Now that Johan Santana is reportedly out of the picture, the Mariners are looking elsewhere for starting pitching. Tampa Bay starter Edwin Jackson is available, although he is closer to Jeff Weaver and Horacio Ramirez than Johan. Last season Jackson went 5-15, giving up 195 hits over 161 innings en route to a 5.76 ERA.
The reason Jackson is worth pursuing is not because he'd fix our rotation, but because we could get rid of some players that are currently in the way. The Rays are looking for a first ba
seman and a young catcher. Ben Broussard is very capable of playing first base full time, as he showed in Cleveland, and would like nothing more than the opportunity to do so again. It is nice to have Ben as pop off the bench, but he deserves a shot and won't get one in Seattle. Catching prospect Rob Johnson could be included in the deal as well. The Mariners have a couple reasons to drop Johnson. One, we won't be needing a catcher anytime soon with Kenji Johjima and Jeff Clement hanging around. Two, if Clement doesn't make the major league team in 2008, the lack of Johnson in AAA will give Clement more time playing catcher and less time at DH. Jeff Clement's bat is ready for the bigs, but his defense is holding him back. If he is able to get more defensive work at AAA he could be ready to be a full time major league catcher by the end of the season, or even the trade deadline.
If Edwin Jackson was acquired he wouldn't be a lock as the number five starter. Barring any other moves he'd obviously be competing with the usual suspects: Brandon Morrow, Cha Seung Baek, Ryan Feierabend, Ryan Rowland-Smith etc. He would give us more depth at starting pitching, possibly allowing us to make a trade later on.
I think this would be a decent move. I think it's safe to say that Ben Broussard is a higher caliber of player than Jackson, but he might as well be moved. Otherwise he'll probably just be non-tendered and the Mariners will get nothing for him. Other teams that have been interested in Broussard in the past are Texas and Detroit.
Sources: Mariners out of Santana sweepstakes
The reason Jackson is worth pursuing is not because he'd fix our rotation, but because we could get rid of some players that are currently in the way. The Rays are looking for a first ba
seman and a young catcher. Ben Broussard is very capable of playing first base full time, as he showed in Cleveland, and would like nothing more than the opportunity to do so again. It is nice to have Ben as pop off the bench, but he deserves a shot and won't get one in Seattle. Catching prospect Rob Johnson could be included in the deal as well. The Mariners have a couple reasons to drop Johnson. One, we won't be needing a catcher anytime soon with Kenji Johjima and Jeff Clement hanging around. Two, if Clement doesn't make the major league team in 2008, the lack of Johnson in AAA will give Clement more time playing catcher and less time at DH. Jeff Clement's bat is ready for the bigs, but his defense is holding him back. If he is able to get more defensive work at AAA he could be ready to be a full time major league catcher by the end of the season, or even the trade deadline.If Edwin Jackson was acquired he wouldn't be a lock as the number five starter. Barring any other moves he'd obviously be competing with the usual suspects: Brandon Morrow, Cha Seung Baek, Ryan Feierabend, Ryan Rowland-Smith etc. He would give us more depth at starting pitching, possibly allowing us to make a trade later on.
I think this would be a decent move. I think it's safe to say that Ben Broussard is a higher caliber of player than Jackson, but he might as well be moved. Otherwise he'll probably just be non-tendered and the Mariners will get nothing for him. Other teams that have been interested in Broussard in the past are Texas and Detroit.
Sources: Mariners out of Santana sweepstakes
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