SEATTLE — There are signings and there are signals.
The Seattle Mariners signed free agent left fielder Raul Ibanez to plug an important gap in their offense Wednesday.
In the eyes of one player eager to see how serious the Mariners are about improving the team, they sent more than a subliminal message in getting Ibanez.
"It’s a signal that they’re not going to mess around," said starting pitcher Ryan Franklin, enthused that the Mariners didn’t wait for other signings to determine the market value of free agents before nabbing Ibanez. "It’s not like we didn’t have a solid team the last three years, but they’re not sitting around. It looks like they’re going out and doing everything they can to put a world championship on the field."
One addition may not install the Mariners as World Series favorites for 2004, but Ibanez addresses a weakness on a team that struggled offensively and missed the playoffs a second straight season.
When it became apparent that both sides were vitally interested in each other, an agreement happened quickly between Ibanez and the Mariners. He will get a three-year contract believed to be worth about $13 million.
"No doubt about it, I sensed an aggressiveness on their part," Ibanez said. "They made it an easy decision for me."
Ibanez, who climbed through the Mariners’ minor league system but never got consistent playing time at the major league level before they let him go, flourished after signing with the Kansas City Royals in 2001. He batted .294 each of the last two seasons, hit 24 home runs with 103 RBI in 2002 and 18 homers with 90 RBI last season.
In the process, Ibanez battered Mariners pitchers. He hit .406 against the M’s in 2002 and 2003 with five home runs and 12 RBI.
"He’s a tough out," said Franklin, a close friend who spent considerable time as Ibanez’ teammate in the minor leagues. "He wore us out last year."
Those numbers, plus Ibanez’s .406 batting average at Safeco Field the last two years, made it easy for the Mariners to act fast even though free agent market values remain unsettled.
"My guess is he got a bunch of offers," Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi said. "When the market is clear, I think you’ll look at this and say it was a fair deal. He didn’t get too little and he didn’t get too much."
Randy Winn, last season’s left fielder, will feel the impact of Ibanez’ signing more than any other Mariner.
At best, Winn will move to center field if free agent Mike Cameron doesn’t re-sign. At worst, he could find himself looking for a job because he is eligible for arbitration.
Winn had a solid season when he batted .295 and looms to get a raise from the $3.5 million he made this year. The Mariners could decide not to tender a contract, especially under Bavasi, who prefers to avoid arbitration.
"We have every intention of trying to make something work here," Bavasi said. "But he is arbitration eligible and you’ve got to be careful with that."
Winn’s weak throwing arm isn’t the best fit for spacious Safeco Field, although manager Bob Melvin downplayed that factor.
"You don’t see many runners thrown out from center field anymore," Melvin said.
The Mariners would like to re-sign Cameron but realize it may take time for him to gauge his value.
Cameron, who made $7 million last season, indicated after the season that he wanted no part of another year at Safeco Field. He had a different message Tuesday in a phone conversation with Bavasi.
"He said, ‘I got frustrated there from time to time but I think I can play there. … I’m real comfortable with coming back there,’ "Bavasi said. "I told him, ‘OK, I can’t tell you where that’s going to lead, but … if you’re saying you’re interested, we can look into that and see where it goes. No promises.’ "
Five minutes later, Bavasi was on the phone with Cameron’s agent.
"He is a free agent who has every right and intention to test the market, and he should," Bavasi said. "But he’s not afraid to come back here, and that’s the good news."
Korean slugger to visit M’s: Lee Seung-Yeop, a home run-hitting first baseman for the Samsung Lions of Korea, will visit Mariners executives at Safeco Field today as one stop on his tour of major league ballparks.
The 27-year-old Lee, a free agent after playing in Korea for nine years, set the Asian single-season record with 56 home runs this year, breaking the 39-year-old record by Sadaharu Oh.
Ted Heid, the Mariners’ director of Pacific Rim operations, said it’s difficult to project what kind of power Lee would have in the major leagues.
"But even to the novice baseball eye, you have to consider this gentleman based on his numbers alone, plus the fact that he’s a left-handed hitter," Heid said.
The Mariners seem well-stocked at first base, with John Olerud and backup Greg Colbrunn entering the final years of their contracts with the M’s.
M’s name advance scout: The Mariners have named Steve Peck, who was the Everett AquaSox’s pitching coach in 1997, as their advance scout.
Peck, 36, has worked in the Seattle organization since 1996 and last year was the club’s area scouting supervisor in the Southwest U.S. He pitched in the Oakland, California and Milwaukee minor league systems, with a 38-24 record and six saves.
Peck replaces Stan Williams, who became the Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ advance scout.
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