Seattle Mariners: Is Felix Hernandez on Borrowed Time in the Emerald City?

It seems like every offseason and trade deadline until King Felix’s contract expires will be filled with rumors and speculation of the Mariners dishing out the young gun. I know this deadline it seemed like every day a new team was in the running for Hernandez’s talent. So how long is King Felix’s reign over Seattle going to last? Can we start counting the days until we see Felix in pinstripes? Here’s why the Mariners should and will fight to the death to keep Hernandez a Mariner, and why he will choose to stay.

From the get-go, it appeared that 2011 was going to be a rebuilding year for the M’s. Even with a nice run in May/June to keep the Mariners in the running for the AL West, a 17-game losing streak snapped in and all hopes of playing into October vanished. But again, a rebuilding year was expected.

For the M’s to trade their proven ace and best player away would be foolish and borderline senseless behavior. The pitching staff is fantastic, and there is no way the hitting can get worse. Seriously, when you’re dead last in everything you can only go up.

The Mariners have one of the best collections of young talent in baseball. It’s hard to believe that when scouting sites consistently rank the Mariners in the middle of the pack for their farm system, but believe it. The Mariners have made it a habit of trading for stars in the making.

The Mariners offensively have Mike Carp (.326 BA, 26 RBI, 6 HR) and Rookie of the Year candidate Dustin Ackley to give the offense some support for many years to come. Trayvon Robinson is an up-and-comer who has tremendous upside. Most importantly though is the pitching rotation.

The Hernandez and Michael Pineda one-two punch is one of the best in baseball.

When you have one of the best players in baseball you don’t trade him, you build around him. That is exactly what Jack Zduriencik and the M’s have planned. Jason Vargas and Blake Beavan are both young pitchers who will develop over the next few seasons into even more complete starters. And it helps when you have an All-Star closer in Brandon League to finish for you.

This offseason the Mariners will need to get at least two bats to add to the lineup. Obviously an Albert Pujols is out of the question, but the M’s might be able to snag a Prince Fielder or Jose Reyes away and go after a reliable veteran player.

What should have fans most confident that Hernandez is here for a long time is this little fact. He wants to be here!

I don’t doubt that many people will comment that he will eventually get tired of losing so many 2-1 or 1-0 games because of Seattle’s poor hitting. Some would even suggest that he already is fed up and ready to opt out for bigger and better things. I don’t buy that. Not for one second.

Hernandez is highly respected and loved by the Seattle community, and his impact is felt everywhere. With Felix’s support and connection to other Mariners greats, Seattle is getting a lot of aid where it is needed. And if you have time to read this article, I would highly recommend it. 

You can trust that the Mariners won't trade King Felix. The guy has his own corner and following. The support goes beyond the loyalty to the team to the appreciation of the CY Young award-winning pitcher. Hernandez’s contract goes through the 2014 season by which time the Mariners will have hopefully made a lengthy extension to an already loaded $20 million contract.

For all the reasons mentioned before, I can’t see Hernandez leaving the community that has fallen in love with him. The guy just wants to play baseball, and the Mariners will do everything they can to build around such an amazing player.

Big things are ahead, Seattle.