M's Offseason Thread

[Porter]

Lets start Offseason talk here.

What should we do with this aging roster?

[MarinersFan87]

Here's an idea:

Put the FA SP's on hold for a second. There are a few guys out there who could help us there. If Brian Giles is seriously considering us ("Certainly, the Mariners are among those we would be serious with," said Joe Bick, Giles' agent) then roll out the red-carpet and make every effort to sign him. Age not considered, there are maybe 4 or 5 players out there who could help out the M's more. Giles posted a .905 OPS in 2005, more importantly a 1.008 OPS on the road. If you put him in Safeco, where LH hitters feast then you're looking at a guy who would probably post at least a .950 OPS overall in 2006.

How much exactly would Giles cost? Probably somewhere in the neighborhood of $8-11 mil ( ). Would he be worth it? Yeah, absolutely. Stick him in the 3 slot, and watch Sexson's RBI's go from 121 to the 150 area. Everything after Giles should be secondary. Burnett would be nice, but in all honesty, he seems destined for Toronto. Milwood will probably decide to call it a career in Cleveland. Daisuke Matsuzaka will unfortunately be in Japan for another year probably. Matsuzaka's teammate Fumiya Nishiguchi, is however going to be available. While not the stud that DaiMat is, he'd be a servicable #3 SP. Toss in a Rick Helling for a reduced price, and ditch Pineiro and his salary and we've got a decent looking rotation.

Bottom line, if we would sign Burnett, Giles, Johijima, and Nishiguchi then we're spending the same type of cash we did last year, but I gurantee we take the Angels down to the final week. If we settle for Giles, Johijima, Nishiguchi, and Helling then we're still a SP from a division crown, but we're competing.

I hope nobody took the time to read all that.

[MarinersFan87]

Scrap the Fumiya Nishiguchi idea. He apparently won't be in America until at least another year.

[Porter]

i like the idea of Giles and his .400+ OBP in the 2 hole more than the 3 hole considering the horrible production weve had behind Ichiro. for the most part i agree with what you say MF.

[MarinersFan87]

Who's gonna hit 3 then? Ibanez? Beltre? I'd rather not. I think Ichiro bounces back and hits .325 this year.

[Porter]

i think have Beltre in the 3, he cant f*ck up with Giles and Sexson protecting him? Can he?

[MarinersFan87]

Seems risky, putting a guy who could potentially only put up a .320ish OBP in the 3 slot. The 5 hole seems like a much better fit for him, you're gonna have two guys who get on base a lot in front him so he can really do what he does best, drive runs in. I say take a chance and stick Reed in the 2 spot, with a guy who is going to put a .420 OBP behind him it is worth the risk.

[love_that_reefer]

M's lineup as is I would go with Ibanez as the number three guy. He hit better than Beltre but I do see a need to try and balance the middle of the lineup. Tough one. I would go Ibanez, Sexson, Beltre.

[MarinersFan87]

Right now Ibanez, Sexson, Beltre does make the most sense, but if we go with that then we're stuck with the same offense we had last year. Ideally, I'd like to sign Giles. If not, then try to trade for Chad Tracy. A nice back up plan would be calling up the Nats and getting Ryan Church, he could rake in Safeco.

[love_that_reefer]

I do like Church.

[Porter]

Chad Tracy would be a great fit for Seattle if we could get him. Church would be another Randy Winn i think. We'll never appericate his true talent. How bout this

Ichiro
Ibanez
Giles
Sexson
Beltre
Reed

as the front 6.

[Porter]

Now that Johima signed, it allows us to keep Clement down for 2 more years, which is about right for his development. This is a pretty decent move considering we know nothing about him at all.

Also Ichiro agreed to play in the World Cup for Japan. Im glad he made the decision.

[MarinersFan87]

I think Clement will play for the Mariners at some point this year.

[Dry1313]

Johjima's such a nice pickup, i see Posada-esque production, whil Jorge was on his game. Like 20 Hrs, 85 RBI, .275 avg

[ThomasTomasz]

The well-traveled Roberto Petagine just signed a ML Deal....

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) -- Roberto Petagine agreed Tuesday to a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners and was invited to spring training.

The 34-year-old infielder batted .281 with one home run and nine RBIs in 32 at bats for Boston last year. Before that, the left-handed Petagine won two home-run titles and three Gold Gloves as a first baseman in Japan's Central League, where he was selected MVP in 2001.

He has 211 games of major league experience and a .230 career average for Boston, San Diego, the New York Mets and Cincinnati. He made his major league debut with the Padres in 1995.

He spent most of last season with Boston's Triple-A team at Pawtucket, hitting .327 with 20 homers and 69 RBIs.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slu...v=ap&type=lgns