Mariners Not Done Adding Pieces- We Hope

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Starting Pitcher

Among the starting pitchers that are still available on the market are Ubaldo Jimenez, Ervin Santana, Bronson Arroyo and Matt Garza.

According to two separate tweets by Jon Heyman, both Bronson Arroyo and Matt Garza have thinned their landing spot to four and five teams respectively. It’s unclear if the Mariners are one of them:

bronson arroyo sweepstakes is down to reds, twins & 2 others. twins also talking to pelfrey.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 14, 2013

Lots of activity on garza at moment. #dbacks #twins #angels #others. no word of anything imminent tho.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 11, 2013

So there is that. As for Santana and Jimenez?

Mums the word for now. There hasn’t been a lot of talk about either one of them. Probably due to the high contract being asked for Santana and the inconsistent play by Jimenez. Personally, I’d like to see the Mariners go for a lefty, but the options are thin. Johan Santana or Barry Zito? No thanks.

Part of the hesitation is the waiting game to see if Masahiro Tanaka will be posted or not by the Rakuten Golden Eagles. With the new maximum bid set at $20M, the Golden Eagles may be reluctant to give him up for such a paltry amount. But then:

Source: Other teams in Japan considering kicking in $ for Rakuten to make up for diminished posting fee on Tanaka, to move toward agreement.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 13, 2013

Of course they are. Other Japanese teams are desperate to get Tanaka out of the country so they don’t have to face him anymore. It’s unclear if the Mariners would be in on Tanaka, but you have to assume they would be.