Mariners make a blockbuster deal - just kidding
MARINERS, BASEBALL UPDATE: 11:10 A.M.
No Jason Schmidt. No more Gil Meche. Freddy Garcia went elsewhere. Rafael Soriano is gone. Horacio Ramirez is here.
That's the extent of the Mariners' winter meeting deals according to the Times, the P-I and News Tribune.
Schmidt, of course, signed with the Dodgers yesterday despite, according to Bill Bavasi, a competitive offer from his hometown team, Seattle. Meche left the M's and agreed to a reported five-year deal with Kansas City on Thursday. Garcia, rumored on his way back to Seattle earlier, was sent to Philadelphia. And the Mariners traded Soriano to Atlanta for the left-hand throwing Ramirez, a starter with a history of health problems.
Oh, I forgot. They also picked up pitcher Sean White from the Pirates, another pitcher who, like Ramirez, was in the Braves' organization last season.
But back to Ramirez. If he stays healthy, and that's a big if, he can help the rotation. He's a sinker ball pitcher who will be backed by a strong defensive infield. And he's a left-hander who will pitch his home games in a park that is murder on right-handed power.
UPDATE: Even the Longview Daily News takes the M's to task for the so-far-uninspiring offseason.
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Former Ferris High and Gonzaga University standout Brian Munhall changed organizations Thursday, drafted out of the Giants' system by the Texas Rangers in the minor league Rule 5 draft. He'll join another former Zag catcher, Kevin Richardson, in the Texas minor league system.