Who needs Richie Sexson when you can get Russell Branyan for $14 million less. Branyan will bring power and strikeouts so the M's should be used to that after years with Sexson at the helm. Its a good low cost solution for the M's but not going to escalate them to the top of the West. A lot of work is needed to be done in Seattle. This is Branyan's 8th team to play with and his first return to the AL since 2006.Mariners signed infielder Russell Branyan, who had been with the Brewers, to a one-year contract.
No word on the terms, but it's probably not worth more than $1 million or so. Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik made it sound like Branyan would get a chance to be the primary first baseman, and if that's the case, Branyan probably would have played for free. The soon-to-be 33-year-old hasn't had 300 at-bats in a season since 2002 and he's never had 400. However, he did hit .250/.342/.583 in 132 at-bats for the Brewers last season and he's tended to put up fine numbers on those rare occasions in which he's gotten to play regularly for a few weeks at a time. He could be a league-average first baseman for the Mariners at a bargain price.