If Adam Jones is, indeed, traded to the Orioles for left-hander Erik Bedard, a huge gap will be opened up in the M’s right field, where Jones was slated to fill Jose Guillen’s spot. One option could be to slide Ichiro back over to his native right field spot, with the M’s pinning their hopes on another go-around with Jeremy Reed in center, hoping that Reed finally, at the age of 27, delivers on the promise he exhibited as a younger player. Reed showed some punch last year in Triple-A, compiling 55 extra-base hits in 135 games with Tacoma. Besides Reed, other Mariners’ in-house options to fill the outfield vacancy if a Jones trade occurs would be Mike Morse, who has run out of options with the team and will be looking to hang onto a roster spot in spring training. Yet another option could include moving Jeff Clement from behind the plate into the outfield, which would require a defensive sacrifice by Jeff trading his native position to an unfamiliar one for the sake of ensuring his hefty bat in the line-up.
If the Mariners explore the free-agent market for a possible starter to fill that right-field gap, they will find their options few and far between. Olympia native Geoff Jenkins has signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. The Marlins announced today that they have signed Luis Gonzalez to be their fourth outfielder. Options remaining include Brad Wilkerson (who hasn’t reached a batting average of .250 in three years), Shawn Green, Reggie Sanders, and Kenny Lofton among others (and, no, I’m not considering Barry Bonds). How about Lofton in a Mariners’ uniform, suiting up for his eleventh team? Why not?
Compared to the alternatives, when it’s all done and said, perhaps the best option for the M’s in right field might just be Adam Jones.
January 31, 2008 -
Posted by
trueslicky |
Seattle Mariners |
Adam Jones, Barry Bonds, Brad Wilkerson, Erik Bedard, Florida Marlins, Geoff Jenkins, Ichiro Suzuki, Jeff Clement, Jeremy Reed, Jose Guillen, Kenny Lofton, Luis Gonzalez, Mike Morse, Philadelphia Phillies, Reggie Sanders, Seattle Mariners, Shawn green |
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[...] sign Wilkerson to be their fourth outfielder/ starting right fielder Just when it became pretty clear that their back-up options on the free-agent market for a starting right fielder in case the Adam [...]
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