Dan Haren Wants To Pitch Out West, How About For The Seattle Mariners?

According to Joe Frisaro at MLB.com, Dan Haren has reiterated his desire to play on the west coast to the Miami Marlins, a team that traded for Haren this offseason in a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

On top of that, he wants to pitch for a team that has Spring Training in Arizona in the Cactus League, as opposed to the Grapefruit league in Florida.

Haren, 34, is a California native and seems poised to retire if he doesn’t get traded back to the west coast. The only West coast team that doesn’t partake in Arizona Spring Training are the Houston Astros, who reside in Kissimmee, Florida.

Frisaro also notes that it is unclear whether Dan Haren would accept a trade to a Central division team.

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Out on the West Coast, then, there are 6 teams that could jive for Haren’s services: the San Diego Padres (they’re pretty deep in the rotation), the LA Dodgers (move along), the LA Angels (maybe), the San Francisco Giants (could happen), Oakland Athletics (move along), and the Seattle Mariners.

The Mariners, still in need of pitching depth, fit two of the three requirements for Dan Haren. 1) They play on the west coast. 2) Their Spring Training facility is in Peoria, Arizona. However, they’re not 3) a Los Angeles team.

Before really thinking about it, it seems a stretch to imagine the Mariners trading for the 34-year old Dan Haren. But stop and look at the facts and it makes more and more sense.

With the addition of J.A. Happ (LHP) and the assumed health of both James Paxton (LHP) and Taijuan Walker (RHP), the Mariners have 7 viable starters for the 2015 season:

1. Felix Hernandez

2. Hisashi Iwakuma

3. James Paxton

4. Taijuan Walker

5. J.A. Happ

6. Roenis Elias

7. Erasmo Ramirez

Of these 7 potential starters, the only one without a red flag is Felix. Iwakuma has faded down the stretch the last two seasons, as his age (33) and his innings pitched seem to be catching up with him.

Paxton was out the first half of last season with an injury, and his historic start to his career may be unsustainable.

Walker was injured too. And though he has ace potential, he is very green and still needs to develop a competitive secondary pitch.

Happ, 32, has a career 4.24 ERA and could be the perfect pitching-style match for Safeco, but it’s unclear just how productive he will be for the Mariners.

Elias was a pleasant surprise in 2014, following a jump from Double-A Jackson into the Major League rotation. But with so many innings his numbers dipped and he was taken out of the rotation late in the season.

Finally, Pocket Rocket Erasmo Ramirez has bounced in and out of the rotation with good stuff and a lack of consistency over recent seasons.

In short, the Mariners have room for another proven Major League veteran starter on their roster. One never knows when injuries could pile up.

It’s unclear what sort of deal the Miami Marlins would want for Dan Haren, but with the cash compensation from the Dodgers and the uncertainty of his retirement, it wouldn’t take much.

For a fair price, and a guaranteed 2015 season, the Mariners could do well to bolster their rotation by trading for RHP Dan Haren.

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