Ackley Goes for Flores and Ramirez

Dustin Ackley (hj_west, Wikimedia Commons)

The Mariners entered the trade deadline shenanigans today in what has proven to already be a remarkably active and dramatic deadline. This deal isn't likely to enter trade deadline lore though. The Yankees acquired Dustin Ackley for OF Ramon Flores and RHP Jose Ramirez.

Ackley, we know. He was supposed to hit for a high average and the question was how much power he would flash. Instead, he has struggled to hit and gleaned most of his value out of his defense. Ackley is suffering though a miserable 2015 season, easily the worst of his career. Perhaps he will bounce back with a change of scenery, particularly one with a short right field porch like Yankee Stadium.

Interestingly, Ackley was in the announced lineup tonight, so perhaps this trade came together quickly. If Ackley had not been in the lineup would anyone have thought a trade was about to go down? I doubt it, and that says about all you need to know about Ackley's 2015 and why this is not a significant deal.

The Yankees must like Dustin Ackley to some degree, because the Mariners got a respectable return. It is probably a stronger return than what the M's got from the Yankees for Ichiro several years back (D.J. Mitchell and Danny Farquhar).

Ramon Flores is an outfielder with fringy tools. Zduriencik on an interview with 710AM Seattle mentioned that bullpen coach Mike Rojas was on a coaching staff for a team that Flores played with in Venezuela over the winter and spoke highly of his character. Flores got a cup of coffee in the majors this year, and struggled, though only in 32 at-bats. In AAA his triple-slash is .286/.377/.417 which speaks to his scouting reports. I like the high on-base percentage because the Mariners are starved for OBP, though nothing else about the line suggests raw tools or upside. He is probably a fourth or fifth outfielder at best, but brings a skillset the Mariners have largely ignored the past few years. Flores actually takes some pitches, works some counts, and generally maximizes the talent he has.

Jose Ramirez is the more interesting piece in return. Ramirez, although 25 years old, has some upside as a reliable bullpen arm. Zduriencik, in the aforementioned 710AM interview, mentioned that scouting reports have Ramirez pitching in the mid to upper 90s. He has a live arm, and has 56 strikeouts in 49.2 AAA innings this year. Like Flores, Ramirez has some limited MLB experience which hasn't gone well. Control issues have hampered him in a paltry 13 innings over the past two seasons, though the strikeouts have carried into the majors.

The Yankees got the better end of this deal. I still believe Dustin Ackley is a capable MLB player. New York seems likely to put Ackley back at second base, where he was an underrated defender and his fringy offense plays much better. The Yankees just acquired a capable second baseman for spare parts on their 40-man roster.

However, the Mariners got something. They added some outfield and pitching depth, two things they could use. Flores and his on-base skills refresh my soul like a long sip of ice water on a sweltering day. Guys like Ramirez, from time to time, find some command and emerge as quality bullpen arms. Ackley wasn't playing regularly now, he wasn't likely to play regularly in future years, and he had become a disappointment given the lofty expectations that followed him from draft day. The deal is what it is. You can go on with the rest of your day now.

Dustin Ackley 2.0 Reloaded With a Vengeance

Dustin Ackley, looking like a good hitter

Lloyd McClendon anointed Dustin Ackley the starting left fielder in spring training and Ackley has done nothing in camp to relinquish the spot. McClendon's announcement was a minor surprise at the time, given the M's seemed to acquire corner outfielders (or at least definitely not center fielders) in Corey Hart and Logan Morrison, and Ackley played center field last year after getting moved off of second base.

Ackley is one of the more interesting pieces to the Mariners 2014 puzzle now, especially given a sizzling spring training where he has sprayed hard line drives into the outfield gaps with a regularity unseen since his rookie campaign. What might he be as the Mariners regular left fielder? Can he be more than a spring training mirage?

I think so. There are reasons to believe that this is the year Dustin Ackley finds a home in the majors.

Let's start with Ackley's big spring training. Neil Payne at the re-launched FiveThirtyEight investigated spring training stats and found that they do have some predictive power. Payne's model suggests that especially hot (and icy) spring trainings warrant updated projections. He identified a handful of players at the extremes this year, and Ackley falls in the "extremely hot" category.*

*Along with Brad Miller. Crazy legs could be very good this year. Enjoy saying you knew how good he was before everyone else finds out.

Payne uses Marcel projections for a player's offensive output, which put Ackley at a .316 wOBA (below average). His spring puts him at a projected .323 wOBA (almost average).

Hitting isn't the whole story though. There's also Ackley's base running and defense. He routinely grades out as an above average baserunner (2.0-ish BsR per year), and in limited left field action last year looked bad statistically (-10.3 UZR/150). So, I went looking for a 2013 left fielder with about a .323 wOBA, 2.0 BsR, and -10.3 UZR/150 to see how valuable he was.

The best I came up with was Michael Brantley, who strikes me as a decent comparison beyond statistics. Like Ackley he has marginal power with good speed. Brantley had a .320 wOBA last season with 3.1 BsR and -10.8 UZR/150. That amounted to 1.7 WAR. Roughly 2.0 WAR is considered an average everyday player by rule of thumb.

So, given Ackley might hit just a bit better than Brantley but run a level below him on the base paths, with roughly the same defense, I'd pencil him in for a projected 1-1.5 WAR. That would make Ackley a below average left fielder but at least a contributor.

However, a 1 WAR left fielder would be a real victory for the Mariners. Neither Raul Ibanez nor Jason Bay ran a positive WAR in the outfield last year, despite all their combined home runs. Moreover, Casper Wells is the only Mariner since 2009 to log any time in left field and post a WAR over 1.0 (he got up to 1.2 in 2012, though split time in center and right too).

There's also the matter of Ackley's -10 UZR defense. It's based off of only 81 innings in left field - literally only 9 full games worth. It's worth remembering these are games Ackley played in left field after practicing second base full time for the better part of four years. Even with little practice and a sudden change in mid-season, Inside Range metrics suggest Ackley made the expected plays in left field at a 95% rate and never faced the sort of marginal ball which could have been used to show where his range compares to other left fielders. So really, it's arguably more accurate to say Ackley's left field defense is an unknown.

Left field profiles well for Ackley's skill set, especially in Safeco Field. He has the speed to cover left field's ground in Safeco and he won't face the long throws that would be demanded of his below-average arm in center and right field. The only matter for turning his speed into good outfield defense is developing his ability to read fly balls and take direct routes to where they land. That's probably a matter of work more than anything else, and Ackley worked himself into an above average second basemen from scratch once he was drafted. Ackley was an outfielder and first basemen at North Carolina. He could be a decent left fielder and beat the below-average projection I used. Even if he ends up at 0 UZR that would add 1 WAR to his projected total.

Coming up with Ackley's projected 1-1.5 WAR is the result of forecasts built on top of forecasts. That means there is a large margin for error, especially in a sport already as variable as baseball. However, it's safe to say that more theoretical outcomes end up with Ackley being a positive contributor than not, and at a position where the Mariners haven't had a regular contributor for quite some time.

Also, if Ackley's scouting reports and production as a prospect are still worth something, then it seems his spring training is more a return to what he should be than some inexplicable leap forward. His athletic talent and work ethic suggest that he could be a decent defender in left field too. Projecting 1-1.5 WAR might be conservative for Ackley, and something closer to league average, or maybe even above, is a real possibility.

Mariners Need, and Can Get, a Centerfielder

Spring training couldn't start much worse for the Mariners. Hisashi Iwakuma is injured and won't open up the season with the Mariners. Franklin Gutierrez recently announced he won't play at all in 2014. Mind you both of these pieces of news came out before either player reported to spring training.

Forgive me for my lack of excitement around pitchers and catchers reporting. I only wonder what further horrors are in store once the Mariners actually play ball.

The Mariners roster had flaws before these injuries, but flaws have become open wounds already. The starting rotation really needs Taijuan Walker to step up, and he just might be able to do it. He kind of has to because the outfield is an utter mess that the Mariners would be smart to address.

Right now, the starting outfield is...what exactly? Logan Morrison, Michael Saunders, and Corey Hart? Maybe Dustin Ackley somewhere in there? Regardless, that could very well be the worst defensive outfield in Major League Baseball. What's even worse is that Safeco Field is one of the bigger outfields in the major leagues. I had my fingers crossed that Guti could somehow become the regular center fielder, because his defense alone would have saved the Mariners from a nightmarish scenario. The nightmare is reality as of now though - the Mariners simply aren't going to play outfield defense this year, apparently.*

*I will say that I like Michael Saunders, and I'm okay with him playing centerfield on occasion, or playing center regularly with strong corner defenders. Right now he has to save the entire outfield, and he's simply not Mike Trout out there.

The Mariners need a center fielder and I am convinced they can get one at a decent price. They need to call the Toronto Blue Jays.

Colby Rasmus

Toronto has a pair of center fielders on their roster, Anthony Gose and Colby Rasmus. Gose is unproven but has tremendous speed with questionable hitting ability. Rasmus is a borderline five-tool talent with only one year left before free agency.

The Blue Jays also have some holes up the middle. Ryan Goins is slated to be their opening day second basemen. The Mariners have guys like Dustin Ackley and Nick Franklin who might be able to fill that slot.

There's a deal to be made somewhere in there. Ackley for Gose? Ackley for Rasmus? Maybe the Jays would prefer Nick Franklin? Some other pieces would likely be needed, but the core framework for this deal might work.

The main focus for the Mariners seems to be on Nelson Cruz and getting another power hitter in general, but that outfield defense is the biggest hole on the Mariners roster right now. It can be improved too. Rasmus, as an added bonus, could be the power bat the Mariners want.

I don't like to make hypothetical trades because I don't have any information to really be able to tell what talks are going on or how other teams value Mariner players. I am pretty confident that the Jays and Mariners could find a deal that works for both teams though, and the Mariners look way better with Colby Rasmus or Anthony Gose in centerfield than they do without either of them.

2013 Mariners Commercials

The Mariners unveiled their 2013 commercials today, complete with a new slogan for the year - "True to the blue." The slogan is neither bad nor good in my book, but the commercials are worthy additions to the anthology of M's ads. In fact, do you want to know how big of a deal today's release was? The Catholic church elected a new pope in their wake. 'Nuff said.

Below are the new Mariners commercials, ranked in reverse order of how much I like them. See if you agree or disagree with me (although, quite frankly, there is no way to argue that my top two are the top two this year. They are head and shoulders above all the others.)

6. The Lineup

The most interesting thing to me about this commercial is that it probably goes down as the raciest ad to date in Mariners history. I wouldn't go as far as calling it inappropriate, but by Mariners standards it is past what I am used to seeing out of their image and brand.

5. One Wish

I feel as if this ad tries to punch a little fun at all the losses the past few years. I'm not sure why they cut the final wish off mid-sentence (avoid a jinx?) The ended with Raul is quite nice though. I feel like this ad could age disgracefully if the M's flounder, thanks to the ending.

4. Fan Mail

The creators/directors missed an opportunity in this commercial. Eric Wedge is a stealthy supporting actor. It's his responses to King Felix that made Larry Bernandez an all-time classic. His banter with Felix and "little Larry" last year also made that commercial work. Why didn't this ad have Wedge stop Ackley in the clubhouse hallway, and give him a chance to deliver his deadpan "you've got to be kidding me" line for the year? In fact, why couldn't Ackley and Wedge have some sort of contest where they see who can be more emotionless with their delivery of lines?

3. Focused & Relaxed

The silk pajamas are pretty awesome, although I think I would have cast someone different in Seager's role. The only problem is that just about anyone else in Seager's role would seem like the butt of the joke with all the terrible hitting we've seen in the past - oh, I guess decade or so at this point :( Now that I think of it, I feel like Morse's personality would have filled out the silk PJs better, and Seager could have worn the zen t-shirt.

2. Hottest Thing in Town

King Felix delivers another strong effort. Kudos to the M's for not running Larry Bernandez into the ground, and going in a different direction this year. My favorite part of the whole commercial is how shot after shot shows the San Diego Padres suffering. The Mariners and Padres will be better interleague rivals yet! My only qualm with this ad is that there is no Felixing. I am surprised and a bit disappointed that Felixing is nowhere to be found in any of the commercials this year.

1. The Wise Ol' Buffalo

I saw some photos of the buffalo hit Twitter as the Mariners filmed commercials, so I had high hopes for whichever commercial featured it. This one did not disappoint. The ad is random, clever, and somehow fits the personalities of Wilhelmsen and Ryan (at least how I imagine them as a fan with a Mariners blog).

Overall, I like this group of commercials. It seems like a few get played much more than the rest every year, and I know which ones I hope I see the most.

Justin Upton's Rejection a Shame

Justin Upton rejected a trade to the Mariners a couple days ago. This is the biggest news of the whole offseason for the Mariners, which sums up how the offseason has felt. The Mariners seems to have options, but none of them seem to happen.

The rumored package to get Upton was headlined by Taijuan Walker, and filled out with Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, and Nick Franklin.

Basically, I whole-heartedly agree with Dave Cameron's analysis. This was a fair trade for the Mariners. It would have hurt to see Walker leave, but great to see Upton in the M's lineup. Trades are trades, not free acquisitions of talent. A team loses something to gain something else.

This deal made incredible sense for the Mariners, particularly in light of who is on the roster right now.

Progress Report: Hitters

Here's part two in my series of grading player performances based on their performances so far. If you want to read part one on the pitching staff, go here. I will note that these grades are mostly based on the players' hitting performance, rather than defense, or fashion sense.The rest of the grades are arbitrarily determined and whatever I felt like giving them. Enjoy!

Ackley, Seager, and hype

Two weeks into the season it's already clear to me that both Dustin Ackley and Kyle Seager should be in the starting lineup regularly. This year is already about next year, and both Ackley and Seager look like two of the better hitters on the roster anyway.

It is convenient to look at Ackley as the crowned jewel among recent M's position prospects. That view was created, and maybe even warranted, when Ackley got picked second overall in the 2009 draft. The hype only escalated when Ackley was rated the M's top hitting prospect by pretty much any national scouting service as he worked his way through the minors. Seager, the M's third round pick from the same draft as Ackley, is hopefully one among the supporting cast.

Assume, at least for the next couple paragraphs, that Dustin Ackley and Kyle Seager were both signed off the streets by the Mariners for $250,000. If that's too low of an amount for you, raise it. Would the perception around Ackley, and the prospects around him, be any different if they had entered the organization as perfect equals?

Dustin Ackley Gets The Call

Generally, I avoid stories that have already been covered by the excellent ensemble of reporters and bloggers that dutifully follow the Mariners. However, I have to say something about Dustin Ackley. I just have to. I first noticed him as a freshman at North Carolina, and imagined how good he could be. For a fleeting second, I even wondered how wonderful that left-handed stroke would look in Safeco.

That was a pipe dream. Tomorrow, it's reality.

Mariners Farm At A Glance

I feel like my annual list of MLB draft prospects needs some kind of build up, if for no other reason because it is so long. It would feel like a shock to the system without fair warning, and a little stretching.

So, why not ease into this year's draft coma with a look at the Mariners farm system as it sits right now?

All in all, I do not think it has been as exciting of a year so far in the minors for the M's, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Many new players emerged last year, and some of them are following up break-out performances with worthy encores. That's good, because it makes it less likely that some of last year's youngsters are flashes in the pan.

Still, as in any year, there are surprises, both good and bad - as well as unsurprising performances, also good and bad. Below is my overview of the M's minor league affiliates, divided into hopefully useful groups:

Ichiro Gets His Hits

I haven't written enough on this blog about Ichiro. I think that says more about me than him. I'm not trying to be a counter-cultural blog here, but I am trying to give fresh thoughts and perspectives. Ichiro is rather robustly covered, and so he doesn't cross my mind very often as a writing topic.

Ichiro just knocked off my favorite player ever, Edgar Martinez, from the top of the M's career hit list. Even as a die-hard Edgar fan, I'm anything but bitter. Ichiro is known for his hit totals much, much more than Edgar ever was. There is no doubt that Ichiro deserves the honor he reached tonight, and I hope nobody catches him anytime soon.

Well, nobody with the exception of Dustin Ackley. It's okay with me if he gets 3,000 career hits.

Back to Ichiro though. Another reason I don't write much about him is because I don't know what to say. He is magnificent, but it is hard to describe exactly what makes him him.

Finally, Illuminating Roster Cuts

The Mariners trimmed their roster a bit before tonight's game, sending five players to the minor leagues. They are (drumroll please): 2B Dustin Ackley, C Steven Baron, INF Sean Kazmar, OF Gabe Gross, and LHP Fabio Castro.

I'll work my way from the least to most interesting.

Middle Infield Set

In a mildly surprising announcement, Brendan Ryan will be the M's starting shortstop, and Jack Wilson the starting second basemen. This officially puts an end to any hope Dustin Ackley would open the season with the Mariners, though really that was gone before pitchers and catchers reported.

What's surprising is that Ryan is at short, and Wilson is at second. The last time the Mariners tried shifting someone to second base wasn't all that long ago. It was Chone Figgins, last year, and he was horrible. Figgins also had 793.2 innings at second before the M's switched him over, whereas Jack Wilson has no experience at all.

Maybe this should not be surprising though. Brendan Ryan has some experience at second base, but much less than Figgins had. Really, he has played sparingly at second over the course of his career. Neither Wilson nor Ryan has played second base regularly, so one of them was going to be outside their comfort zone. The Mariners decided to push out the guy that is older, with worse legs, and likely worse defense at this point. Honestly, as great as Wilson was, Ryan is probably better. He is that good.

Winter Updates

There are lots of Mariners playing baseball right now. Some just wrapped up their season in Arizona, while others are playing in Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and Australia. For a complete list of M's spanning the globe right now, click here. I could give a few thoughts on each player, but the list is quite long. Instead, I will pick out players from the crowd to highlight.

Still Time To Hype Dustin Ackley

Geoff Baker wrote a blog this morning, cautioning Mariners fans to temper their excitement over Dustin Ackley's Arizona Fall League MVP honors. As he points out, AFL MVP winners have historically not done much in the majors, with the notable exception of Tommy Hanson.

So, is Ackley more like Hanson, or the rest of the winners?

Time To Hype Dustin Ackley

Dustin Ackley (photo from MLB.com)

Playing off my "Time To Hype Nick Franklin" post, it is time to get really serious about Dustin Ackley. I have said before that I want to see him start at second base opening day, and his Arizona Fall League numbers certainly did nothing to dissuade me:

.424 AVG, .581 OBP, .758 SLG, 1.338 OPS, and 28 runs scored - all AFL-leading totals.

Granted, the AFL is only about a month long. It takes some luck to have such gaudy numbers. However, it takes some talent too.

Exactly how much of Ackley's AFL performance was luck? It's impossible to tell. However, is it so much that he can't push Jose Lopez out of the starting lineup? How can't Ackley be the favorite to start at second base on opening day at this point?

September Call-Ups Finally Arrive

The only downside of Tacoma's long playoff run is that the Mariners continued to play with 25 players (okay, 26 counting Guillermo Quiroz) through the majority of September. Prospects are more interesting to watch in lost seasons, so that was a bummer at the MLB level. However, I do think it was much more valuable for those prospects to experience winning together in meaningful roles at AAA. I'm not exactly sure prospects will get "The Big League Experience" watching this "big league offense."

In total, one player from West Tennessee and six players from Tacoma were added:

2010 Mariners Fall Leaguers

Earlier this week, Arizona Fall League rosters were unveiled. The fall league is a place for prospects to get an extra month of games in, and typically teams send younger players that they want to accelerate development on. Lots of the game's top young talent plays in the league, though there often is a range in polish. It's a bit like the MLB Futures game, except with more players, and for a whole month.

The league consists of 6 teams with 35-man rosters. Each team in the fall league is fed by five major league organizations, and each organization sends seven players. The Mariners affiliate is the Peoria Javelinas, and here are quick looks at the seven Mariner farmhands who will spend this autumn in the desert:

The 2011 Core

This is 2011 Mariners week at the Musings, as I said with the first post yesterday. I split the roster into three basic parts: the guaranteed contracts, the arbitration eligible players, and everyone else (the folks making the minimum salary with no way out unless the team ditches them). Today is a look at the guaranteed 2011 contracts.

A guaranteed contract is a big deal, both for a player and a team. On the team's side, all the money is guaranteed, even if the player is cut loose. It's a significant financial commitment. On the player's side, the system is set up to make them go about a decade in pro ball before hitting free agency.

The system is set up for players with guaranteed contracts, particularly big ones, to be the core of a team. Players need to be good in a team's eyes to warrant big money, and they have to have accumulated enough MLB service time to make it this far. We will see that the Mariners have a few exceptions to this rule, but the basic premises set up how I will evaluate the core.

The first question is as simple as they come: How good is the core? Is it a group a winning team can be built around? What are its strengths and weaknesses?

The second question is almost as important: Is the core worth the money it is getting paid? There is only so much money to go around, and if players are gobbling up more salary than they are worth, it means that the overall core probably isn't that good, and also limits the ability to improve it with outside help. This is why bad contracts are so crippling.

I will start with the second question and get back to the first. Here is a look at each 2011 Mariner with a guaranteed contract:

Roster Moves Galore

There were roster moves made by the Mariners today that involved a grand total of seven players. The biggest are at the AAA level, which says all you need to know about the way this season is going. Nonetheless, here are brief looks at all the moves:

• Sean White demoted to AAA Tacoma - White hasn't been very good this year, to say the least. So he goes down to Tacoma where he won't be bad for Seattle until he's back.
• Chad Cordero became a free agent - The Mariners didn't release Cordero. They gave him the chance to go to AAA, but he elected for free agency. Chad has been nowhere close to his pre-injury self, which isn't surprising. He was a nice story, but a remarkably hittable reliever that got by mostly with guts and poise. I hope he catches on somewhere else, but I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't.
• Chris Seddon called up - Remember last year, when Jason Vargas was a fringy, soft-tossing left-hander? Chris Seddon is the new Jason Vargas, except with cooler hair. I think Seddon looks kind of like Tim Lincecum from the back, or maybe like a bizarro version of him, since Chris throws left-handed.
• Jamey Wright signed - Who can forget Wright's glorious spring training campaign with the M's back in 2003? Wright reminds me of Brett Tomko - always has had an intriguing arm, but the results have never been what was expected. He is the definition of a veteran journeyman at this point, and I think he is only here until Erik Bedard and/or Shawn Kelley are healthy anyway.
• Edward Paredes, Anthony Varvaro, and Dustin Ackley all promoted to AAA Tacoma - The most interesting move today is definitely the Ackley promotion. It seemed logical after the Cliff Lee deal, or more particularly, after the M's announced that Matt Lawson, from the Lee deal, was going to AA. Rumor on the twittersphere is that Ackley homered in his first AAA at-bat! Paredes and Varvaro are also prospects, but in the bullpen, so not the same sizzle as Mr. Ackley. I would still rate their promotions as more interesting than the MLB moves though, aside from perhaps Seddon.

Pretty soon I am going to put together a post diving into 2011 a little deeper, but it makes all the sense in the world to push some of the guys standing out in AA up into AAA for the second half of the year. The 2011 roster is deeper if the current AA group is able to step up and provide organizational depth, even if they figure to be more important pieces down the road. This organization is definitely shifting to more of an assessment mode.

Early Thoughts On Spring Training

It's about time I post something this month, but the problem is that there just isn't much to be said that isn't already being said by others. Spring training is fun, but it's hard to evaluate much of what going on when a) all you have are radio broadcasts b) players only get a few ABs, or 20-30 pitches, and c) in those few opportunities, many are trying to get rust off/work on something new.

So I don't write much about spring training, other than it's fun for what it is. Personally, I don't put too much stock in spring performances unless they are way too good or bad to ignore. So far, nobody has had time to be stellar, and only Garret Olson and Kenn Kasparek have had forgettable outings.

I've come up with a few thoughts to share though:

• I hope Chone Figgins stays at second, and Jose Lopez at third. Statistics and scouting both give good reasons to believe the move will work, and a few weeks into the experiment, both players seem to be acclimating fairly well.
• I wonder how long Dustin Ackley will stay in the major league camp. He is getting rave reviews much like Brandon Morrow did in his first spring training. That scares me a little, but there's absolutely no room for Ackley on the opening day roster. Personally, I would still send him down once minor league camp opens up. There are enough guys that need to get work in who figure to be a part of the 2010 Mariners, and Dustin will be best served getting a lion's share of time on the field, instead of a few innings here and there.
• Matt Tuiasosopo is off to a hot start, much like last spring training. Undoubtedly, that will increase interest in his chances to make the opening day roster. He projects as one of the final cuts anyway.
• Mike Sweeney is off to a hot start too. There is no spot for him on the roster, but if he continues to hit well, what do the Mariners do? The players are professionals, but Sweeney was such a big part of the team last year, and he has asserted himself in the clubhouse yet again. Add a strong spring, and his situation will be as delicate as an aging non-roster invitee's can be.
• I would like to see Ryan Garko get some time behind the plate. By all accounts, he only moved because Victor Martinez was ahead of him in the Indians organization. Garko becomes a much more valuable commodity if he can catch some.
• Respected M's reporter Shannon Drayer has said multiple times that Eric Byrnes "looks fast" out on the field. Coming off significant leg injuries, that is worth noting. I'm not convinced his legs caused all of his problems that past few seasons, but he at least has a chance to prove me wrong if his legs are indeed strong and healthy.

Those are some of my thoughts, in no particular order. I'm open to more, and may even post more of my own in the comments if something pops up. Most of all, it's nice to have some sort of baseball action to talk about again.