East Coast Mariner

I’ve read about a dozen posts and seen about a thousand comments regarding whether or not the Mariners can/should acquire first basemen Adrian Gonzalez of the Padres. However, for some odd reason, I feel some sort of obligation to give my opinion (for whatever its worth) on the subject. So here it goes….

It’s pretty obvious that a player like Adrian Gonzalez would be a HUGE addition to the Mariners. Just entering his prime, Gonzalez will be 28 years old and is coming off a 6+ win season. Can you imagine what type of impact adding a 6 win player would do for the M’s. That said, Gonzalez was worth on average about 3.5 wins from 2006-2008 and is probably something more like a 4-4.5 win player going forward. Currently, the Mariners have Casey Kotchman, who projects as something like a 1-1.5 win player this year. Needless to say, adding an additional 3 wins to an already vastly improved lineup would be simply awesome. Also, keep in mind that Gonzalez will only earn $4.75 million in 2010 and has a 2011 club option for $5.5 million. As a result, it seems fairly clear that Gonzalez is the type of player the M’s would certainly be attracted to. However, the question that remains is whether or not Gonzalez will be available, and when it would make the most sense for the M’s to make a run at him.

At this point, I feel fairly confident the Padres will decide not to trade Gonzalez this offseason. Fact is, the Padres have to sell tickets and if the Padres want to sell tickets then they have to keep Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzalez is undoubtedly the star player in the Padres organization(think what King Felix is to the M’s) and if they were to trade Gonzalez yet this offseason, their total fan base would go from something like 7 people to 0 in a heartbeat. That said, I’m also fairly confident that the Padres will not be a playoff team in 2010. Surely, the Padres would like to receive the largest possible return they can get on Gonzalez before they can no longer afford him after 2011. If this is the case, it would make much more sense from the Padres perspective to trade Gonzalez before the deadline in July to a team in the playoff hunt who desperately requires his services. This team in contention will almost certainly be willing to give the Padres a more substantial return than they would get if they waited until he is ready to enter his lame duck season in 2011. So, if the Padres are willing to trade Gonzalez at the deadline in July, who might be interested?

After looking at this list, some of the teams that might have interest in Gonzalez would be the Orioles, Marlins, Blue Jays, Rangers, White Sox, Mariners, A’s, Braves, Mets, Pirates, Giants, Dodgers, and Angels. However, since were talking about the Padres trading Gonzalez at the deadline, many of these teams will not be in playoff contention, and therefore, will not be interested in acquiring Gonzalez at this time. Of these teams, the Orioles, Blue Jays, A’s, Mets, and Pirates will probably not be in contention come July. Also, the White Sox, Marlins, Giants, Dodgers, Rangers and Angles are probably long shots to acquire Gonzalez because each team either already has an established first basemen, cant afford Gonzalez, or is in the same division as the Padres. So, who’s left?

Upon reviewing this revised list of potential destinations for Adrian Gonzalez, it would seem as though the teams that are the most likely fit are the Mariners and the Braves. Of these two teams, the Braves have the much stronger farm system and could most likely offer a more substantial package than the M’s could put together.

But as for my opinion you ask?

The Braves? Fuck the Braves!