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Friday, December 17, 2004
M's get young, hungry
Team breaks bank with big contracts, eyes AL West title
It's easy to look at the 48 home runs Adrian Beltre hit last year or the two times Richie Sexson has hit 45 homers in a season and come to the conclusion the Mariners have addressed their power shortage.
But Beltre, who will officially become a Mariner today assuming he passes his physical, and Sexson, who signed on Wednesday, bring more than that.
They reflect a changing approach to the game from the Mariners front office. And we're not just talking about spending big money in the free agent market, although for the first time the Mariners have pursued and landed players other teams lusted after.
The Mariners are finally addressing their age crisis. The past two seasons, they have been as old or older than any team in the major leagues.
But Beltre is just 25. Sexson is 29, although he turns 30 later this month.
Consider what was happening in Seattle 12 months ago. Center fielder Mike Cameron, who was 30 at the time, walked away as a free agent and shortstop Carlos Guillen, who was 28, was traded. The offensive performers who replaced them were all older -- Raul Ibanez was 31 at the time. Rich Aurilia was 32. Scott Spiezio was 31. And all three had mid-season birthdays on a team that was already old.
Now, the Mariners are going into the season with an offense that is younger than the previous editions. Barring other changes, it's likely that Jose Lopez, 21, will be the everyday shortstop and Miguel Olivo, 26, will be the regular catcher.
And if a rumored trade of Randy Winn comes to fruition -- no trade is on the immediate horizon -- then Jeremy Reed, 23, could be the center fielder.
The proof is in the performance, but the Mariners would appear to be in position to have a good, young offensive nucleus that could be together for five or six years. Now that is a change of direction for a team that lost 99 games last season with an aging and all-too-inept offense.
It's no wonder the Mariners front office is all but giddy. After a horrible 2004, they have rebuilt enough that the club could be a contender in an increasing difficult American League West right now. And at the same time, they've put a structure in place so the club can be a contender for years after.
How badly did the Mariners want to get these deals done? The club went against one of its own cardinal rules, backloading contracts. For example, although Sexson gets $50 million over the four years of his contract, he gets just $4.5 million of it in 2005. His signing bonus of $6 million doesn't get paid until 2006 when the Mariners don't have huge payouts scheduled for second baseman Bret Boone ($9 million in 2005) and left-handed starter Jamie Moyer (about $7.5 million).
It was structured that way so there would be enough money now for Beltre and, perhaps, a mid-level starting pitcher such as Kevin Millwood or Odalis Perez.
"We don't like to backload contracts," club CEO Howard Lincoln said. "But sometimes you've got to do one thing in order to get something else done."
And the "something else" is Beltre, an addition that remodels the Mariners for the rest of the decade.
For one thing, it keeps Lopez at shortstop. There is a running argument inside the Mariners front office about whether Lopez can play shortstop well enough at the big-league level. He can hit, but some members of the organization wanted him moved to third base.
With Beltre around, that's not going to happen. One likely scenario is Lopez plays shortstop this year. If it works out -- if his range and arm adapt to the majors -- then fine. If not, he could be moved to second base in 2006. Boone, who turns 36 the first week of the 2005 season, is in the final year of his contract and might be gone after next season.
Of course, the major impact is in the 2005 lineup. Although manager Mike Hargrove won't have to decide on the positioning of his 3-4-5 hitters until April, he'll have a home run champ (Beltre), an RBI champ (Boone for the Mariners in 2001) and a two-time 45 homer guy (Sexson in 2001 and 2003).
That means left fielder Raul Ibanez, who has 20-plus homer capability, can be used lower in the lineup where the Mariners had trouble getting things done a year ago.
"If you've got Ibanez batting fourth, that's a stretch," one American League scout said. "If you've got him batting sixth, that's a damn good lineup."
It's been a while since they've been able to say that in Seattle.
YOUNG BASHERS
Adrian Beltre, who signed a five-year, $64 million contract with the Mariners yesterday, hit 48 home runs in 2004 to lead the National League and give him 147 career homers. Most career home runs by active players age 25 and younger:
| Player | Team | Yrs, days* | Homers |
| Albert Pujols | Cardinals | 25, 78 | 160 |
| Adrian Beltre | Mariners | 25, 362 | 147 |
| Adam Dunn | Reds | 25, 146 | 118 |
| Hank Blalock | Rangers | 24, 134 | 64 |
| Mark Teixeira | Rangers | 24, 359 | 64 |
| Corey Patterson | Cubs | 25, 234 | 57 |
| Juan Uribe | White Sox | 25, 256 | 47 |
| Miguel Cabrera | Marlins | 21, 351 | 45 |
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