M’s spend one last day with Freddy

It was hard for the Seattle Mariners to say goodbye to Freddy Garcia on Monday — mostly because he wouldn’t leave.

“I came out of my office and Freddy was in the clubhouse,” manager Bob Melvin said. “It was like the deal never happened. I’m sure at some point, he’s leaving, but it was good to see him.”

Traded to the Chicago White Sox a day earlier, Garcia had 72 hours to report to his new team — and Monday he spent much of it with Mariners teammates like Joel Piñeiro, Julio Mateo, Hiram Bocachica and others.

“It’s sad,” pitcher Eddie Guardado said. “A lot of guys would like to spend their whole career with one team, but it just doesn’t happen much anymore. That’s the game now.”

Guardado understood the trade. What he wasn’t sure he agreed with was some of the analysis that followed it.

“I don’t think the team has given up on the season,” he insisted. “I can guarantee you the 24 left in this clubhouse after the deal aren’t giving up. There are just too many games left to give up.”

Veteran Dave Hansen had faced Garcia in their careers but, until this spring, had never played with him.

“You know baseball is a business, but it affects you when a teammate is traded,” he said. “For the players coming here, it’s a transition. For the players staying here, it’s a transition. You accept that as part of the game, and most of us have been there.”

Willie Bloomquist hasn’t.

“This is really the first trade like this since I’ve been here,” Bloomquist said. “Ben Davis and I were friends, and I’ll miss him. Freddy has been such a big part of this team for so long.

“I thought last year, Freddy got a bad rap — people writing that he partied too hard, that he wasn’t taking his job seriously. I saw today a lot of those same people were saying how much we’d miss him now.”

Pat Borders, whose job in Seattle is probably over because of the trade, which brought a 25-year-old catcher to Seattle, was philosophical over the turn of events.

“My role really doesn’t change. I signed here to play behind Dan Wilson and Ben Davis, now I’m behind Dan and Miguel Olivio,” he said. “I’m 41, he’s 25. That’s a good pickup for this team.”

As for Garcia, Borders said he’ll be missed.

“He’s a quiet guy in the clubhouse, but if you were going into a fox hole, he’d be a good choice to take with you,” Borders said. “Freddy’s not afraid of anything — he’d never run away.”

“This is what happens during a rough season,” Hansen said. “I was with the Cubs the year they traded Brian McRae and Terry Mulholland to teams in the race. It’s not fun to see the guys you’ve gone through camp with, expected to win with, leave.

“About the only positive you find is that you’re glad for them, they’re going to a better team, to a pennant race.”

Melvin was as surprised as anyone by Sunday’s deal.

“We knew it could happen, obviously, but it stuns you a bit when it happens,” Melvin said. “Freddy has been through it twice now, first in Houston, then here.

“I don’t believe we’ve given up on the season. If we had, we’d be playing all kids here, and we’re not. We’re trying to win games, this team may not be playing as well as it can, but it’s playing hard.

“We’re doing our best to win — we owe our fans that. We owe ourselves that.”