The Rays had evaluators in Seattle last Wednesday specifically focused on Taijuan Walker’s start, and that struck a scout in attendance as strange – and not because Rays people were watching Walker.
That was logical. After all, Tampa Bay wanted the latest intelligence on Seattle’s best pitching prospect just in case the Rays decide to trade David Price, which becomes less likely with every back-in-the-race victory.
What surprised the scout was that Seattle was prioritizing Price.
“Seattle has a playoff rotation right now, but when Walker was pitching the Mariners were getting no-hit by 86-90 mph Bartolo Colon fastballs,” the scout said. “The lineup is [Robinson] Cano and a bunch of .200-.230 hitters. Their rotation can do damage in the playoffs, but I don’t know if that offense can get to the playoffs. If you are going to trade a prospect as good as Walker, don’t you have to get the bat you so desperately need?”
Seattle is next-to-last in the AL in runs and last in OPS (.670). So there was logic in what the scout offered. But Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik countered with some logic of his own when presented with the theory.
“If you consider David Price a [grade] A and the only thing available to you as a hitter is a C-plus hitter, you are better off with the A pitcher,” Zduriencik said. “It really all depends what opportunity presents itself. What are you giving up to what are you getting back? It is clear you can’t win without pitching. And it is clear we need offensive help. There is a lot of jockeying going on right now [about what prices are for players]. Nothing is clear cut what we will do.”
The Mariners did do something last week, reuniting with Kendrys Morales by acquiring the first baseman/DH from the Twins for reliever Stephen Pryor. Their hope was Morales could rediscover the 23-homer/.785 OPS form he had for Seattle last year.
However, to avoid the draft-pick compensation shackles of being a qualified free agent, Morales did not sign with Minnesota until June 8 and has been ineffective. He hit .234 with a .584 OPS and one homer in 154 at-bats for the Twins and opened his second Mariners stint 1-for-10.
So, again, it suggests Seattle has not addressed its offense nearly enough. The Mariners have been interested previously in Matt Kemp. But Kemp is making $21 million this season, is still owed another five years at $107 million, wants to play center field (but has shown few indicators he still can), has endured multiple serious injuries the past few years, has failed to approximate the near-MVP he was in 2011 and turns 30 in September. If the Dodgers were willing to pay down a substantial portion of the contract, perhaps Kemp makes sense for someone.
It also is possible that if Price comes off the market due to Tampa Bay’s success, Jon Lester is now out there due to Boston’s struggles. Lester is from Tacoma and — because he is a free agent after this season — probably comes at a lower trade price than Price, who is a free agent after next season.
Zduriencik insists he does not feel pressure to jump on a significant player and swears his own shaky job status will not influence a decision. But if that doesn’t, there is this: Seattle invested $240 million in Cano in the offseason and $175 million in Felix Hernandez in February 2013. There is a frequency of big investments going bust, but Cano just might finish in the top six for MVP for a fifth straight year and Hernandez is the AL front-runner for his second Cy Young.
Zduriencik says he expects such success to continue for both in the future. But both are in their prime and thriving, and it feels as if augmenting better around them is a must if Seattle is going to make the playoffs for the first time since 2001. Outside executives said Seattle is claiming it cannot add significantly to the payroll. But Zduriencik said ownership is open-minded (as it was in taking on a few millions dollars with Morales) if he can make a good case for a move.
And a good case probably is needed. Since reaching their season high-water of 49-40 on July 7, the Mariners are 5-11 (only the Rangers, at 3-13, were worse in the AL). Seattle was a near-hopeless 11 1/2 games out in the AL West, but only 1 1/2 out for the second wild card.
“Every GM would like to do more than what he does,” Zduriencik said. “There are many factors tied to it, though: economics, who you give up, how long you get the guy back for. It is a short-term, long-term decision, and I will not do anything detrimental to the long-term health of the franchise.”