M's still seeking starting pitching
As I've stated before, the M's are not done between now and opening day. Bill Bavasi knows full well the starting pitching is a serious concern. Despite reports to the contrary, the M's are not out of money and unable to do anything.
So, there should have been little surprise to hear the M's are making a push for Odalis Perez. He is clearly one of the best pitchers still on the market, and all of us agree he would look just fine in an M's uniform. As we know with free agents, there is no way to know if the M's will actually land him, but don't be surprised if he does. If I were a free agent, I would stay away from the Washington Nationals mess with a ten foot pole! (more on this later)
During the signing of Beltre, we were able to learn a little bit what this teams opening day roster would look like based on statements made by Bavasi. Among the nuggets of info:
1) Randy Winn will not be our center fielder
2) Starting pitching is still a concern
3) Reed will get a chance to be an every day player
4) Spiezio will be a bench player
5) Ibanez will either play LF or DH
All of this is EXACTLY what we have been saying all year- Randy Winn's arm prevents him from being an every day CF, and Spiezio does not deserve to be getting any significant at-bats while still in Seattle.
The current problem for Bavasi, then is:
* What about Bucky? You can't ignore a guy who could hit 35 homers for the league minimum
* If Bucky is my DH, I have two LF's; Winn and Ibanez.
* With the current market madness, guys like Winn are worth more than we thought
* I don't want Franklin in my starting rotation
* I need a starting pitcher
Remember, we don't know exactly what the M's budget for 2005 will be. You may have heard numbers like $95 and $99 million, but we don't know for sure. We also don't know if the M's are still planning on counting Cirillo and others to the budget. Bavasi may well have lobbied for the M's to write that off in the end of '04. It is in the M's best interests to keep the budget numbers private for now- we may not know until spring training what they are actually going to be spending.
Look for something to happen in the next two weeks- possibly sooner. We may well have a starting pitcher before Christmas. Very exciting!
As I've stated before, the M's are not done between now and opening day. Bill Bavasi knows full well the starting pitching is a serious concern. Despite reports to the contrary, the M's are not out of money and unable to do anything.
So, there should have been little surprise to hear the M's are making a push for Odalis Perez. He is clearly one of the best pitchers still on the market, and all of us agree he would look just fine in an M's uniform. As we know with free agents, there is no way to know if the M's will actually land him, but don't be surprised if he does. If I were a free agent, I would stay away from the Washington Nationals mess with a ten foot pole! (more on this later)
During the signing of Beltre, we were able to learn a little bit what this teams opening day roster would look like based on statements made by Bavasi. Among the nuggets of info:
1) Randy Winn will not be our center fielder
2) Starting pitching is still a concern
3) Reed will get a chance to be an every day player
4) Spiezio will be a bench player
5) Ibanez will either play LF or DH
All of this is EXACTLY what we have been saying all year- Randy Winn's arm prevents him from being an every day CF, and Spiezio does not deserve to be getting any significant at-bats while still in Seattle.
The current problem for Bavasi, then is:
* What about Bucky? You can't ignore a guy who could hit 35 homers for the league minimum
* If Bucky is my DH, I have two LF's; Winn and Ibanez.
* With the current market madness, guys like Winn are worth more than we thought
* I don't want Franklin in my starting rotation
* I need a starting pitcher
Remember, we don't know exactly what the M's budget for 2005 will be. You may have heard numbers like $95 and $99 million, but we don't know for sure. We also don't know if the M's are still planning on counting Cirillo and others to the budget. Bavasi may well have lobbied for the M's to write that off in the end of '04. It is in the M's best interests to keep the budget numbers private for now- we may not know until spring training what they are actually going to be spending.
Look for something to happen in the next two weeks- possibly sooner. We may well have a starting pitcher before Christmas. Very exciting!
posted by Tom at
11:03 AM
