Do you have any thoughts on the Mariners trade with Pittsburgh that brought shortstop Jack Wilson and pitcher Ian Snell for Jeff Clement, Ronny Cedeno and three minor-league pitching prospects?
Wilson’s one of the best defensive shortstops in the majors, and is a career .269 hitter (.267 this year). Will the M’s pick up his $8.4 million option for 2010 or is his stay going to be a short one. Would the M’s package Wilson with Jerrod Washburn in another deal?
If they keep him, the M’s just got a heckuva lot better. Wilson’s offensive production might be sub-par, but at least he’s not Cedeno-like. Then again, who is? Cedeno was in an 0-for-26 slump and hitting .167 for the Mariners. With all of the other light-hitting players in the lineup, it’s truly amazing that the M’s have been able to stay above .500 with Cedeno in the lineup.
Here’s some linkage on the trade. This one from
ESPN.com’s Keith Law.
Larry Stone of the Seattle Times
filed this report after talking to Wilson at Safeco Field.
Wilson was on his way to AT&T Park in San Francisco in a cab
when he found out about the trade.
Lookoutlanding.com broke the trade down player by player while even managing to get in a shot at Willie Ballgame.
* Speaking of Willie Ballgame: All three of Willie Bloomquist’s home runs this season have been game-tying blasts on the road. Yes, Bloomquist, who had one extra base hit a year ago with the Mariners, has three bombs — the latest coming on Tuesday’s 4-3 win over the Orioles. That’s a career-high for the Port Orchard native and matches his total in the last four seasons with the M’s.
Bloomquist, hitting .278, has already set career highs in at bats (266), hits (74) and stolen bases (17). Here’s a look at his career stats. He’s now playing most in the outfield after the Royals traded for shortstop Yunieski Betancourt. Bloomquist has also been mentioned in possible trade talks with Boston, which was looking for fourth outfielder.
* Betancourt, by the way, was hitting .119 (5-for-42) in his first 12 games with the Royals. And it looks like he’s continued his free-swinging ways because he’s still looking for his first base on ball as a Royal.
* The pitching matchup between Colorado’s Jason Hammel (5-5, 4.28 ERA), the other SK grad currently in the majors, and Mets ace Johan Santana was pushed back to Thursday after Wednesday’s game was rained out in New York.
Hammel talked after he recently beaned Edgar Gonzalez of the Padres. The 6-foot-6 right-hander has been up-and-down over his last five outings, but he’s coming off a solid six-inning effort in a 3-1 loss to the Giants. Here’s a look at his last 10 starts.
* Aaron Cunningham, yet another SK grad, is having another productive year and seems destined to be wearing an Oakland A’s uniform by the end of the season. He’s hitting .297 with nine home runs and 35 RBI in 55 games at Triple-A Sacramento. The outfielder had a couple of short stints with the A’s earlier this year and was a September call-up a year ago.
* Jared Prince is having a solid season in rookie ball for the Spokane Indians of the Northwest League. The North Kitsap and WSU product is hitting .263 with four home runs and 20 RBI in 26 games. He’s been used mostly at first base.
* Jason Ellison’s hitting .244 with four homers and 24 RBI for the Lehigh IronPigs — Philadelphia’s Triple-A affiliate. The South Kitsap grad is playing center field and has been batting No. 2 in the order lately.
