Category Archives: Seattle Mariners Rumors

Mariners, Brendan Ryan Working To Reach Deal

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WEDNESDAY, 8:14am: The Mariners and Ryan are working to reach a two-year deal, according to MLB.com’s Greg Johns.

TUESDAY, 6:33pm: Jeff Evans, the team’s manager of baseball information, confirms via email that the Mariners have not reached an agreement with Ryan.

5:14pm: The Mariners have signed infielder Brendan Ryan to a two-year contract worth $2.75MM according to Stephen Hawkins of the AP. Ryan was arbitration-eligible for the first time heading into 2011. He’ll earn $1MM in 2011 and $1.75MM in 2012.

Ryan, 29 in March, was acquired from the Cardinals last month. He’s just a .256/.314/.344 career hitter, but his value lies in his top-of-the-line defense at short. His +18.7 UZR at the position is the best in baseball since the start of the 2009 season, close to four runs better than the runner-up.

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Mariners Designate Anthony Varvaro For Assignment

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The Mariners have designated Anthony Varvaro for assignment, tweets Larry Stone of The Seattle Times.  The reliever was DFA’d to make room for Miguel Olivo, whose deal became official this afternoon.

Varvaro, 26, was projected to be a top pick out of St. John’s University in 2005 before suffering an elbow injury.   The right-hander would instead be nabbed by the M’s in the 12th round of the draft as he required surgery before ever throwing a pitch as a pro.  He threw just four innings for Seattle after making his major league debut in 2010.

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Several Teams Interested In Brian Fuentes

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SATURDAY: Having added Hideki Okajima, the Red Sox appear out of the running for Fuentes, tweets Heyman. However, the Rays, Yankees, and a handful of other teams are still showing interest.

THURSDAY: The Rays appear to be very interested in Fuentes and are pursuing him, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.

TUESDAY: SI’s Jon Heyman pegs the Red Sox, Blue Jays, Rays, Rockies, Mariners, Twins, Pirates, Phillies, Brewers, Yankees, and Mets as teams with some interest in free agent lefty reliever Brian Fuentes.

If Fuentes is still looking for Scott Downs money, as ESPN’s Buster Olney suggested 12 days ago, many of those eleven teams will drop out.  I’m skeptical the Red Sox would sign Fuentes, as he’d be a luxury and they’d be hit with a 30% added tax.  The Blue Jays appear close with Octavio Dotel, the Rockies just added Matt Lindstrom, the Brewers signed Takashi Saito, the Yankees added Pedro Feliciano, the Twins have big commitments to Joe Nathan and Matt Capps, and the Phillies and Mets appear nearly tapped out on payroll.

The Blue Jays, Rays, Mariners, Twins, Pirates, Yankees, and Mets do seem destined to add relievers, though I can see a shift toward a buyer’s market a few weeks from now.

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