Blowers Dealt To Dodgers; Is Tino Next?

The economic restructuring of the Seattle Mariners began in earnest Wednesday when the team traded third baseman Mike Blowers to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a pair of minor league prospects - neither of whom has played above Class AA.

And across the continent, the New York media was speculating that the Yankees will trade for Tino Martinez this week, sending pitcher Sterling Hitchcock and rookie third baseman Russ Davis to Seattle in trade.

“In the course of a few days, Seattle could lose more than 50 home runs, more than 200 RBI off that club,” one American League executive said. “But when you’re a small-market team and you win, the simple truth is you can’t keep everybody.”

“It’s the first move, but it’s not the last,” general manager Woody Woodward said from Puerto Rico. “We’re not done. We’re going to try to get some players who can help us next year, and some of them may be younger players two-three years away, like those we got today.”

Blowers, 30, born in Germany but raised in the Northwest - he attended Bethel High School, Tacoma Community College, then the University of Washington - got the news while playing in a charity golf tournament in Palm Springs, Calif.

Coming off the best season of his seven-year major league career, the popular Blowers batted .257 with 23 home runs and 96 RBIs, numbers that made his arbitration eligibility a factor in the trade.

In 1995, Blowers was paid $500,000. The Mariners believed, and executives with other teams agreed, his value might jump well beyond $2 million in ‘96.

What Seattle got in return was a pair of infielders who will come to spring training with little chance to make the team in ‘96:

Third baseman Willis Otanez, a 22-year-old with six minor-league seasons of experience in the Los Angeles organization.

Second baseman Miguel Cairo, 21, a speedy middle infielder who has stolen more than 100 bases over the past three years and batted .278 in 107 games at Class AA in 1995.