Sports Illustrated Jon Heyman reported that time has expired this afternoon on both waiver claims for Raul Ibanez and Jarrod Washburn.

The Tigers reportedly won the claim on Ibanez, and the Twins won the claim on Washburn.  No deal could be worked out for either player before the deadline.

Mariner fans don’t burn your hats just yet, the waiver process can be very misleading based on the fact that teams will block players through the waiver process to keep them from going to a team they are contending with, with no intention on reaching a deal.

Unless this report is untrue, both players will remain on the roster for the immediate future.

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Multiple outlets are reporting that both outfielder Raul Ibanez and pitcher Jarrod Washburn have been claimed on waivers during their waiver periods.  The teams that claim them have to work out a deal with Seattle by a deadline depending on the exact time they made the claim.  Washburn seems to be certain to be dealt to another club, where as Ibanez is a different situation.

Ibanez will bring two compensatory first-round draft picks if he leaves via free-agency after the 2008 season, meaning the offer Seattle gets in return they would have to feel is better than the two picks they would receive.  There is also speculation as there should be that both sides want to work out an extension.

All in all expect Washburn out, and Ibanez to stay unless of course a team offers a great package.  The way Raul has been hitting, this could be very possible.  If Wash leaves, expect Ryan Feierabend to get his shot for the rest of the season in the rotation.

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On Saturday the Mariners got Ryan Rowland-Smith back into the rotation and optioned Jared Wells back to Tacoma.  Rowland-Smith wasn’t great, but wasn’t bad either pitching 5.2 innings allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out five.  A bad sixth inning and bullpen woes got him a no decision before good old Miguel Batista got the loss.  It was the result of an 11th inning Dioner Navarro sacrifice fly scoring Ben Zobrist to win it for Tampa 8-7.  Ichiro Suzuki had a great day at the plate going 4-for-6 with a home-run and 3 RBIs.  It appears in this ballgame that the M’s lost Willie Bloomquist to a potentially season ending hamstring injury to make matters worse.

Sunday’s contest was a 11-3 bashing by Tampa over the M’s.  For Tampa it was their franchise-record 71st win of the season.  Jose Lopez hit his 10th home-run of the season on the day.  Tampa got great days at the dish by Willy Aybar (2-for-5, 4 RBIs), Eric Hinske (3-for-5, 3 Runs), and Cliff Floyd (3-for-4, 2 runs, RBI).  Catcher Shawn Riggans hit a three run home-run as well.  R.A. Dickey got lit up for eight runs in five innings of work.  The M’s recalled Tug Hulett from Tacoma as they placed Bloomquist on the 15-day DL.

The last bit of Mariner news to report from over the weekend was the Saturday start by Brandon Morrow for Tacoma.  Morrow got hit hard throwing 51 pitches over 2.2 innings.  Brandon allowed three runs on five hits walking two and striking out two.  Lets not overreact to his rough outing, he pitched in a hitters haven and he is still adjusting to pitching as a starter.

Some Rumors not confirmed by Seattle, but confirmed by others….

Peter Gammons of ESPN reported that the Mariners placed Raul Ibanez on waivers over the weekend.  Nobody else is reporting this but I feel Gammons is more than a reliable source.  There is talk the Rays would pick up the claim, but that the Red Sox would block it much like they did as with Brian Giles.

There also was a report by the Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times that Jarrod Washburn has already cleared through waivers.  Problem is nobody else is reporting it.  Other sources are saying that he is still in the process and we should find out if any team made a claim sometime in the next 24-hours.  An interesting thing to think about is that if Washburn is traded to an American League squad, they have first crack at any player coming back through waivers to them in a trade because they own the worst record in the AL.

There is much going on in Mariner Land…too bad there is no focus left on the team in the field.

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Due to his recent struggles as a starter, along with the teams need for an experienced late-inning arm, Miguel Batista has been moved from the starting rotation to the bullpen.  The struggling veteran has only had five of his nineteen starts reach the 6th inning this season.  Batista was scheduled to start on Saturday. 

And that is where the Ryan Rowland-Smith conversation begins.  Rowland-Smith has started three games for Tacoma allowing only two earned-runs in each outing.  Apparently besides stretching his arm out, the team has wanted Ryan to work on his fastball command, which he still struggling with a bit, but is showing solid improvement.  If the team chooses not to call up someone from the minors, Jake Woods has starting experience on the current active roster. 

A decision on Saturday’s starter is expected from the Mariners tonight.  I say bring Ryan up, he has already started for the M’s this season, and is better than what we have now anyways.  Lets see what he can do with extended rotation time and preparation in the big leagues so we can see if he can handle 2009.

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Mariners’ Manager Jim Riggleman has been secretive on his intentions of using hard throwing relief pitcher Brandon Morrow as a starting pitcher this season. Part of the reason of Riggleman’s uncertainty has been the health and performance of closer J.J. Putz. Putz struggled early in the season with injuries forcing Morrow to get an opportunity to close. Morrow more than held his own in Putz’s place, making the decision to use him as a starter this season more difficult. The performance by J.J. today hopefully will make Riggleman’s decision easier.

Putz picked up the win Sunday afternoon, allowing only one hit and recording the final out of the seventh before breezing through the 8th.  “J.J.’s looking better and better every outing. It takes a few to get back into the swing of things,” Morrow said.

“I understand where all those guys are at in terms of what this team is looking for the last two months. You hear talks that they want Brandon to start,” Putz said. “Today was big in getting back to making that decision easier.”

Thunderstruck is back!

Mariners Blog

Ok, I’ve been searching the Internet trade rumors.  Many of the people reporting the rumored deals have (cough cough) “sources” that say there is interest in players.  Here is a list of the players rumored and where they are rumored to have interest to go.

• J.J Putz- Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals
• Jarrod Washburn- New York Yankees, New York Mets, Colorado Rockies
• Arthur Rhodes- New York Mets, Florida Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies
• Adrian Beltre – Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins
• Raul Ibanez- Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs

I’m sure there are more.  Teams not even on this list will probably acquire any of these players.  But its still fun to speculate on what Seattle can get in return.  The non-waiver trade deadline is tomorrow.

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It is no secret this time of the year bullpen help is on every contenders wish list.  Arthur Rhodes has been linked to many rumors, the most recent appears to be the Milwaukee Brewers.  The Brewers had scouts at the game last night checking out Rhodes against Texas.  Rhodes allowed one hit and walked one, but got a big strikeout in a key spot against Josh Hamilton.

The lefty reliever is one year removed from Tommy John surgery and has made a fantastic recovery as he has done a great job in the Mariner bullpen.  His velocity is still in the low to mid 90′s and he still has that crafty slider that give lefties nightmares.  He was a non-roster invitee in the off-season, and battled back from the surgery to make the opening day roster. 

Look for Rhodes to go for a mid-level prospect before the Thursday deadline.

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ESPN’s Buster Olney is reporting the New York Yankees are taking a look at acquiring Mariners lefty Jarrod Washburn before the deadline.  It will tough for the Mariners to get much in return for the 33 year-old veteran due to having another year on his contract that pays him somewhere in the ball park of $10 million dollars.  The move would ultimately be a salary dump.  I have read a few rumors about the Mariners receiving Kei Igawa in return. That would figure, but I expect a marginal prospect.  Olney sites the Yankees may like to keep Washburn in their rotation for 09′ because the dimensions of the new ballpark will remain similar to the current Yankee Stadium cut out which has a short porch in right field and favors left-handed pitching.  I could see this move happening due to the fact that :

1) Ryan Rowland-Smith just got sent down to Tacoma to stretch his arm out to become a starter.

2) The Yankees are one of a handful of teams that would take on Washburn’s salary based on his production.

3) The Mariners have the arms in the system to replace him this season and next.

Mariners Blog

Startribune.com in Minneapolis, Minnesota is reporting a “club source” has contacted Seattle about third baseman Adrian Beltre.  This not news, considering it was all over the Internet last week.  Apparently though the Twins are acting on their “internal discussions” by contacting Seattle.

Although Beltre is just what the Twins need, I just don’t buy this deal for a second.  The Twinkies have a history of being “sellers” but remaining competitive by being smart with their player decisions  much like Billy Beane in Oakland.  With Beltre due to make $12 million this season and again in ’09, I just can’t see the Twins taking on that contract.

On the Mariners side, Beltre may possibly be the teams best player at the moment.  He is looked upon by many as very underrated because of the high expectations due to his lofty price tag when he signed with Seattle as a free agent.  He plays a gold glove caliber third, and puts up decent numbers for receiving little protection in the lineup. Also, the M’s have little in the way of prospects coming through the system ready to play third for the big club.  I think unless someone knocks the M’s socks off with a deal, Beltre will be a Mariner in ’09. 

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EastValleyTribune.com in Phoenix is reporting Arizona has had some disscusions with the M’s for Left Fielder Raul Ibanez.  Arizona is actively looking to add a left handed bat before the dealdine.  The article says a major league source says the M’s asking price is too steep currently because the M’s are looking for top prospects.  The names start with second baseman Emilio Bonifacio, outfielder Gerardo Parra and pitchers Max Scherzer and Jarrod Parker.  The Diamondbacks apparently won’t give up pitching.  

I don’t know about you Mariner fans, but i’ve seen Max Scherzer pitch a little this year, and i would take him straight up for Ibanez.  Scherzer has been getting hit hard a little lately, but he still holds a low ERA and gets strikeouts, his stuff is pretty nasty.  We will see if this rumor goes anywhere.

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