Seattle Mariners Rumors: Winter Meetings Day One Recap
By Ben Reese
The winter meetings kicked off yesterday, and while the Seattle Mariners didn’t make any moves, there were a few acquisitions and signings along with the usual news and rumors.
Indians acquire 1B/OF Brandon Moss from the A’s for INF Joe Wendle.
In an unsurprising move for the rebuilding A’s, they shipped a power-hitting lefty to Cleveland in exchange for minor leaguer Wendle, who batted .253 at Double-A Akron last season. Moss hit 25 homers last year. even though he missed time due to a hip injury. The trade comes a week after the A’s traded away all-star 3B Josh Donaldson to the Blue Jays for Brett Lawrie and prospects. Many people have wondered if the A’s we’re going into a full rebuild, and it’s clear now that they are with the trades of Moss and Donaldson.
SP Jason Hammel signs two year, $18 million deal with the Cubs.
Hammel was traded to the A’s mid-season last year from the Cubs and pitched poorly. His ERA went from 2.98 to 4.26. Although the spike is pretty substantial, he did pick it up in the stretch run when the A’s won the wild card. This is a good signing for the Cubs, who are always desperate for starting pitching.
SP Jon Lester has said he will make his decision later today.
Jon Lester will pick his new team at some point today. Numerous MLB executives have stated that he could get a six year deal in the neighborhood of $150 million. Lester, 30, pitched for Boston and Oakland last year, boasting a solid 2.46 ERA. He is easily one of the premier pitchers on the market this offseason.
White Sox sign David Robertson to a four year, $46 million deal.
This is a good move for the White Sox, as their bullpen was sub par in 2014 and now they have added a proven closer to lock down the ninth inning. But it wasn’t even their biggest move of the day.
White Sox aquire Jeff Samardzija from the A’s for Marcus Semein and prospects.
Not long after the A’s shipped away Moss, they sent Samardzija to the Sox. Another strong move for the Sox, as they can slide Samardzija in behind ace Chris Sale.
Mariners news and rumors:
The M’s are aggressively pursuing Melky Cabrera and could sign him during the winter meetings. The Mariners are said to be the front-runners to sign him. If they sign him, he would fill the gap in right field I talked about yesterday. They haven’t made any progress in Matt Kemp trade talks. Franklin Gutierrez is on their radar and might get a minor league deal. Jack Z is fielding calls on nearly his entire bullpen, as well as young shortstops Brad Miller and Chris Taylor.
Other than these moves, it was a pretty quiet first day. Hopefully the Mariners will make a move in the next few days!
Be sure to check back tomorrow for the day two recap! Same Mariners time, same Mariners channel!