By Gary Armida

As the doors to the free agent market are slowly creeping open, the Seattle Mariners have ended their manager search as they will announce later on today the hiring of Don Wakamatsu. Wakamatsu, 45 years old, is a first time major league manager after spending 2003-2006 as the Texas Rangers’ bench coach and 2007 as their 3^rd base coach. In 2008, he was the bench coach for Bob Geren in Oakland. FCP friend, Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, has an excellent article that gives the background of Wakamatsu who is the first manager of Asian descent in the Major Leagues (read here). Wakamatsu joins the fraternity of managers who were once catchers. He takes over a Seattle club that seems to be in a bit of turmoil and one that is coming off a tremendously disappointing 2008 season. They are, however, a team who can surprise people if their pitching, specifically Erik Bedard and Carlos Silva can pitch to expectations. Wakamatsu is the hire of new general manager Jack Zduriencik who is in the process of rebuilding the Mariners’ scouting and player development system. Wakamatsu gets the job over six other candidates which included organization favorite Joey Cora. The hiring of the former catcher is a wise hire as he will bring energy to a franchise in desperate need of new blood and a new direction.

Now that the Mariners have a manager, let’s take a look at other news around the hot stove league…

• Ryan Dempster was re-signed by the Cubs to a four year, $52 million dollar contract after his stellar 2008 season in which he went 17-6 with a 2.96 ERA and a 1.210 WHIP in 206.2 innings. He gave up just 174 hits, 76 walks, and struck out 187. It was a great year, but signing Dempster to a four year deal is a huge commitment for a guy who was put back into the rotation last season after failing to be a competent reliever. Dempster was a starter from 1998-2003 before moving to bullpen after a combination of ineffectiveness and injury. In fact, 2008 was the first time in his career that he posted an ERA under 3.00 and a WHIP under 1.300 as a starter or reliever. At 32 years old, the four year commitment has to be considered a major concern for the Cubs (forget about the money, that is average for a number 2 or 3 starter).
• The first free agent signing was a good, but underrated signing as the Giants inked reliever Jeremy Affeldt to a 2 year, $ 8 million dollar contract. The lefty has posted ERA’s of 3.51 and 3.33 in each of the last two seasons while pitching in two of the better offensive parks in the game. Affeldt is not a lefty specialist and will be used at any point during the game. The Giants did well signing him early as he instantly becomes the best arm in their bullpen. If the Giants are serious about contending, they must add another arm or two.
• While the annual awards mean nothing in the FCP offices, it does merit mentioning that Dustin Pedroia won the Most Valuable Player Award. Again, I never fret about who wins the award, nor will I say he doesn’t deserve it. Would I have voted for him? No, my vote would’ve gone to Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins. But, Pedroia did hit all over the lineup and plays adequate defense. There may be a bit of media hype for his selection as the case could be made that Kevin Youkilis, Jonathan Papelbon, or Jon Lester were more valuable than Pedroia. But, it is not as if he is a bad choice as there was no clear cut favorite in the American League.
• According to various media outlets, the Blue Jays’ number one free agent priority is Milton Bradley. There is no doubt that Bradley is a talented hitter, but his 2008 statistics did receive a boost from playing in the hitter friendly Rangers Park. Additionally, it is just the second time in his nine year career that he has had more than 400 at bats in a season. As an injury prone moderately productive hitter, he would help the Blue Jays, but he is hardly the answer. If GM J.P. Ricciardi took issue with Adam Dunn’s attitude, why in the world is he signing Bradley? Instead of going the “whole way”, it seems that the Blue Jays will once again to try to put a tiny band aid on a canyon sized wound. There is a reason why they finish in 3^rd or 4^th place every season.
• As predicted last Friday, the Yankees are preparing offers to AJ Burnett and Derek Lowe. Reportedly, the Yankees are going to offer the oft-injured Burnett a 5 year, $80 million dollar contract. Even for the Yankees, this is a ridiculous, risky offer as Burnett has only had two injury free seasons, both in his contract walk year. There is little doubt that Burnett is a talented pitcher, but he has never been dominant (his career ERA is a solid, yet unspectacular 3.81). The Yankees would be better served signing Derek Lowe to deal that should be a shorter commitment and more likely to get production for the value of the contract. Didn’t the Yankees learn from Carl Pavano?
• According to the Kansas City newspapers, the Royals are having trade talks with the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs are rumored to be looking at Mark Teehan as a potential right fielder. The paper suggests that Felix Pie would somehow be involved in the trade. If the Royals can make that trade, they should jump as Teehan is the prototypical average ballplayer while Pie could be an above average player. It’s all probably just speculation as the Cubs can do better in the free agent market with players like Bobby Abreu floating on the market.
• Staying in Kansas City, the organization added Mike Arbuckle, formerly the Phillies’ director of scouting. This is a big coup for the Royals as Arbuckle has drafted the likes of Jimmy Rollins, Cole Hamels, Chase Utley, and many more. With a keen eye for talent, perhaps Arbuckle will work the same magic for the Royals that he did for the Phillies.
• It seems that Jake Peavy is painting himself into a corner as the Braves are supposedly done with trying to acquire the former Cy Young Award winner. It happens when you limit yourself to certain teams in one league while trying to tell them who to trade. Although the Cubs re-signed Dempster, they still have the means and need to acquire Peavy. Expect this to go on at least through the winter meetings.
• The St. Louis papers discuss the Cardinals’ quest to upgrade their left handed relievers. They are rumored to be interested in veteran Arthur Rhodes and Will Ohman. Both are huge questions for a team with aspirations of contenting.
• Maybe Scott Boras wasn’t joking when he said there were too many teams calling about Mark Teixeira. There many rumors all over the country. The latest one was saying that the Baltimore Orioles have called about Big Tex. The odds are practically non-existent that he would sign there, but it is nice to see the Orioles become relevant.

That’s all for today. We’ll see you back here tomorrow for some more baseball news and analysis. Thanks for stopping by.