There’s two ways to go about offense improvement: picking up free agents and trades. I would say for the M’s, trades seem to be the most likely method of team building. The organization has a plethora of young prospects that it could offer up for proven hitters. And with a good majority of the roster filled (hopefully) for the future, we may not have a huge need for the prospects that we will move. Pitching is obviously the deepest position in the organization, with the Big 3, or even 4 if you include Brandon Maurer, but there are position players such as Nick Franklin, Brad Miller and Stefen Romero who could be parts of a deal as well.

I’ll go through some trade candidates the team could pursue. In doing so, I will talk about what I would be willing to give up as well as what it would actually take.

5) Wil Myers, 22, OF, minor league contract

Aug 18, 2012; Papillion, NE, USA; Omaha Storm Chasers center fielder Wil Myers (8) prepares to hit in the third inning against the Nashville Sounds at Werner Park. Mandatory Credit: Matt Ryerson-US PRESSWIRE

2012 stats (AA and AAA combined): .314/.387/.600 — .448 wOBA — 176 wRC+ — 37 HR

Myers is one of the top prospects in baseball, and a lot of teams would love to have him. He has tons of power and could be the next big time hitter in the league. He also plays solid defense in the outfield and has decent speed. Unfortunately, all that makes him very expensive on the trade market. Many teams would be willing to give up front line starters for him, and that’s something the Ms don’t have yet. I’m not sure that their prospects can compete with James Shields and John Lester, who have been linked to a Myers trade.

His one draw back is his strikeouts. Even while having a dominant season, he struck out at a rate over 20%. However, I don’t see that being a huge problem in the future. He is almost a can’t-miss prospect, and there isn’t a huge bust concern with him.

That being said, our luck with can’t-miss prospects hasn’t been very good lately, and there’s a chance we give up Walker for the prospect and Myers ends up Smoak-ing it up.  But there’s also a chance Walker does the same, and that’s the problem with prospects. You never really know for sure how a prospect will perform during the season, and some times you have to take a risk.

Who I would give up: Danny Hultzen OR Taijuan Walker

Who it would take: Taijuan Walker+ ?

It’s hard to know for sure what it would take to grab Meyers. But if we are going to beat out Lester or Shields, it would probably take Walker. I would probably do that, but it would be tough. I love Walker and he may be a very good pitcher one day, but Myers might be a very good hitter, and that’s what the team needs.

4) Justin Morneau, 31, 1B, 1 year/$14 million

2012 stats: .277/.333/.440 — .330 wOBA — 108 wRC+

Justin Morneau was one of the best hitters in the league not too long ago. He was the AL MVP in 2006 and looked like he was on pace for another one in 2010 before he got injured. That injury made it so he only played half a season, but he was still able to put up 5.1 WAR in those 81 games. He then missed over half of 2011, and just hasn’t been the same since the injury. He put up a .275 wOBA and 69 wRC+ in his 69 games in 2011.

Now, it’s not necessarily fair to judge him on an injury shortened season, but looking at 2012 doesn’t give you much more hope of a big comeback either. As seen above, he was slightly above average for the year. His  home run power was also down at 19, a sizable difference from the 30 a year we normally get from him.

Morneau’s contract could also be a problem, as he is only guaranteed for one year, and it may be hard to re-sign him. Heck, I’m not even sure we would want to re-sign him. We could end up paying for a year of a slightly above average 1st baseman. His MVP pedigree will make him a little more expensive than someone with his recent history would normally be.

That being said, if we can get him without giving up one of the Big 3, Nick Franklin, or Brad Miller then I think I would be up for it. Much more is too much risk for me.

Who I would trade: Erasmo Ramirez or Brandon Maurer

Who it would take: James Paxton OR Ramirez/Maurer+

3) Justin Upton, 25, OF, 3 year/$38.5 million

2012 stats: .280/.355/.430 — .341 wOBA — 108 wRC+

Upton is one of the most talented players out there. He has as high of a ceiling as anyone, and has showed some flashes of reaching it. He was an MVP candidate in 2011, but suffered a drop in his production last year. There are reports that he had a thumb injury last year that held him back, and that may be true. I am not worried about one down year considering his career batting line is .278/.357/.475 and he has the power to hit 30 home runs.

However, there is another thing that worries me, and it is the main reason I have him at #3. That reason being his home/road splits. He has played in the hitting-sanctuary that is Chase Field for his whole career. In doing so, he has seen an inflation in his production, as seen by his career .399 wOBA and 143 wRC+ at home. Now you can’t punish him for hitting well at home. He cannot control that. But when you look at his road  wOBA and wRC+ of .32o and 90 respectively, it can give you the feeling that he has simply been lucky enough to play in a launching pad.

In my opinion, road numbers are a little more telling than home numbers. They give you an image of how he hits in 29 parks as opposed to one. Now think about this for a second.

If we assume an improvement in his road numbers, which I think is fair considering his age and potential, we can pencil him down for a .340 wOBA and 110 wRC+ on the road. That may be a little generous also. We then have to assume a sizable drop in in his home numbers as well due to his move to a pitchers park. Now this is a little more difficult to predict, but it only makes sense that if he hits .340/110 on the road, in the average park, he will be the same or worse in a park that favors pitchers. So we can generously assume a .340 wOBA/110 wRC+, or maybe slightly better for his career.

Obviously this isn’t absolute and he could be much better. But, he could also be worse.

I want to love Justin Upton. I really do. But at this point I just don’t. Part of me wants us to trade for him so he can prove me wrong. But overall, I think he will cost too much for the risk. We have gotten a couple other players with potential, and we haven’t had a great result with that so far. I wouldn’t be against a move for him, but its not my favorite either.

Who I would give up: James Paxton/Danny Hultzen and Nick Franklin for Upton OR Walker and Franklin for Upton and  Josh Collmenter

Who it would take: Taijuan Walker and Nick Franklin for Upton

July 28, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Cleveland Indians outfielder Shin-Soo Choo (17) against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The Twins defeated the Indians 12-5. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE

2) Shin-Soo Choo, 30, OF, Last year of arbitration

2012 stats: .283/.373/.441 — .359 wOBA — 131 wRC+

Choo could be one of the better players in the league. In fact, he was in 2009 and 2010, posting WARs of 5.1 and 6.1 respectively. He has one of the best outfield arms in the league, to go along with solid speed and moderate power. The thing that really sets him apart however, is his ability to get on base. He has a career OBP of .381, along with a wOBA of .369.

There is one big flaw in his game though, and that’s his ability to hit lefties, or lack thereof. He hasn’t been TOO terrible against them for his career (.249/.338/.358), but it’s been a different story over the last few years. Since 2010, his line against lefties has been .239/.329/.318, and last year was the worst with a .199/.318/.286. That is absolutely horrible, and if that trend continues, he may need to become a platoon player. Luckily he mashes righties to the tune of a .308/..403/.515 line of the last three seasons.

It seems to be his extra base ability that takes the biggest hit against lefties. His OBP is actually respectable, but his slugging % is quite the opposite. It looks as though he has trouble squaring up the ball against LHP, but still sees it well. That ability to take a walk could end up being his saving grace as a full timer rather than platoon-er.

That is how he is able to keep his overall numbers so respectable, and people may fail to look past that. His numbers against righties are so good that it masks his major shortcomings against southpaws. If he isn’t able to at least bring his splits up to where they were in his first couple years, say a .700 OPS, then he may end up not being worth it. We would get him as a platoon player, but have to pay as if he were a full timer.

Having him and Wells platoon would actually be the best-case scenario seeing as he will most likely always struggle against lefties, whereas Wells kills them. It’s just that others may not recognize that he is a platoon player, and will not give him away for what I would be comfortable paying. He would also have to be re-upped after this year, and will most likely get payed around $10M a year, which is a little much for 100-110 games as a platoon player, or a near automatic out as a full timer. My interest in him is completely dependent on his cost, and how he bats against lefties in the future.

Who I would give up: Erasmo Ramirez OR Jason Vargas+ (they would never take the latter)

Who it would take: James Paxton OR Erasmo Ramirez++

1) Billy Butler, 26, DH/1B, 3 year/$28 million

2012 stats: .313/.373/.510 — .377 wOBA — 140 wRC+

September 27, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Kansas City Royals designated hitter Billy Butler (16) hits a home run during the ninth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

In many ways, Billy Butler is the perfect player for the Mariners. He is a great hitter that is signed for 3 years at an extremely cheap amount, and he is entering his prime. There aren’t many 26-year-olds who put up those kinds of numbers, and you will never find many .880 OPS players signed for under $10 million a year. Plus, he is right handed, which seems to be what the team prefers to add this off season.

In other ways though, he isn’t a great fit. The biggest reason is his position, or lack there of. He is pretty much a DH only, and we already have that in Jesus Montero. Having both of them could make for some tough lineup creation, but that doesn’t matter as much as getting a legit batter. If they were to acquire him, it would mean they are confident that either he or Montero could play 1st.

Who I would give up: Walker and Vargas

Who it would take: Walker or Hutlzen+

Once again, its hard to tell for sure what it would take, but I’m either Taijuan Walker or Danny Hultzen would have to be included. The rest of the trade package is up in the air. I would give  up almost anything for Butler. I just want him here, and I think he should be Z’s number one target.

Those are just some ideas, and there are others out there. Alex Gordon would have been #1, but I tried to keep my list semi-realistic, and I don’t think Gordon is going anywhere.

Let me know what you think of the list, and feel free to give one of your own.

September 28, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics designated hitter Jonny Gomes (31) reacts to a called third strike during the seventh inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-US PRESSWIRE

Recently, Dave Cameron at U.S.S Mariner wrote up his offseason plan for 2013. And while I have mentioned some options in past articles, I haven’t really put them together in one piece yet. I am going to use a similar format, as I think it works well at displaying the information.

You may also see some similarities between the plan’s, as I did agree on a few things that he proposed.

Here are the moves I would like to see made:

Trade LHP James Paxton and 3B/OF Vinnie Catricala to the Indians for RF Shin-Soo Choo, and re-sign him for 3 years/$34 million (on top of the arbitration year he has in 2013)

Sign OF Jonny Gomes for 2 years/$9 million.

Sign Travis Hafner for 1 year/$3 million

Re-Sign Hishashi Iwakuma for 2 years/$8 million

Sign Carlos Villanueva for 2 year/$7 million

Trade  Mike Carp and Trayvon Robinson for IF Sean Rodriguez and C Chris Gimenez.

As you can see, a few were very similar to Dave’s. However, there were some key differences as well.

Here is the opening day roster according to my plan (credit to Dave for the original table):

As you may have noticed, there are many similarities to Dave’s plan. I like the Villanueva, Hafner and Rodriguez/Giminez moves that Dave proposed. They all fill needs very well, without having to give up too much money, or players via trade.

Villanueva gives us a back end starter instead of Beaven or Noesi, who don’t really do much for us. The difference was that I proposed that we sign him for 2 years, and let Vargas go, whereas Dave wanted a one year deal, and to bring back Vargas. It’s not that I like Villanueva more than Vargas, I just think think we get more bang for the buck.

Bringing in Hafner gives us a lefty bat with some power who doesn’t require a ton of money, or playing time. If Montero plays well in AAA (I’ll get to that in a second), then Hafner can easily be moved to a part time/bench role. He will most likely get injured at some point anyway, but he is a very solid hitter when healthy.

The trade with Tampa Bay is a need for need type deal. We need some infield depth (Rodriguez), and a backup catcher (Giminez, who can also play the corners), and the Rays could use a young 1B option, and some outfield depth. R0driguez can play anywhere in the infield, and has a good bat for a backup.

As for the two bigger moves, we need to improve the offense, particularly in the outfield. Shin-Soo Choo is on the trading block after refusing to re-sign with the Indians. When healthy, he is a 140 wRC+, .384 wOBA guy. And while he isn’t an amazing power hitter (or as good in that area as Swisher, who Dave wants), he is a very good hitter, and creates runs in other ways. Some people tend to get so caught up in homers and RBIs, that they forget that the name of the game is run creation. In my opinion, it doesn’t matter how you create said runs as long as you do it. He is also much more affordable than Swisher.

Jonny Gomes had a very sneaky good year, posting a.375 wOBA and 142 wRC+ in 99 games for the equally as sneaky A’s. He is usually an under the radar player, who puts together some solid seasons without recognition. He is a career 109 wRC+ guy, including a terrible year in 2008. Take away that year, and that number jumps up to ~ 114. He also averages  17 homers in about 108 games a year. If you extrapolate that out to 150 games played, he would average 23 HR/year. His power is great enough that he won’t be affected too much by Safeco, which is always a plus.

Bringing in the guys I mentioned should give us 6-8 more wins than the likes of Beaven, Wells, Thames, Noesi and Peguero would.

You may have noticed that I left Jesus Montero off the team like Dave did. Well, that is for the same reason as him. It makes sense to start him in AAA to get accustomed to 1st base, where I think he will play moving forward. He also has some things to work out offensively, and could benefit from a less stressful situation when dealing with said issues. If he looks strong to quite strong at 1st and at the plate, you bring him up and throw the Hafner/Guti platoon on the bench, or at least into a lesser role.

As for the logjam at 1B/DH that I talk about so frequently; if Mike Zunino hits his way onto the team next year, Jaso will have to move out from behind the plate. Best case scenario for me is that Smoak and Jaso begin a platoon, with Smoak playing 1st (Montero DH) against LHP, and Jaso DHing (Montero at 1st) against RHP. That group, along with Choo, Gomes and Seager should be a solid run-producing-force offensively.

To me, this team is much better than this year’s. We bring in some proven guys, as well as some low risk/high reward types in an effort to get the offense to where it needs to be. The short-ish contracts also allow for some of the prospects who are playing well in the minors to take a spot on the team in the future. The biggest needs of the team are addressed without having to overpay or take playing time away from the kids who may need a little more time before they reach their potential, such as Montero, or even Zunino who could see the bigs next year.

These are just ideas that I think make sense for the Mariners to think about in their quest to find a decent offense to go along with the stud pitching we will/should have in a couple years. That will be the focus of the offseason, and is very possible with either my or Dave’s plan. I just happen to like the inexpensive-effectiveness of mine.

August 3, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Cleveland Indians right fielder Shin-Soo Choo (17) at bat during the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

I can’t believe I didn’t think about this before. I mean, I thought about it last year, but completely forgot about Shin-Soo Choo until now.

John Heyman said this back in August:

Indians general manager Chris Antonetti said they have tried to extend Choo “multiple times” over the past few years, to no avail. Antonetti was asked how much reception he’s gotten to the possibility of a multiyear deal, and the GM answered candidly, “None.”

But Antonetti also pointed out that a trade this winter isn’t the only possible outcome, as they could also trade him at the deadline next July or let him leave as a free agent after next season and receive draft choices after making a qualifying offer, which Antonetti indicated they will surely make.

How I missed Choo beats me, as I was looking left and right for possible trade targets for the Mariners, and it seems he could be available.

For those who don’t know, Choo came up through the Ms system, but was traded as a prospect to the Indians for 1B Ben Broussard. That trade didn’t turn out like we hoped, as Broussard didn’t do much here, and is now off playing his guitar somewhere. The Indians ended up getting an All-Star caliber player in Choo however. In his first two full years in Cleveland, Choo put up over 20 HR in each, along with an average wOBA and wRC+ of .389 and 142.

Last year however, he battled injuries, and put up a .325 wOBA and 106 wRC+. He then reverted to his old form this season, and has put up a .361 wOBA and 132 wRC+.

That kind of production in RF would be a welcome sight in Seattle. Choo would fit very nicely in the 3 hole for the Ms, and would instantly be the best hitter on the team. His combination of power, speed and defense (ignore the .15.9 UZR this year and he is at 11.1 career) would greatly help the offense.

The only drawback to Choo is his contract. He is due for arbitration next year, but becomes a free agent in 2014. I would much prefer if he guaranteed to re-sign here before he give up too much to get him.

He isn’t the huge power bat that many want, but he can give you 20 bombs a year, and he creates runs in other ways. We need offense, and I get a strong feeling that we may have found it. It just makes sense.

Speaking of that, what would it take to get him? It’s hard to say. The Indians seem open to it, but it would have to be worth more than the draft pick compensation they would get if they let him go. I think a deal built around Paxton would appeal to them, maybe with VCat and a lower level spec included. I would certainly we willing to give that up for a guy that can hit like he can.

I think it makes too much sense for both sides for there not to be some talks. The Indians need, well, everything, but pitching is their biggest hole, which Paxton could help fill. And we need offense in the outfield, which is exactly what Choo brings.

Make it happen Z.