Acquiring a starting pitcher
Update: The Marlins have traded for Nate Robertson
Update: Gaudin was just signed by the A’s. That eliminates him from this list
As I was scrolling through Twitter earlier today, a pair of tweets by Jon Paul Morosi and Ed Price caught my eye.
Morosi tweets, “At this point, I would not be shocked if Erik Bedard throws in a regular season game before Cliff Lee. Not how #Mariners drew it up.”
Price tweets, “Cliff Lee injury has #Mariners strongly considering acquiring a starting pitcher, perhaps a free agent or someone released elsewhere.”
Now, obviously the tweet by Morosi is very concerning. On one hand, it would be good news that Bedard is expected to come back ahead of schedule. On the other hand, Bedard could still be expected to be back by the end of May/early June, and Lee could potentially be back around that time as well. As I mentioned in the last post, if a scenario like this unfolds, where Cliff Lee is out for an extended period of time, the Mariners are in BIG trouble. My fingers are crossed that Lee only misses two or three starts and is back by the end of April, but news like this isn’t making me any more optimistic. As a result, the tweet by Ed Price makes a lot of sense. I’ve advocated that the Mariners should bring in another pitcher over the likes of Jason Vargas and Doug Fister, and if they expect Lee to be out past April I’d surely imagine they will do so. I’ve mentioned a number of pitchers in the past I’d like the Mariners to take a look at, so here’s an updated list comparing each guy I think is available via trade or free agency.
| Name | Age | K/9 | K/BB | HR/9 | FIP | xFIP |
| Manny Parra | 27 | 7.83 | 1.76 | 1.03 | 4.40 | 4.23 |
| Andy Sonnastine | 27 | 5.97 | 2.90 | 1.23 | 4.38 | 4.47 |
| Jarrod Washburn | 35 | 5.33 | 1.94 | 1.16 | 4.60 | 4.86 |
| Chad Gaudin | 27 | 7.02 | 1.64 | 0.95 | 4.51 | 4.67 |
| Nate Robertson | 32 | 6.10 | 1.88 | 1.27 | 4.74 | 4.42 |
| Glen Perkins | 27 | 4.63 | 1.96 | 1.28 | 4.80 | 4.85 |
| Brandon McCarthy | 26 | 6.06 | 1.77 | 1.33 | 4.92 | 4.94 |
So, we have a list of 7 pitchers here, all of whom are either free agents (Washburn and Gaudin), or are probably available at the right price (Parra, Sonnastine, Robertson, Perkins, McCarthy). The numbers used in the table above are a representation of each player’s career totals for each statistical category. When looking at the table, there a couple of things that jump out. Parra, Gaudin, McCarthy, and Robertson are the strikeout guys. Unfortunately, with the strikeouts comes a bunch of free passes that each player typically will issue. In comparison, Sonnastine, Washburn, and Perkins are the control guys who pitch to contact and rely on a solid defense behind them. One could argue that these guys would make the best fit, given the exceptional defense the Mariners play, but in reality the strikeout guys are going to benefit from an excellent defense as well. Other than Washburn and Robertson, all of these guys are on the right side of 30, and probably haven’t even hit their primes yet. In looking at the numbers, I’m not really sure that Robertson, McCarthy, and Perkins bring anything to the table that Doug Fister and Jason Vargas don’t currently offer. As a result, let’s forget about these guys, rather than waste any more time worrying about a player who probably doesn’t upgrade the Mariners pitching staff.
So, that leaves us with four pitchers remaining. Those guys being Parra, Washburn, Sonnastine, and Gaudin.
Chad Gaudin was just released by the Yankees earlier this week. A couple of teams like the Dodgers are said to be interested in him, as he represents a very solid option in the back of the rotation, and can also be used out of the bullpen as well. Without question, Gaudin would make a lot of sense for the Mariners because they could easily shift him to the bullpen when Lee and Bedard are ready to return to the rotation. Gaudin is exceptionally tough on righties, so it’s not like the Mariners wouldn’t be getting any use from him out of the pen. I like Gaudin and would be more than happy if he was brought in to help solidify the rotation.
The other free agent on the list is Jarrod Washburn. We all know what Washburn is and I’m not even going to say anything more than if the Mariners sign him that’s great, if they don’t, who cares.
A guy I mentioned awhile back in my original post on this topic is Andy Sonnastine. Since then, Sonnastine has lost out to Wade Davis in the “battle” for the 5th slot in the Rays rotation. The reason I put battle in quotations is for the simple fact that Sonnastine has actually pitched quite well this Spring, while Davis…well he has not. That said, I don’t disagree with the Rays decision, and part of their reasoning was to help try and fill the void left in their bullpen because of the injury to J.P. Howell. To be honest, I’m not exactly sure of the availability of Sonnastine, but I’d imagine the Rays would be looking for a bullpen arm (among other things) in return. If Sonnastine is indeed available, I’d hope the Mariners will be calling
The last guy on this list, who was also included in my original post on this topic is Manny Parra. If you’ve hung around this blog for any period of time, it’s probably no secret that for whatever reason I really like Manny Parra. The comparison to Brandon Morrow has been made for a number of reasons, and although I don’t really agree with such, I do understand why many people are frustrated with Parra. Since my original post awhile back, Parra has lost out to the 4th spot in the Brewers rotation to Dave Bush, and is currently fighting Jeff Suppan and Chris Naverson for the final spot. I’d imagine Naverson finds himself in the Brewers bullpen, but Suppan and the $12.5 million he’s owed in 2010 make this situation a bit tricky. I read the other day that an unnamed source stated the Brewers will not eat the money and just release Suppan, which would obviously make Parra the odd man out. In regard to Parra, Jon Paul Morosi also adds this:
“Jack Z drafted Manny Parra. Parra might not make #Brewers rotation. Jack Z would be comfortable dealing with Doug Melvin …Parra, like Lee, is a LHP. So I’d say that Manny Parra could be a fit for the #Mariners. But that almost makes too much sense, doesn’t it?”
I’ve got to agree with Morosi, it does seem to make too much sense, given that things typically aren’t that easy. However, in this case, I sure hope they are. In Jack We Trust. Thoughts?
