Chaves looking for promotion to M’s

When Tacoma pitching coach Rafael Chaves returned home to Isabela, Puerto Rico, two weeks ago, his wife, Ivelissa, presented him with a long list of things that needed to be done around the house.

How long was the list?

“It doesn’t end,” Chaves joked Friday, moments after climbing down from the roof of his house.

At the top of Chaves’ winter to-do list is finding out where he’ll be coaching in 2006.

Chaves, 37, is considered a candidate for the Seattle Mariners’ pitching coach vacancy that was created when Bryan Price resigned following the season.

So far, Chaves hasn’t heard anything from the Mariners one way or the other about next season.

The Mariners are expected to fly candidates for the pitching coach opening to Cleveland next week to meet with manager Mike Hargrove.

The team will do the same with hitting coach candidates as well.

The other candidates for the pitching coach opening are thought to be Seattle’s minor league pitching coordinator, Pat Rice, and current Mariners bullpen coach Jim Slaton.

Mark Wiley took his name out of the running earlier this week and Jim Colborn took a job on Jim Tracy’s staff in Pittsburgh. The Mariners still aren’t sure if Mel Stottlemyre – who resigned from his post with the New York Yankees earlier this week – is interested in the job.

“I would be happy to do it … it would be something special,” Chaves said. ” think the Mariners are a special organization. I know I have some good ideas. And I have had a very good relationship with a lot of the pitchers on their staff.”

In addition to helping mentor 19-year-old pitching phenom Felix Hernandez, Chaves presided over a staff that used 34 different pitchers but still managed to lead the Pacific Coast League with 17 shutouts.

“I think that the results speak for themselves,” Tacoma manager Dan Rohn said. “He’s very, very prepared and he’s passionate about the job he wants to do. … Do I think he’s capable of doing the (major league) job? Yes.”

Chaves was asked if he thought his lack of major-league experience as a pitching coach might work against him.

“We just lost one of the best pitching coaches in baseball (Price) … but if you check his record, he didn’t have any big-league experience when he was hired,” Chaves said.

“I don’t think (no major-league experience) should be a downfall,” he added.

What candidates like Chaves and Rice have working in their favor is working knowledge of the pitchers on the Mariners’ staff - something an outsider would not have.

Chaves, who just completed his second season with Tacoma, has worked with Seattle pitchers Julio Mateo, Matt Thornton, Gil Meche and Hernandez while in the minor leagues.

Chaves’ bond this season with Hernandez was more than just coach-pitcher.

The two talked often between starts, and Hernandez often called Chaves after he was recalled from Tacoma in August.

“He still calls me a few times a week to see how things are going,” Chaves said. “He’s a great kid, and he showed me nothing but respect. Everything that I introduced to him, he did it. Hopefully, we can continue that relationship.”

For now, Chaves will continue to work around his home in Puerto Rico before leaving to coach pitchers for Mayaguez, a team in the Puerto Rico League.

Beyond that, he’s not sure.

“Honestly, I have no clue right now,” Chaves said. “I’ve read some articles that have mentioned my name but no one has told me anything.

“Really, I just know what I’ve been hearing. I hope they give me an opportunity to express myself.”