Russell Branyan was prepared to play baseball in Japan next year in order to become an everyday player for the first time in his career.
Then the Seattle Mariners called with a better idea.
They wanted Branyan, along with his powerful but historically on-again, off-again bat, as their first baseman in 2009. Branyan jumped at that opportunity, signing a one-year contract with the Mariners on Wednesday.
The Associated Press reported the deal was worth $1.4 million, with $500,000 in incentives.
General manager Jack Zduriencik said Branyan, a role player throughout his nine-year career, will go to spring training as the starting first baseman.
“I know what Russell can do,” said Zduriencik, the former scouting director for Milwaukee, where Branyan played this year. “I’ve seen him put spurts together that can be very impressive. He has an opportunity to get as much playing time as he’s had in his career. A lot of that will be determined by Russell’s performance.”
Branyan has never gotten as many as 400 bats in any of his big-league seasons with the Indians, Reds, Brewers, Rays, Padres, Phillies and Cardinals. He got 132 this year while platooning at first base with Milwaukee, batting .250 with 12 homers and 20 RBI.
His best season was 2002, when he hit 24 homers and drove in 56 runs with the Indians and Reds, but also struck out 151 times in 378 at-bats.
The Mariners have been down that strikeout path before at first base, where Richie Sexson averaged more than 140 strikeouts his first three years before the team cut him midway through this season.
“Russell has got as much power as anyone in the game and he can hit them a country mile,” Zduriencik said. “When he gets into that strikeout mode, then he doesn’t get the playing time.”
Branyan, who’ll be 33 on Dec. 19, has averaged a strikeout in every 2 1/2 at-bats in his career. Like so many other hitters, Branyan says the strikeouts go down with more consistent playing time. He said the Mariners told him he’ll get 50-60 at-bats at spring training.
“I’ve always told myself if I can get two or three weeks of consistent at-bats, the rest will take care of itself,” he said. “It happened several times in my career when I got a chance to play three or four weeks due to someone else’s injury, and I’ve always been better with more consistent reps. I’ve been told that I’ll have an excellent opportunity in Seattle to get those reps as long as I play well early.”
Branyan said he spoke with the Pittsburgh Pirates about a one-year contract, along with a Japanese team that had a starting job for him but also nothing more than a one-year deal.
Branyan’s signing isn’t the best news for two other Mariners first-base hopefuls, Mike Morse and Bryan LaHair.
Morse is playing winter ball for Lara in Venezuela, batting .306 with six doubles, six homers, 23 RBI and 20 strikeouts in 98 at-bats. He has played 13 games at first base, five at third and seven at DH.
LaHair batted .250 in 136 at-bats after being called up to the Mariners in July but didn’t show the power the club had hoped, hitting three home runs with four doubles, 10 RBI and 40 strikeouts.
The Branyan signing also rekindled the disappointing memory of Brad Wilkerson, another left-handed hitter who the Mariners signed last winter hoping he would provide much-needed power. Instead, Wilkerson batted .232 with only four extra-base hits, none of them homers, in 56 at-bats before the Mariners released him in early May.
“I wasn’t here in the past and not enormously familiar with the mindset on what they tried to accomplish (with Wilkerson),” Zduriencik said. “But anywhere Russell has played, clubs have always been waiting for this guy to put a big year together. I look at the positives to this.
“Russell is going to swing and miss and Russell will have his strikeouts. But Russell also is going to hit the ball out of the ballpark.”
Read Kirby Arnold’s blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com.
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