SEATTLE – Jeff Cirillo’s wish, and that of the Seattle Mariners, has come true.
The Mariners have reached an agreement to send Cirillo, the third baseman who spent two miserable seasons in Seattle and asked to be traded, to the San Diego Padres in exchange for three players.
The trade, expected to be announced today, will bring right-handed pitcher Kevin Jarvis, catcher Wiki Gonzalez and utility player Dave Hansen to the Mariners.
Mariners officials would not confirm the trade Monday night, but Cirillo did with mixed feelings.
“I’m happy that there’s some closure,” Cirillo said by phone from his Redmond home. “But it’ll be with me for a long time that I have a sense of letting a lot of people down in Seattle. I’m a proud guy and yet I’m a humble guy. I feel bad that things didn’t work out the way they were supposed to work out.”
Jarvis, a journeyman who has pitched for the Padres, Reds, Rockies, Reds, Tigers, Twins and A’s, has a 5.83 career earned run average. With no room in the Mariners’ starting rotation, he could compete for a job in the bullpen.
Gonzalez has struggled with the Padres, batting just .238, and spent much of his time last year in the minor leagues.
Hansen, primarily a third baseman, has batted .265 in a 13-year career and the Mariners will look to use him as a pinch-hitter.
The trade ends the most difficult chapter of Cirillo’s 11-year major league career.
The Mariners acquired the two-time All-Star before the 2002 season in a trade that sent pitchers Denny Stark, Brian Fuentes and Jose Paniagua to the Colorado Rockies. Cirillo had a .311 career batting average at the time and, as a spray hitter who played excellent defense, seemed a perfect fit at Safeco Field.
Instead, batted .249 in 2002 and .205 in 2003.
By the end of last season, Cirillo had lost his starting job and expected to be traded or released, even though the Mariners owed him about $15 million for the two years remaining on his contract.
The Mariners appeared to have a trade worked out several weeks ago with the New York Mets in exchange for outfielder Roger Cedeno. Cirillo, who has a limited no-trade clause, blocked that deal, saying New York would take him too far from his family.
Cirillo, a native of Pasadena, Calif., who has made his offseason home in the Seattle area long before the Mariners acquired him, said he didn’t know the financial details of the Seattle-San Diego trade.
“For me to have a career in the major leagues, I needed to move,” he said.
Cirillo will be a backup with the Padres, who have Sean Burroughs as their starting third baseman. Still, he said, it’s a good situation.
“All things being considered, this is probably the No. 1 spot for me,” he said. “As of now I’m a backup. It’s not what I want to be, but I’ve always been a firm believer that the grass is not always greener on the other side. But in this instance, I’m willing to take that chance.
“I really want ed things to work out. Maybe I wanted it too much. I’ve been under a lot of scrutiny, some of it justifiably so. I make a lot of money and it puts you out there (to be criticized). I fully understand that. I accept the frustration of a lot of fans.
“But at the same time, it wasn’t from a lack of effort from the Mariners or myself. There was a lot of sleepless in Seattle for me. In the end, it just wasn’t going to work.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
