| 11 December 2011
Everyone knows that Pujols just signed a monster deal with the Angels. But what are the Mariners going to do about that? We’ve all been hearing Fielder’s name tossed around here and there, but the M’s have only flirted with the idea of signing him. In order to determine what moves could be made by Jack Z this offseason, we either have to go all out for Fielder and risk coming up empty handed, or we just gotta move on from him and go for smaller name players who could still be somewhat productive. Here’s a list of rumored/potential signings for the Mariners this offseason:
Prince Fielder- Like I said, if we go for Fielder, it’s gotta be all or nothing. He’s going to be the only big player we get this offseason, if we do sign him. But how much is he worth? Personally, I’d say $20 million a year is the limit. It’s a high risk move for a team that’s still a year or two away from competing. Having a player like Fielder would be nice, but we’re still two or three big pieces away from contending.
Player Rating: 9/10
Likeliness: 7/10
Carlos Beltran- I know, I know, he’s extremely injury prone blah blah blah. But, like I said, our outfield is still in pieces. Beltran could be an ideal left fielder, for the right price. Last season he had a WAR of 4.7. The only other FA with a higher WAR this year are (in order) Fielder, Pujols, Reyes, and CJ Wilson. That’s good company. He’s only played 207 games in the past 3 years though, and that scares me, especially from a $10 million+ contract. I would prefer a short term, small guarantee with more playing time incentives (like with Erik Bedard).
Player Rating: 7/10
Likeliness: 3/10
Arthur Rhodes-You all remember Rhodes, right? Played with Seattle for 4 years, from 2000-2003, then made a cameo appearance for 2 games in 2008. He is now 42 years old, and still a fairly effective reliever. For the past 3 years, his SO/BB ratio has hung around 2, but he has a SO/9 of about 6. He’s not the same Arthur Rhodes we used to know. He’s 10 years older, he’s lost some velocity, and he is well past his prime. For a 1 or 2 year contract however, at a cheap price, I wouldn’t mind signing good ‘ol Rhodey.
Player Rating: 4/10
Likeliness: 5/10
Michael Cuddyer- We’ve also heard Cuddyer’s name tossed around a lot the past year or so. He’s undoubtedly an effective player, plus he can play 1st, 3rd, LF, RF and even 2B in emergencies. He’s like the super utility player that you want to start every day. Cuddyer could easily hit 20 homers a year, even in Safeco Field. We could use him to start to solidify the outfield, or use him at 3B until Liddi or Seager are ready to play in the bigs.
Player Rating: 7/10
Likeliness: 4/10
As I said before, We won’t get any of these guys (except maybe Rhodes) if we dump and chase for Fielder. That’s the risk we have to take. If we don’t get Fielder, but we still went all out for him, most of these guys would already be signed, and this offseason would have been lost. Is it worth the risk? No matter what, this will be a nail-biter of a winter until the end.
