (and 31 walks) in 76 innings...Soriano makes less than half of what Ramirez does in 2007...Soriano has not given up a run in 5 appearances so far this year, while Ramirez' only start was snowed out (he was losing).
Traded Chris Snelling and Emiliano Fruto for Jose Vidro...Snelling has impressive power and speed...perhaps just needs another year to develop...Fruto is only 22, and has a great fastball...Vidro is just an awful choice to be a starting DH...7 HR and 47 RBI last year in 463 AB...nice.
2006
Traded Matt Thornton for Joe Borchard...Thornton had a nifty 3.33 ERA for the White Sox in '06, while the M's were busy figuring out that Borchard was expendable...less than 2 months after the trade, Seattle put Borchard on waivers and he was claimed by the Marlins.
Traded Shin-Soo Choo and Shawn Nottingham for Ben Broussard...It remains to be seen how Choo and Nottingham turn out, but Broussard is already a bust in Seattle... He hit .238 with the Mariners in '06, and has 2 AB so far in '07...He has been bumped out of his starting DH role by the deteriorating Jose Vidro...Choo hit .295 with the Indians in '06 after the trade, and has an intriguing power/speed combo. The fact that the Tribe also got Nottingham makes this a baaaaaad deal for the M's.
Not getting anything for Gil Meche...The sometimes talented, yet inconsistent pitcher landed with the Royals this offseason for over $10 million per year. The Mariners, of course, got nothing in return. A little foresight would have led to the M's trading him last year and probably getting at least a couple of prospects, if not a starting position player.
2005
Traded Miguel Olivo for Miguel Ojeda and Nathanael Mateo...When Olivo left the Mariners, he proceeded to hit over .300 for the Padres in '05, then hit .263 with 16 dingers for the Marlins in 2006. The M's put Ojeda on waivers three months after the trade, and Mateo is now 26 years old, and hardly a prospect anymore.
Traded Randy Winn for Jesse Foppert and and Yorvit Torrealba...Winn exploded after his trade to the Giants, hitting .355 with 14 homers in the last couple of months in 2005...he is still the Giants' regular center fielder...Torrealba was in Colorado by 2006, and Foppert pitched all of 10 innings for Seattle before being let go this spring.
2004
Traded Freddy Garcia for Jeremy Reed, Mike Morse and Miguel Olivo...The M's traded a top-tier starting pitcher for a guy who was recently sent down to AAA (Reed), a guy who should be in AA (Morse), and a good catcher who was traded away for virtually nothing (see 2005).
2003
Signed Scott Spiezio...December 2003 started one of the more forgettable chapters in Mariner history...He cost the Mariners almost $6 million for two seasons...Spiezio hit .215 in '04 and .064 in limited action in 2005...Then he went to the Cardinals and hit .272 in 2006 and got a ring to boot.
The list of bad deals goes on and on. Going farther back, the Mariners traded away David Ortiz, Carlos Guillen, A-Rod, Randy Johnson, Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe (the last two in one deal for Heathcliffe Slocumb). They also traded Brian Fuentes (current Rockies' closer) back in 2001 for Jeff Cirillo, who hit .249 and .205 in two rough years with the M's....Cirillo also "earned" a total of $13 million for those two seasons.
Here is a post from another blog about Mariners GM Bill Bavasi that pretty much sums up this mess:
"It's one thing to get worse by attrition, as your best players leave due to free agency or retirement. It's another to get worse as part of your core strategy, giving away talented young players in exchange for oft-injured mediocrities, just making things that much harder for your successor in the GM chair."
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