Offseason Facts of the Day

Harden is a FA so fortunately he wont require anything but a contract

Oh, by the way, I had a link in my first post but I guess the Fansided platform isn't comment-link friendly so here it is reposted sans link:

Luis Castillo, probably due to realizing his absence of power, was also MLB’s most disciplined hitter this year. There was a good article about it on Fangraphs for anyone who hasn’t seen it: (go to Castillo's Fangraphs profile if you're interested in seeing the article).

Summary: Castillo maintains a league-average wOBA simply by hardly ever swinging the bat.

Chad and ECM: I could imagine feasibly swapping Lopez for Nolasco, and maybe a Morrow for Harden deal. It's wishful thinking, and I honestly have no idea what the Marlins/Cubs FO would want in return for those two guys. What I do know is that the M's ought to pounce on them now, while their values are low. I have to stress that we have absolutely no idea what Zduriencik has up his sleeve. It's best to wait and see what happens.

Greg: He'll realize that soon enough. I'd put my money on a 2-year 5M deal with a bunch of incentives. Even if he doesn't produce like he did in 2009, which he almost definitely won't, he's still capable of above average defense and 20-30 homers.

Branyan won't find a multi-year deal anywhere. Not at 34 with a bad back.

looks like Jack Wilson and Branyan rejected the offers.

If the Mariners were to assemble such a rotation it would probably be one of the coolest things I've ever seen. Felix, Harden, Nolasco, and Morrow strike out guys at awesome rates. Barring injuries, that would probably be one of the best rotations the M's have had in years(based on potential of course)

Unfortunately, I wouldn't get your hopes up too much though Chad. As great as it would be, I'm not sure the likelihood that it actually happens

Thanks for answering Taylor

Obviously we can't predict exactly what the Mariners are going to do, but do you think that the Mariners are capable of acquiring both Harden and Nolasco. A Felix, Harden, Nolasco, Rowland-Smith, and Morrow would be a hell of a rotation. It doesn't seem like it will take an unreasonable amount to acquire both of these guys.

In a word, yes.

Is Rich Harden really that good? I saw his previous stats with the Cubs and A's, but he hasn't really pitched that many full seasons. I understand that his ERA probably would have come down quite a bit if he had the Mariners defense behind him but is he really worth the effort.

I think the Yanks press machine overrates Jackson. He's good, but no superstar. He reminds me of a smaller and RH Saunders.

Luis Castillo, probably due to realizing his absence of power, was also MLB's most disciplined hitter this year. There was a good article about it on Fangraphs for anyone who hasn't seen it: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/adventures-in-extreme-plate-discpline

Summary: Castillo maintains a league-average wOBA simply by hardly ever swinging the bat.