M's notes

It was mail call with Jim Street a few days ago at the Seattle site. A few Rattler related questions, after the inevitable Alex Rodriguez question...

With Alex Rodriguez opting out of his contract with the Yankees, do you see any chance of the Mariners trying to sign him? It seems to me he needs to be in a place where he won't be constantly ridiculed by the fans and media, and I think a return to Seattle would benefit both parties.
-- Tyler L., Tigard, Ore.

The way I see it, the only way Rodriguez would ever come back to Seattle is if the Mariners offer him more money than any other MLB organization -- and that is not going to happen.

There's more to it than that.

How many years does a player have to play until he is eligible to become a free agent? What happens with players like Adam Jones, who has now been brought up for a month or so in the last two seasons? Does this mean that he has used up two years already?
-- Leigh G. Christchurch, New Zealand

There are several ways a player can be eligible for free agency, but let's concentrate on Jones. Jones needs at least six MLB seasons to become eligible for free agency, and a "season" consists of 172 days, which includes time spent on the 25-man roster and the 15- and/or 60-day Major League disabled lists. Going into the 2008 season, the 22-year-old Jones has accumulated 139 days of service time, so he still has five-plus seasons ahead of him before becoming eligible for free agency.

You'd have to be from New Zealand not to know that. (That's a joke...kind of)

The Mariners drafted a catcher in the first round seven or eight years ago. I think his name was Christianson. Whatever happened to him?

-- Philip H., Pinehurst, N.C.

Ryan Christianson was the Mariners' No. 1 Draft choice in 1999 and the 11th overall selection. He spent six seasons in the organization, climbing as high as Triple-A Tacoma before being released. He played for the Devil Rays organization in 2006 and in the Cardinals farm system this past season, batting .211 in 46 games with Triple-A Memphis.

The '99 Draft overall was a bummer. The only notable players selected ahead of Christianson were Josh Beckett (No. 2, Marlins), Barry Zito (No. 9, Athletics) and Ben Sheets (No. 10, Brewers). Among the few post-Christianson notables were Jason Jennings (No. 16, Rockies) and Alex Rios (No. 19, Blue Jays). Rios is a third baseman, and all of the others are pitchers.

Christianson was a Rattler in 2000.

Now that [Jeff] Clement has a few years under his belt in the organization's farm system, what do you think the chances are that he backs up Kenji Johjima next season? I know Jamie Burke did an exceptional job as the backup, but how long can they hold back on the next Joe Mauer?
-- Lance R., Medford, Ore.

That's one of the decisions the organization faces during the offseason. One of the dangers of putting a potential young star like Clement in a backup role is that it could impede his progress the way it did Rene Rivera. Burke is an older catcher who did a terrific job as the backup in 2007, and he obviously deserves a chance to come back. But if manager John McLaren could find enough playing time for Clement, either at catcher or designated hitter, the team probably would be better in the long run.

It will be interesting to see what happens with this situation.

Elsewhere, Robert Rohrbaugh ('05) gets a story in the local paper, The Hanover (PA) Evening Sun...via the MILB.com

Rohrbaugh named Seattle's top minor league pitcher

Robert Rohrbaugh's numbers this year were pretty impressive.

The Littlestown High graduate went 13-8 with a 3.12 ERA for the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx and the Tacoma Rainiers, the Seattle Mariners' top two minor league affiliates.

Throw in the fact those two clubs had a combined win percentage of .452 and those stats look even better.

With that in mind, Rohrbaugh was named the Mariners' Minor League Pitcher of the Year by MiLB.com.

"It means a lot," Rohrbaugh said. "It's a great honor to have. I'll use that as a stepping stone toward my big goal, to become a major league baseball player."

Last, here is the top story at the Mariner web site as of this evening...

Pitching tops Mariners' wish list

A lot in there about some some ex-Rattler pitchers...and non-pitchers, too. They are in bold italics

If [Ryan] Rowland-Smith and/or [Brandon] Morrow make the rotation, that naturally would open a couple of bullpen spots. The Mariners would like hard-throwing righty Mark Lowe to fill Morrow's spot as a setup man for closer J.J. Putz.

Lowe's work last season was limited after he underwent elbow surgery. McLaren, who has seen Lowe throw this winter at the Peoria training complex, said, "I think he's healthy. He's coming along real well."

Seattle's bullpen held up nicely for most of last season with Putz, George Sherrill, Morrow and Sean Green meshing well. Lowe will be added to that group, along with other strong relief candidates in Eric O'Flaherty, Ryan Feierabend and Jon Huber.

...

...most of the spring news will be generated by promising prospect Adam Jones, the team's first-round pick in 2003. Right field will be his position to lose. Jones, who played briefly for the club the past couple of seasons, is still developing but has shown genuine power potential.

Another former first-round pick, catcher Jeff Clement (2005), could make the team out of Spring Training.

...

Prospects such as Wladimir Balentien, Matt Tuiasosopo and Yung Chi Chen will have their time. It just might not be next season.