Charlie Klein
The Seattle Mariners have resigned their 23 year-old pitching phenom to a five year, 78 million dollar extension last night according to team sources. The deal buys out Felix's two years of arbitration eligibility at about 18 million per year according to Dave Cameron of ussmariner.com.
One of the biggest questions going into the offseason for the much-improved Mariners was whether or not General Manager/Wizard Jack Zduriencik could do enough to prove to Felix Hernandez that the Mariners were committed to a winning future and get the King to sign an extension.
The convincing began last season, in which the Mariners won 85 games, their highest total since 2007 in which they won 88. The 2009 edition improved to the tune of 24 games better than 2008. The additions of Franklin Gutierrez, David Aardsma, Ken Griffey Jr. among others along with the progress of a young M's bullpen proved that winning baseball could find a home in the Pacific Northwest.
This offseason the Mariners have outdone themselves. It is the consensus around baseball that the M's have had the best offseason of any club in 2009-2010. It was so even before the re-signing of their ace Felix Hernandez. The signing Chone Figgins gives the Mariners incredible flexibility in the field and Figgins provides a great number two hitter that gets on base behind Ichiro. And then the Mariners did the unthinkable and managed to trade for Cliff Lee, a dominant number one starter (for one year, eight million) without trading their top three prospects.
The true progress of the Mariners can also be seen in Zduriencik's ability to trade toxic assets like Carlos Silva and Brandon Morrow for pieces that are much more valuable to the team. I could not believe what I saw when I woke up to the news that Carlos Silva had been miraculously traded to the Chicago Cubs for Milton Bradley. Silva was worth less than an order of garlic fries at Safeco on the 2010 Mariners, and to get a guy that could potentially be in the lineup everyday with a great OBP is just what the doctor ordered. Even though I thought Morrow could be an important piece of the 2010 club, I have come to acknowledge the fact that if the Mariners are going to win in 2010, Brandon League offers the team more than Morrow.
Following those two trades, the Mariners re-signed center fielder Franklin 'Death to Flying Things' Gutierrez to a four year, 20 million dollar deal. Gutierrez should have won a gold glove last season and his swing is a joy to behold. In 2009 Gutierrez hit 18 homeruns, drove in 70, stole 16 bases, and hit at a .283 clip. Guti is only 27 years-old and is entering the prime of his playing career. Having a guy with those defensive capabilities and a player who could hit 20 home runs a year for 5 million per? Any team would love to have that. The addition of Casey Kotchman at first base provides excellent defense and a solid contact hitter to a lineup that looks to be rooted in on-base-percentage and getting hits over just swinging for home runs.
The kicker of the whole offseason though has to be re-signing King Felix. The Mariners have been historically a team that is forced to trade all of its talent to bigger market clubs because they either did not have the cash to re-sign or the players just wanted to leave for more attention elsewhere. Going way back in Mariners history, examples of this include Mark Langston, Randy Johnson, Tino Martinez, Ken Griffey Jr, and Alex Rodriguez. On the evidence of the past two offseasons, under the new management this will not be the case.
The move proves to the Mariner fan base that the team is serious about contending in 2010 and beyond. It signals that the Mariners are a big club and that they are able to keep the players they want. Having Felix locked up for the next five years ought to bring in more free agents and more wins for the Mariners.
So Mariners fans, break out that bottle of champagne and celebrate like Kool & The Gang. "Celebrate good times, come on!"
