Published: Saturday, July 10, 2010
Can Smoak light Mariners’ fire?
Seattle trades ace Cliff Lee and reliever Mark Lowe to Texas for first baseman Justin Smoak and three Rangers prospects.
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Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press
Justin Smoak of the Texas Rangers gets a hit against the Chicago White Sox on June 1. The Seattle Mariners traded for Smoak and three minor-league prospects on Friday, sending Texas highly sought-after left-handed starting pitcher Cliff Lee and injured relief pitcher Mark Lowe.
SEATTLE — The realism of the standings along with the trade jewel he held in star pitcher Cliff Lee were too much for Seattle Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik to ignore.
On Friday, with several teams offering players who Zduriencik believed could help the Mariners, he chose to deal with the Texas Rangers when they finally put a name on the table he had asked for weeks ago: power-hitting first baseman Justin Smoak.
The negotiations were done at that point, and Zduriencik pulled off a six-player trade with the Rangers by acquiring Smoak and three minor leaguers in exchange for Lee and relief pitcher Mark Lowe.
The Mariners also acquired right-handed pitchers Blake Beavan and Josh Lueke and second baseman Matt Lawson. The three played for the Rangers’ Class AA Frisco team and they will report to the Mariners’ Class AA West Tennessee team.
“We had talked to Texas for quite a while,” Zduriencik said. “There were X-amount of players that we, as a front-office group, had identified. When Texas stepped up (with Smoak), we had the parameters to do a deal. We asked for this player in the very beginning.”
Smoak is expected to be in uniform and start at first base in tonight’s game against the Yankees.
The trade ended a day of twists, turns and, yes, online Tweets that began with multiple reports that the Mariners and Yankees were close to finalizing a trade. That one reportedly would have brought the Mariners a package of prospects that featured minor league catcher Jesus Montero, a highly regarded hitting prospect whose defense was considered suspect.
Instead, the trigger to the trade became Smoak, a 23-year-old switch-hitter who is struggling as a big-league rookie — batting .209 — but has shown power with eight home runs and 34 RBI.
The Mariners believe he’ll recover from what’s been a difficult adjustment to major league pitching in his second full pro season. Zduriencik, a former scouting director with the Brewers, said he has known Smoak since he was a high school player.
“We think he’s a quality player who’s got a great approach at the plate,” Zduriencik said. “He’s big, he’s lanky and he’s got a great swing from both sides of the plate. If this guy is what we think he is, he’s going to be a cornerstone as we move forward.”
Manager Don Wakamatsu said Smoak will the Mariners’ everyday first baseman, which will slice into the playing time for opening-day first baseman Casey Kotchman, who is a defensive star but has struggled with a .212 average entering Friday’s game.
Lee went 8-3 with a 2.34 earned run average in 13 starts, numbers that earned him a place in the All-Star Game on Tuesday in Anaheim. Ironically, he will wear a Rangers uniform.
When the Mariners acquired Lee last December by trading three minor leaguers to the Philadelphia Phillies, they envisioned a 1-2 pitching tandem with Felix Hernandez that would make them competitive in the American League West Division.
Instead, the Mariners struggled to score runs and fell into last place, where they were 16 games behind the first-place Rangers when play began Friday.
“I don’t think anybody in spring training expected it to turn out the way it has,” Lee said. “When you aren’t playing well, things like this happen.”
The Mariners not only were hopelessly out of contention for a playoff berth, they also didn’t believe they could compete to re-sign Lee when he’s eligible to become a free agent after this season. Those factors, along with the potential to land a young player like Smoak who they believe will aid the offense, led to the trade.
“We had a player who’s a top-of-the-rotation starter and he’s in the middle of a season where he’s on top of his game,” Zduriencik said. “He brings you instant value.”
Zduriencik also responded to Lee’s comments Thursday when he said he invited the Mariners to discuss a contract extension during spring training but the club decided against it. Zduriencik said the Mariners discussed parameters and determined that they wouldn’t be able to re-sign Lee.
“Did we have discussions? Yes. Did we talk about parameters? Yes,” Zduriencik said. “You gauge parameters and look at where this thing is headed and you make a decision. I think from our perspective, we got a reasonably clear message that it would have been difficult to consummate a deal.”
The past few weeks, speculation centered on discussions between the Mariners and the Yankees, Rangers, New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds and Tampa Bay Rays.
“We’ve gone through this process for quite a while and it’s gone on with several ballclubs,” he said. “Did we have situations that were close? Yes. But at the end there were always things that you have to look into a little further. As we stand, we chose this deal.”
The loss of Lowe was a surprise because he is out for most, if not all, of the season because of a back injury. He was the Mariners’ most important setup reliever last year but pitched in pain much of this season before having surgery to repair a herniated disc on June 15.
On Friday, with several teams offering players who Zduriencik believed could help the Mariners, he chose to deal with the Texas Rangers when they finally put a name on the table he had asked for weeks ago: power-hitting first baseman Justin Smoak.
The negotiations were done at that point, and Zduriencik pulled off a six-player trade with the Rangers by acquiring Smoak and three minor leaguers in exchange for Lee and relief pitcher Mark Lowe.
The Mariners also acquired right-handed pitchers Blake Beavan and Josh Lueke and second baseman Matt Lawson. The three played for the Rangers’ Class AA Frisco team and they will report to the Mariners’ Class AA West Tennessee team.
“We had talked to Texas for quite a while,” Zduriencik said. “There were X-amount of players that we, as a front-office group, had identified. When Texas stepped up (with Smoak), we had the parameters to do a deal. We asked for this player in the very beginning.”
Smoak is expected to be in uniform and start at first base in tonight’s game against the Yankees.
The trade ended a day of twists, turns and, yes, online Tweets that began with multiple reports that the Mariners and Yankees were close to finalizing a trade. That one reportedly would have brought the Mariners a package of prospects that featured minor league catcher Jesus Montero, a highly regarded hitting prospect whose defense was considered suspect.
Instead, the trigger to the trade became Smoak, a 23-year-old switch-hitter who is struggling as a big-league rookie — batting .209 — but has shown power with eight home runs and 34 RBI.
The Mariners believe he’ll recover from what’s been a difficult adjustment to major league pitching in his second full pro season. Zduriencik, a former scouting director with the Brewers, said he has known Smoak since he was a high school player.
“We think he’s a quality player who’s got a great approach at the plate,” Zduriencik said. “He’s big, he’s lanky and he’s got a great swing from both sides of the plate. If this guy is what we think he is, he’s going to be a cornerstone as we move forward.”
Manager Don Wakamatsu said Smoak will the Mariners’ everyday first baseman, which will slice into the playing time for opening-day first baseman Casey Kotchman, who is a defensive star but has struggled with a .212 average entering Friday’s game.
Lee went 8-3 with a 2.34 earned run average in 13 starts, numbers that earned him a place in the All-Star Game on Tuesday in Anaheim. Ironically, he will wear a Rangers uniform.
When the Mariners acquired Lee last December by trading three minor leaguers to the Philadelphia Phillies, they envisioned a 1-2 pitching tandem with Felix Hernandez that would make them competitive in the American League West Division.
Instead, the Mariners struggled to score runs and fell into last place, where they were 16 games behind the first-place Rangers when play began Friday.
“I don’t think anybody in spring training expected it to turn out the way it has,” Lee said. “When you aren’t playing well, things like this happen.”
The Mariners not only were hopelessly out of contention for a playoff berth, they also didn’t believe they could compete to re-sign Lee when he’s eligible to become a free agent after this season. Those factors, along with the potential to land a young player like Smoak who they believe will aid the offense, led to the trade.
“We had a player who’s a top-of-the-rotation starter and he’s in the middle of a season where he’s on top of his game,” Zduriencik said. “He brings you instant value.”
Zduriencik also responded to Lee’s comments Thursday when he said he invited the Mariners to discuss a contract extension during spring training but the club decided against it. Zduriencik said the Mariners discussed parameters and determined that they wouldn’t be able to re-sign Lee.
“Did we have discussions? Yes. Did we talk about parameters? Yes,” Zduriencik said. “You gauge parameters and look at where this thing is headed and you make a decision. I think from our perspective, we got a reasonably clear message that it would have been difficult to consummate a deal.”
The past few weeks, speculation centered on discussions between the Mariners and the Yankees, Rangers, New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds and Tampa Bay Rays.
“We’ve gone through this process for quite a while and it’s gone on with several ballclubs,” he said. “Did we have situations that were close? Yes. But at the end there were always things that you have to look into a little further. As we stand, we chose this deal.”
The loss of Lowe was a surprise because he is out for most, if not all, of the season because of a back injury. He was the Mariners’ most important setup reliever last year but pitched in pain much of this season before having surgery to repair a herniated disc on June 15.
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