SP Rumors, RP Updates

One trade rumor back from the dead, one Johan Santana non-update, and two relievers no longer unemployed.

The Mariners may be interested in Yankee starter Kei Igawa. Igawa was a Japanese league standout but did absolutely nothing in his MLB debut, posting a 6.25 ERA in 14 games. Despite his struggles, Igawa has a relatively small contract and is cheap in an expensive market. It's been suggested that a pair of low level prospects could pry him away from New York. Look for the Mariners to explore this option if they strikeout with their other pitching targets, however it may not be a bad idea to bring him in to compete for the fifth spot in the rotation regardless. Sources: MLB Rumors Blog, Peter Abraham

Jason Stark is the latest to mention the Mariners as a possible dark horse team for Johan Santana's services, and also confirms that any deal would likely start with Adam Jones and Brandon Morrow. He says that the Twins have no need for Jeff Clement, but that may not be the common opinion. It is often speculated that Minnesota would love to move current catcher Joe Mauer to a corner infield spot at some point, and if that really is the plan they could use a young stud like Clement. Stark also brings up another good point that is often ignored: Even if the Mariners could get the right deal in place, would Santana veto a trade to come to Seattle? If you could chose what team you wanted to be on, the defending World Series champs or the Mariners, who would you chose?

The top two free agent relievers from my Free Agency: Veteran Relief blog may already be unavailable. It's been reported that Troy Percival is to become a Tampa Bay Ray and David Riske a Brewer. These seem like done deals, but the Mets/Yorvit Torrealba non-signing should make us cautious. Perhaps he should have, but I don't think Bavasi actually targeted either of these two. Sources: Ken Rosenthal, Buster Olney JO-SAN KE-IGA