Kaz Sasaki ex-Mariner

[chinaski]

http://www.foxsports.com/content/view?contentId=2062936

Hes gone due to personal reasons.

This makes me really sad, im a diehard M's fan and have been a huge fan of the Smiling Assassin. I'll really miss the guy.

[rkmsuf]

That Ken Rosenthal picture is freaking me out man...

[chinaski]

lol, ya what the hell is he smirkin at?!

[Philliesfan980]

He really lost alot off his fastball after his injury.

[dawgfan]

I liked Sasaki as a closer, but as his age (35) and at that price ($9.5M) this is a blessing in disguise for the M's. With that kind of money freed up, they could go after a number of sluggers to improve the hitting attack. Too bad this didn't happen before Vlad signed...

I think the bullpen will be fine with Guardado, Hasagawa, Soriano and Mateo. This may allow them to bid a little more for the Cuban refugee (Rodriguez) if his throwing session is impressive.

[HeavyReign]

I have to agree with dawgfan on this one. I hate to see him go but the reality is he was making too much and didn't do much for them last season. Going into the year he was going to be a question mark. The salary they save could be much more valuable. Even if they don't make a move now, they will have the flexibility to go get someone later in the year. Of course, they are going to need Freddy Garcia to come around and Gil Meche needs to pitch more like he did in the first half last year than the second half.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by HeavyReign

I have to agree with dawgfan on this one. I hate to see him go but the reality is he was making too much and didn't do much for them last season. Going into the year he was going to be a question mark. The salary they save could be much more valuable. Even if they don't make a move now, they will have the flexibility to go get someone later in the year. Of course, they are going to need Freddy Garcia to come around and Gil Meche needs to pitch more like he did in the first half last year than the second half.

Yep. Meche has to continue to prove he's healthy and continue converting the potential of his great stuff into positive results. He's got the potential to be an ace, but you have to be concerned about his history of shoulder injuries.

The wild-card I think is Soriano. I think he could be a dominant closer right now, but if his off-speed stuff continues to improve, he might also become an ace starter. Right now you'd think the M's would need him in the bullpen with Sasaki gone, but if they add another good reliever they might feel like they can move him to the rotation to give him an extended audition in that role.

The more I think about this, the more I wish this had happened a week ago and the M's could've seriously considered a bid for Vlad. Sure, they could try and trade for Magglio or Hidalgo, but that will likely require parting with some of their pitching prospects which you'd like to avoid if you're the M's.

[mgadfly]

I say trade Freddy for a more affordable starting pitcher/long reliever (or left handed bullpen player) and that (garcia + Kaz) frees up 14-16 million dollars. Make a 3 year offer to I-Rod at less than whatever the Tigers are offering. See if he'd rather sacrifice a little money for a chance to compete. Then trade Dan Wilson or Ben Davis for something if I-Rod was possible(not sure what at this point). I'm not sure if there is another impact free agent out there. With all the young pitchers, I'd be tempted to deal Freddy since we have Jarvis and Soriano to fill the 5th spot. I'm not sure if there are any aces available but with the extra money freed up by Kaz's departure we should look at trading one of the young pitchers (Garcia is my choice because his price tag is so high) for an upgrade (tough to do at this point in the offseason though).

SP Moyer (L)
SP Piniero (R)
SP Franklin (R)
SP Meche (R)
SP Garcia (R)
LR Jarvis (R)
MR (This was Kaz, best if filled w/young LHP or Cuban defector)
MR Matteo (R)
MR Soriano (R)
SU Hassegawa (R)
CL Eddie G. (L)

C Wilson/Davis (R/S)
1B Olerud (L)
2B Boone (R)
3B Spezio (S)
SS Aurilia (R)
LF Ibanez (L)
CF Winn (S)
RF Ichiro (L)
DH Edgar Martinez (R)

Probable Reserves:
C Davis (S)
IF/OF Bloomquist (L)
OF McCracken (S)
IF Hansen (L)
Last Spot--? I like Snelling or Strong, but there are some other young guys that could win this spot.

LHP options: Myers, Nunoz, Anderson, Anderson, Blackley, Sherril, Williams

[dawgfan]

I wonder if the Pale Hose would consider Freddie for Magglio, or if they'd need more than that. Both players I believe have 1 year on their current deals, so both teams might have to talk with the player agents to get a feel for what it might cost to re-sign them longer-term. I'd love to get Ordonez' bat in the lineup though.

I'm getting tired of the M's not making a big move to get over the hump.

[QuikSand]

I keep hearing M's fans (not necessarily here) talking about trading Garcia for this star or that star... but I just don't think there's too much of a market for him.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

I keep hearing M's fans (not necessarily here) talking about trading Garcia for this star or that star... but I just don't think there's too much of a market for him.

That may be. No doubt any team trading for him is taking a bit of a risk. Garcia has struggled for the last 1.5 seasons, with a lousy 2nd half in 2002 and a wildly inconsistent 2003.

That said, he's only 2 years removed from being the AL ERA champ, is still only 27, still has outstanding stuff, and has pretty good peripheral numbers (good control, good whip, good strikeout rate). The excuse his agents are trotting out is that his perforated eardrums last season really affected his balance and coordination, and the hope is that the surgery to repair them will allow him to regain his form of 2001.

He was at times brilliant last year, but other times lousy. He might have a bit of an attitude problem, and he may be too much of a partier.

He also could rebound and be a real good #1 or #2 starter for somebody, and he's relatively cheap this season (~$6M).

I doubt the M's could get Magglio straight-up for Garcia; they'd likely have to add another prospect or spare part. But for any team looking for pitching, he'd have to be considered.

[mgadfly]

I think a lot of the "trade Garcia" stuff came up when they were getting offers prior to the winter meetings. Other teams thought they could get him without giving up too much because he was arbitration eligible and the Mariners were burned by him in last seasons arbitration hearing. Then, Garcia signed the one year deal, and the Mariners were much less willing to trade him, and other teams backed off because the chance of getting him without giving up much disappeared.

He was hot and cold last season, but overall his youth and record should create some value to teams in need of pitching. He's pitched 200+ innings in 4 of 5 seasons, has a career ERA below 4, and in his disappointing season he was 12-14 with a 4.51 ERA (playing injured a lot of that time). He obviously isn't worth what he was after the 2001 season, but I know if I was a GM looking for a potential #1 or #2 pitcher for my rotation at this point in the offseason, I'd probably role the dice on him.