Category Archives: M’s Transaction News

by Andrew Long | June 2, 2010 · 4:10 pm

Ken Griffey Jr. Retires

Well… I was working on another post but then this came up. Maybe I’ll get back to that post sometime but this seems a little more important.

I’m not going to write a lot, there’s not much to say. I know this makes the team better but I can’t help but feel a little sad right now. Griffey is my favorite baseball player of all time. He was the player I tried to mirror while growing up. It’s not a stretch for me to say that he was the reason I became a baseball fan.

He left quietly and without all the fanfare. He didn’t want to take away from what his teammates are doing. He is a class act and will be viewed as that despite the stupid Sleepgate story that wasn’t true. We can discuss how this makes the team better another day but for now there’s not much else to say but this.

Thank you Griffey. Thank you for saving the franchise. Thank you for being one of the biggest reasons why Safeco was built. Thank you for that smile and showing all baseball fans that this is just a game. So long Griff, and thank you.

Andrew

We might have some more thoughts on this later. Just wanted to get a quick post up.

Michael Saunders Up

Edit–See below as well. Joe and I published the exact same thing, but he beat me. Sorry Joe!

Milton Bradley has been placed on the restricted list while he undergoes some counseling and what not. He has to stay on it for at least 5 days, but he’ll likely be longer than that. Baker speculates that a week from tomorrow is the earliest we’d see him again. He’s remaining in Seattle, but not traveling or doing anything with the team for now.

Michael Saunders has been called up to take his place. He started the year at Tacoma in a terrible slump, but has been on a tear for the last week or so. He’s been retooling his swing, so hopefully something has clicked now. Most likely, he’ll not play much. I could see him getting a start or two, but he’ll mostly be a back-up/pinch-runner type.

The team hopes Jack Wilson will only be out for a day or two, so they haven’t made a roster move with him. Hope for no injuries to infielders, because there’s no one on the bench to replace them, except at first. If someone got injured, they could send down a pitcher (Sean White!) and bring up Tui again, but hopefully it won’t come to that.

Go Mariners! Tonight is the night to assert your long-awaited dominance!

-Matthew

1 Comment

Filed under M's Transaction News, Mariners

Tagged as Jack Wilson, Michael Saunders, Milton Bradley

by Joe Loughery | May 6, 2010 · 4:48 pm

Bradley to the Restricted List; Saunders Called Up

The Mariners have placed Bradley on the Restricted List, which opens up a roster spot and to my eye looks like a list for guys who are not injured, but have other reasons why they are not playing. Michael Saunders has been recalled from Tacoma.

The good news is Bradley is receiving professional help for his problems. Appropriate move by the Mariners. Open up a roster spot, move forward because baseball will not wait, and hope Bradley can get healthy.

-Joe

2 Comments

Filed under M's Transaction News, Mariners

Tagged as Milton Bradley, Seattle Mariners

by dpscansen | February 5, 2010 · 2:50 pm

Erik Bedard: Re-signing with Seattle

Apparently Erik Bedard is about to re-sign with the Mariners on a 1 year deal worth 1.5MM and a laundry list of incentives that could bump it up close to the 7.75MM he earned in 2009. In short, Bedard has been injured more than he has been healthy in each of the past 2 seasons, and currently he is trying to recover from a torn labrum. It’s a serious rehab and if we see him pitch at all this year, it surely won’t come sooner than June.

More Bedard thoughts…When he does pitch, he usually only goes 5 innings. He is also a constant reminder of the worst trade in Mariners history. Not to mention, he’s kind of a jerk.

And yet, I like the signing. 2007 is not an eternity ago and in ’07 Bedard was 13-5 with a 3.17 ERA. He was emerging as a top flight starter, and he had ridiculous stuff. A mid-90’s fastball to compliment a gorgeous breaking ball. It all seemed worth giving up a bundle for. The potential is there, and the idea of a Felix-Lee-Bedard trio in October is fantastic, even if those odds are slim. At 1.5MM it’s a gamble worth taking, and a low-risk proposition; Jack Z’s specialty!

If I had known back in February ’08 when Bedard was acquired from the Orioles for half of Seattle’s farm system, that Bedard would eventually re-sign with the M’s, I would have certainly thought his new extension would be darn near 100MM over 5 or 6 years. After all, he was supposed to be one of the elite lefties in the game. He was supposed to provide Felix Hernandez with a 1-2 punch that would certainly be one of the best. Ironically, Seattle has the best 1-2 punch after all, but Bedard is neither the 1 nor the 2. At best, he is the 5th or 6th jab. But who knows, maybe Bedard ends up being the missing piece the M’s need in July when the playoff race heats up. He could essentially be a trade deadline acquisition. And if this turns out well, the best part is salvaging some of the train wreck that Bavasi created on that fateful day in February, 2008.*

*Keep in mind, had Bavasi not traded Adam Jones in the Bedard trade, we likely would not have death to flying things manning center field (aka Franklin Gutierrez). I guess that counts for something. Whatever helps you sleep at night…