My Three Year Plan On Rebuilding The Seattle Mariners

Although these ideas are little more than dreams, I believe these are the types of deals the Mariners should be pursuing. Right now. I would look into high profile deal like this, but at the same time not settle for anything less. If they aren't plausible, then at the very least they have let other teams know who is, and isn't available. By doing this, they have established expectations for any deal, and can let teams approach them.

• Ichiro Suzuki, Yuniesky Betancourt, and Jarrod Washburn to Los Angles Dodgers for Matt Kemp, Juan Pierre, James Loney, and Chad Billingsley.
  
  The Mariners are in a deep hole, and have no chance to compete with their current roster. Add to this the fact that several bad contracts exist, and this is a nightmare scenario for any new GM. Trading Ichiro is not going to be a popular move in Seattle. The fans love him, and regardless of the record, the team makes a boatload of money off him. 
  
• Looking deeper, he is a 34 year old leadoff guy making about $15 million a season. Although he is showing no signs of slowing down, Ichiro is not a superstar, nor is he a guy I'd want to build around (at this point in his career). Instead, I make him the centerpiece of a deal that makes the team better at multiple positions, while freeing up some money for possible FA signings in the coming off season. Rafael Furcal is out an undetermined period of time, and the options the Dodgers have gone through and are considering are a huge sucking black hole in their IF and lineup. Betancourt is an above average SS, but I don't believe he is the talent many in Seattle think him to be (Remember, fans are always going to overvalue their own teams players, while undervaluing another teams). Washburn is a serviceable LHP who would benefit from a bigger park, pitching in the NL, and having a better defense behind him.
  
• Kemp and Loney are young and under club control, meaning they are also cheap. They are both good talents who have had issues with Dodger "veterans". These two, along with Jeremy Reed, vastly improve the Mariner outfield defense, pushing Raul Ibanez to DH (maybe temporarily). Loney is not a classic power hitter, but his line drive swing translates well to Safeco Field, not to mention he's a huge improvement over the Richie Sexson and Miguel Cairo tandem the M's trot out there every night. Pierre slides into LF and gives the M's a viable leadoff hitter, while also clear a bit of salary from the Dodger payroll (Given the makeup of the Dodgers, they are built to contend this year or next, with guys like Andruw Jones, Nomar, Jeff Kent). Like the rest of the Mariner haul, Chad Billingsley is young, and has a lot to offer. He slides into the #3 spot in the rotation, behind Felix Hernandez and Erik Bedard (again, maybe temporarily).
  
  Seattle Mariners (estimated)
  Ichiro Suzuki................... $17,102,149 
  Yuniesky Betancourt........$1,550,000
  Jarrod Washburn.............$9,850,000
  
  Total salary being traded......$28,502,149
  
  LA Dodgers (estimated)
  Juan Pierre....................$8,000,000
  Matt Kemp...................$406,000
  James Loney.................$411,000
  Chad Billingsley.............$415,000
  
  Total salary being traded......$9,232,000
  
  As you can see, the Dodgers are taking on much more salary, but at the same time making themselves the favorite in the NL West. Plus, Ichiro will be a monster draw in a West Coast city that has a large Asian population.  when Furcal returns, Betancourt can slide over to 2B, with Kent and Nomar "The Corpse" Garciaparra splitting time at 1B.
  
  
• Erik Bedard to the New York Yankees for Joba Chamberlain or a player to be named later (Phillip Hughes, once he comes off the DL).
  Bedard is a talent, there is no denying that......after all, the Mariners gave up almost their entire future for the guy. However, he has quickly worn out his welcome in Seattle, and with it doubtful he will re-sign to stay in Seattle, the sooner we move him, the better. I don't think NY is an ideal place for Bedard, but its no secret that the Yankees are in dire need of a quality starting pitcher. Rather than wait for Chamberlain to stretch it out and give them quality starts (While falling farther behind in the AL East), they may overpay for a starting pitcher of Bedard's quality. Adding Chamberlain or Hughes to a rotation that includes Felix Hernandez, Chad Billingsley, and Carlos Silva gives Seattle a cheap and formidable pitching staff for the next 3-5 years (barring injury).
  
  Seattle Mariners (estimated)
  Erik Bedard.......................... $7,000,000
  
  NY Yankees (estimated)
  Joba Chamberlain.................. $390,000
  Phillip Hughes........................ $406,350
  
  Again, the M's save salary while getting younger. The Yankees get a top of the rotation LHP, who they control a year longer than CC Sabathia (another LHP available).

Raul Ibanez and JJ Putz could both bring the M's some good prospects in a deal. In my opinion, a closer is a luxury for a team fighting to avoid 100 losses, and a quality closer like Putz could bring an interesting return from teams like the Brewers and Braves, both of whom are contenders in dire need of a closer. Ibanez is attractive for a few reason, although he is a poor defender, he swings a good bat from the left side of the plate and can play LF, 1B, or DH. In addition, the team should immediately release Jose Vidro, Miguel Cairo, and Richie Sexson. they should then recall Jeff Clement and insert him at DH. 

This drops the M's payroll to around $80,000,000 going into the offseason, with only a few holes to fill (Closer, RF, SS, Bench)....and gives them a lineup that might look like this:

LF Juan Pierre
2B Jose Lopez
CF Matt Kemp
1B James Loney
3B Adrian Beltre
DH Jeff Clement
C  Kenji Johjima
RF Jeremy Reed
SS Willie Bloomquist

Yes, Bloomquist wouldn't be my first choice (or 20th.......but at this point he can fill in for the rest of the season). The lineup has a good balance of LH/RH hitters, and while there aren't any big boppers, there is a lot of gap power and much better speed than we have seen from the M's in recent years.

How about the rotation? Here it is:

SP Felix Hernandez
SP Chad Billingsley
SP Carlos Silva
SP Ryan Rowland Smith
SP RA Dickey

Joba Chamberlain
Sean Green
Mark Lowe
Miguel Batista
Brandon Morrow

Ideally I'd like to see Morrow and Chamberlain sent down to work on stamina and secondary pitches in anticipation of joining the rotation in 2009. I know, and agree, that this pitching staff needs more balance.....but I'm a believer in quality pitchers getting out hitters whether they are LH or RH.

So there it is; my plan for retooling the M's in two to three years. As I said there are still a few holes to be filled, but with more than $40,000,000 coming off the books between expiring contracts and trades, there is enough money and flexibility to bring in a adequate SS and RF.