Comments on: Report: Mariners agree to one-year deal with left-hander Joe Saunders

By: Reflex

Reflex — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 22:51:35 +0000

To be fair, the M’s haven’t been competitive for longer than the Twins…

By: egbrainerd

egbrainerd — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 15:46:22 +0000

Saunders didn’t want to pitch for the Twins. Plain and simple. Sure it’s the Twins fault that they haven’t been competitive the last 2 years and won’t for the next 2, but ultimately, if he wanted to be in a Twins uni, he would be.

By: zzalapski

zzalapski — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 14:52:41 +0000

If Saunders was willing to go for a one-year deal, how many prospects was he going to block?

By: paperlions

paperlions — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:49:39 +0000

The Twins have a fantastic group of prospects right now including some power arms that project to be top of the rotation guys in 2-3 years.

I really don’t know what to think about the idea that signing Saunders represents an attempt to remain competitive. Saunders has been a below average starter his entire career.

FWIW, those recently defected Cuban players probably won’t be available for many months…..and there are a lot of rich teams willing to spend money on them. It isn’t like the Pohlad family has a history of spending….despite being among the very wealthiest owners in MLB.

By: joenash72

joenash72 — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 08:46:46 +0000

At least now we have top-3 of Felix, Saunders, Iwakama. They can let Taijuan Walker, Danny Hultzen, James Paxon, and Brandon Maurer compete to knock Blake Beaven and Erasmo Ramirez out of the 4-5 spots on the rotation. While some things I’ve read say Walker may have highest upside, it sounds like the others will make it up before him…

By: djjackson81

djjackson81 — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 06:38:50 +0000

Walker needs to be in the rotation

By: yankeepunk3000

yankeepunk3000 — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 06:25:42 +0000

Good deal for the M’s, their rotation is about the same now. Except I do think he is a better choice then Vargas was, plus in that ballpark he will probably be more affective. Looks like the M’s are trying to contend, they have good pitching and a lot better offense. So here’s hoping.

By: seattlenative57

seattlenative57 — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 05:56:29 +0000

Nice get for Ms until Hultzen, Walker and/or Paxton make the jump.

By: Reflex

Reflex — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 05:28:26 +0000

Not a bad deal, the M’s rotation ends up being about the same, but now with Kendrys adding some pop to the lineup. Given that Vargas is on his last year this is roughly ending up where they were before, but now with a bat.

Kind of odd that the Angels didn’t grab Saunders. Probably didn’t want to wait any longer as he was still seeking multi-year deals.

By: byjiminy

byjiminy — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 03:33:27 +0000

The Twins had a desperate need for pitching and tens of millions of unspent payroll, thanks to their new stadium. They claimed they were pursuing him. Unless the Mariners gave him something utterly ridiculous, for the Twins to lose a bidding war when he was willing to settle for a one year contract reflects very poorly on their sincerity in attempting to remain remotely competitive.

With all the money they are stuffing in their pockets, they now have no excuse to lose a bidding war on those Cuban infielders, either of which would cost a pittance compared to a real free agent.