What we know is that Jeff Clement was pulled from the Tacoma Rainiers’ game Tuesday night at Reno before his second at-bat. We also know Clement wasn’t hurt, wasn’t sick and wasn’t disciplined (this is the last kid who’d have a discipline issue).
Mariners officials I spoke with late last night and already this morning are saying the same thing — that they can’t talk, or they don’t know anything, or if they knew something they can’t talk.
I traded text messages late last night with Clement asking if there was a trade or if he knew what was going on, and his response was: “No clue.”
While everybody is assuming that Clement is being traded, could something else be in the works? Could he be coming up to the Mariners as they finish off a trade package involving, say, first baesman Russell Branyan? Branyan’s name has been kicked around in trade speculation, and with the Mariners awash in first basemen at Tacoma, it wouldn’t be a shock if he’s moved.
But Clement as his replacement in Seattle? He has played only six games at first base, all recently. I don’t see the Mariners calling Clement up to play first base because they have relied too much on a defense-first philosophy when plugging holes. That’s the same reason we didn’t see Chris Shelton at third after Adrian Beltre had shoulder surgery, even though Shelton played 62 games at third this year for Tacoma.
However, Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik is known to be keenly interested in Clement’s bat and how it would play at the big league level now. He has talked with his minor league staffers about it. After a slow start, Clement is batting .288 with 14 home runs and 68 RBI. Zduriencik also has sought reports recently from his minor league people on how well Clement is playing at first base. Hmmmm.
Let’s poke this ember a little more.
Branyan hasn’t played the past two games because of what the Mariners said was a back problem, although manager Don Wakamatsu said Tuesday that it acttually has been a good time to give Branyan some time off because the Blue Jays were throwing left-handers. I’ll buy that, although if Branyan isn’t in there today against righty Roy Halladay, then what should we think?
Or how about this one: Clement is being called up to be the Mariners’ left-handed DH. He thrived in that role at Tacoma. But giving him that job at the big league level would mean the Mariners have given up on Ken Griffey Jr. While Junior has done little to prove he should stay in that job, batting .211 wuth 10 home runs and 27 RBI, I have a hard time believing the Mariners will start his retirement party now.
It’s fun to think of all those possibilities, although I still would be surprised if Clement is involved in anything but a trade. Almost every time I speak with the Mariners’ minor league staffers about Clement, they mention how “everybody still asks about him” in terms of wanting to trade for him. The Mariners have always said they were keeping Clement.
This time, their answer could be different.
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