Now That Tanaka Is Gone, What Do the Mariners Do Next?

By Jackson Safon

Today, Masahiro Tanaka signed a seven year, $155 million deal with the New York Yankees. The deal includes an opt-out clause after four years and a full no-trade clause. These figures are just monstrous. I wanted the Mariners to sign Tanaka as much as anyone, but these numbers are just ridiculous. I was hoping the M’s could get him for around six years, $120 million. That is still an expensive price, but much more reasonable than his actual contract, which when combined with the $20 million posting fee the Yankees will have to pay Tanaka’s Japanese team, equals the amount the Mariners are paying Felix Hernandez. Is Tanaka worth that to you? Yeah, me neither.

But now that Tanaka has signed, it is time for the Mariners to make their next move. The next logical step is to sign a starter, because as of right now, the Mariners only have four starters in Felix, Iwakuma, Walker, and Paxton. The three top starting pitchers on the market are Matt Garza, Ubaldo Jimenez, and Ervin Santana. Garza is my top choice for a number of reasons, namely because he is the only of the three that wouldn’t require draft pick compensation. All three are great pitchers, but I think Garza has the best combination of consistency and skill. Ubaldo Jiminez was the best of the three in his prime, but his questionable mechanics have left him wildly inconsistent. Ervin Santana is quite good as well, but is asking for far too much money for his value as a pitcher.

Garza has a strong ERA, WHIP, and strikeout ratio. The biggest knock on Garza is his injury history, which is fair, because he hasn’t had 30 starts in a season since 2011. That being said, he had a period of four straight 30+ start seasons from 2008-2011. Furthermore, he has fantastic stuff when he is healthy, as was displayed during his 2011 standout season with the Cubs and his no-hitter in 2010 with the Rays.

The Mariners haven't been linked to Matt Garza, but he makes the most sense out of the three elite pitchers available.

Baltimore Sun

The other big hole in the Mariners lineup remains a right-fielder. The biggest outfield free agents in Shin-Soo Choo, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Carlos Beltran have all signed with new teams, so it seems one of the few logical options in free agency is Nelson Cruz. I am not a big Cruz fan and especially not for the value he is asking. I would be fine with signing him for a contract around 3 years/$45 million, but not much more. I am much more on board with making a trade for an outfielder, whether it be with Nick Franklin, Kyle Seager, or even one of our two young pitchers.

It remains to be seen what Jack Z and management will do, but now that Tanaka is off the board, it is time to make some moves, and a starter is the biggest hole to fill. 

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Mariners' Next Steps after Signing Cano

By Kevin Calderhead

Jack Z is going all out this offseason. ROBINSON CANO. Wow.

The Mariners are tired of losing and if they don’t make the playoffs this year, Zduriencik may lose his job. Signing the best second baseman in the American League is a great step forward, but one player isn’t going to turn everything around. There are several more pieces Jack Z needs to add to make Seattle a successful team in 2014.

On a related note, a lot of you are probably asking “Where did we get all this money from?” Well the Mariners have finally paid off players we had released or traded, like Ichiro and Chone Figgins who were being paid a combined $27 million a year. There are now only two players on the roster with large payrolls: Felix at $22.5 million and Iwakuma at $6.5 million. That leaves a load of money for Jack Z to spend.

By himself, Cano can’t fix the Mariners less than average offense. We need at least one more big bat, preferably an outfielder, and Nelson Cruz and ex-Mariner Shin-Soo Choo could be potential acquisitions. In fact, as I write this article, there’s been a report that Nelson Cruz has turned down 5 years $75 million from the M’s. Nothing has been confirmed yet though. Matt Kemp could also come our way, but rumors are swirling that a trade between the Dodgers and the Red Sox for Kemp is brewing. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that another Dodgers’ outfielder, Andre Ethier, is also on their radar, as well as Corey Hart.

Could Nelson Cruz be the next big signing for Jack Zduriencik and the Mariners?

Black Sports Online

By signing Cano, the Mariners’ other second basemen, Dustin Ackley and Nick Franklin, could be used as trade bait. Ackley especially is drawing interest from teams across the league. Outfielder Michael Saunders and pitcher James Paxton have been also been mentioned as trading pieces.

If Kendrys Morales doesn’t re-sign, which he most likely will not, as he turned down our $14.1 million offer, another DH will need to be traded for or signed. Billy Butler, the designated hitter of the Kansas City Royals, could assume this role. Butler batted .289 and hit 15 bombs with 82 RBI’s. His highest home run total in his career is 29, the same year he knocked in 107 runs. But acquiring Cano may entice Morales to sign back with the Mariners. Morales led the Mariners in batting last season.

The Mariners also need another consistent starting pitcher to go along with Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma. Sources have reported that Tampa Bay Rays’ ace David Price is their top priority. Price won only 10 games last year, but in 2012 he won the Cy Young with a 20-5 record, a 2.56 ERA and 205 punch-outs. I like the idea of a trade, but Tampa Bay wants Taijuan Walker in exchange. Walker is the Mariners’ best pitching prospect, and had a bit of success at the end of last year. Jack Z says, however, that he has no intentions of trading Walker. MLB Network’s analyst Richard Justice has said that any trade for Price would almost certainly include first baseman Justin Smoak.

A Mariners rotation with David Price included within it would be second to none in Major League Baseball.

Mike Carlson/AP

Price isn’t the only starting pitcher Jack Z has shown interest in. Matt Garza, Ubaldo Jimenez and Bartolo Colon are all possibilities. But I would sure like to get Price, without losing Walker. I’m sitting here imagining a starting rotation with Felix, Kuma, Price, Walker and Paxton and it makes me the most excited for Mariners baseball than I have been in a while.

The last time I was this happy about baseball in Seattle was when we signed Chone Figgins. I don’t even want to think about how that turned out.

But if Jack Z can manage to sign a power hitting outfielder and ace David Price, the Mariners could be good. Like playoff good. When was the last time we said that? We wouldn’t have to worry about whether a field of inexperienced prospects could turn into wins. The fate of the 2014 Seattle Mariners is in Zduriencik’s hands, and it looks like he means business.

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Mariners Sign All-Star Infielder Robinson Cano

By Jackson Safon

By now you have already heard the news of the 10 year, $240 million contract the Mariners signed Robinson Cano for and you have probably already heard several takes on it. Here was my take on it when I rolled out of bed and heard the news: HOLY CRAP THE MARINERS SIGNED ROBINSON CANO WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HAPPENING. Now I am going to attempt to slow down the excitement a bit to try and look at this signing logically.

Logically, it is an interesting signing because the contract itself is pretty bad, but everything that comes with it could make it worth it. Cano is 31 years old, so a 10-year contract is far too long. There’s a pretty good chance he will be a shell of himself by the time the last few years of this contract roll around. Yet this signing is about so much more than just adding Robinson Cano to the roster. It is the first step to making the Mariners relevant again. Signing Cano does so much more than just bring 25+ homers and 95+ RBI (holy smokes those are some nice stats), it allows the Mariners to realistically go after other free agents. Now instead of pitching Willie Bloomquist as their latest free agent signing they can pitch arguably the best second baseman in the American League. That is an unbelievable tool that cannot be undervalued when analyzing this signing.

Cano's swing is considered to be the best in baseball. Absolutely beautiful.

The Source

Now it is time to look towards the future. Except the future is now. Cano is the first step, but now the Mariners have to go add another hitter, whether it be in free agency (Shin-Soo Choo, Mike Napoli or Nelson Cruz?) or via trade (Brad Miller and James Paxton for Matt Kemp?). Whatever they do next, and they will do something next, it will be made possible in large part because of Robinson Cano. The city of Seattle thanks you Robinson.

The next question is what should be the Mariners next move. Should it be to sign a Shin-Soo Choo or Nelson Cruz in free agency, should it be to trade for a guy like Matt Kemp, or should it be to do something similar but instead for a starting pitcher? Matt Garza is a name I floated out a few weeks ago that the Mariners could potentially sign, and reports coming in yesterday were that the Mariners are interested in potentially acquiring David Price from the Rays. At this point it is very difficult to predict what Jack Zduriencik will do next because this is uncharted waters for us as Mariners fans. This has never happened before, at least not on this scale. But if the Mariners add another hitter or two and potentially a starting pitcher as well there is no reason to think this team won’t be able to win now.

Could the Mariners bring in Mike Napoli as well? Only time will tell.

USA Today Sports

The signing of Robinson Cano does so much for the Mariners it’s hard to even fathom. It changes the culture of the entire organization. Not only will we see Robinson Cano on the field but we will see Jay-Z and Beyoncé at the games. The Mariners have a chance to really make a play for the AL West if they can sign a couple more key guys.

Jack Zduriencik has made the splash he needed to, but now let’s see if he can swim and continue to make the Mariners better.

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