Seattle Mariners GM For A Week: A Call To Arms

Sep 11, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Johnny Cueto (47) throws against the St. Louis Cardinals in the fourth inning at Great American Ball Park. The Reds won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

Johnny Cueto

The Cincinnati Reds have a $10 million option for 2015 on Cueto and a $800K buyout. The Reds are more than likely looking to shed payroll as they have several contracts coming up. I would think that keeping Cueto is high on their list.

I can’t imagine that the Reds would just let him go, but they may pick up the option and then listen to trade offers, especially if he gives any indication of testing the market after 2015.

Why wouldn’t the Mariners take a look at Cueto?

He led the National League with 34 starts and 243.2 IP. He threw four complete games, two of them shutouts. He was 20-9 with a 2.25 ERA, a league-high 242 K’s and an ERA+ of 160.

He held opponents to a .194 batting average in 2014. He is worth every penny of that $10M next year. I don’t see the Reds letting him walk. But if I’m the GM, I’m making the phone call anyways.

Others?

Jason Hammel, Josh Johnson, Colby Lewis, Francisco Liriano, Ervin Santana and Ryan Vogelsong are other options that are out there. And any of them could be a welcome addition to a pitching staff looking for even more depth heading into 2015.

It may very well be that the M’s will lose out on all of the big name arms and settle for one of the others, and that may not be a bad thing. No one thought Chris Young was going to be as effective as he was in 2014.

So who will it be? We can speculate all night. Submit your pick or picks in the comment section below. But for the sake of this piece, I am going with Scherzer. If the Mariners are going to be serious about contending in 2015, they need to continue to spend money and sign top-tier stars like Scherzer.

Do whatever it takes to get him to the Emerald City.

6 years, $135M (7th year option at $25M)