Bavasi's Shopping List

The World Series hasn't even been over a month yet, but the off season is already well underway. The Yankees have already committed nearly $400 million in contracts, including $97 million over the next four years to two players who are 36 and 37 years old. The division rival (and winning) California Los Angeles Anaheim Angels have bolstered their already deep rotation with a trade for Jon Garland. So the question is, do you know where your general manager is? If you're an M's fan, then he's probably somewhere keeping that head shiny and his goatee nicely groomed, instead of filling gaping holes on a team that was in playoff contention all season until completely unraveling in September. That being said, if Mr. Bavasi is hard at work, below is what his list should look like.

1. Starting Pitching - Once again the Mariners have two spots in the rotation to fill after last year's Bavasi acquisitions didn't exactly work out. (Hey, at least we didn't sign Jeff Weaver to a three year contract, right?) Most likely the M's will try and fill one spot from within and that is the right thing to do. I'm pretty sure Cha Seung Baek could have matched Weaver's numbers last year and he would have cost 1/10 the price. Brandon Morrow is being moved from the bullpen (he was drafted as a starter), but if he isn't ready to start the season they will give opportunities to Baek, Ryan Fenderbender, oops, Feierabend, and Ryan Rowland-Smith (also being moved from the bullpen). The other spot will be filled by either free agency or trade, with the big chip apparently available being Johan Santana. Bavasi should probably trade for him just so Larry Stone will stop writing columns saying the Mariners should trade for him. Larry, we get it, Santana and King Felix are both from Venezuela.

2. Bullpen - The bullpen was the strength of the team for most of last season, but it wore down and was also a big reason for the collapse. The M's probably could have used one more arm last season and now Morrow is being moved to the rotation, leaving another hole. Maybe the Braves would trade us Rafael Soriano for Horacio Ramirez? Nice one Bill. Maybe sports should be more like video games with fair trades turned on in franchise mode. No way EA Sports lets you snag Soriano for Ramirez in MVP Baseball. Eric Gagne should be a possibility, because he lowered his price tag quite a bit after being traded to Boston and forgetting how to pitch.

3. Returns - Maybe Bavasi can't get his money back on Richie Sexson, but he should be able to find someone to take a chance on him. The M's will probably have to eat at least half his salary, but that sure beats the alternative of poor Richie suffering through another season with that ruthless Seattle crowd. The All-Sensitive team would like to welcome it's newest member, Richie Sexson! Maybe Sexson has a rebound year, but are you really willing to bet $15 million on that? Just give Ben Broussard the full time job and use the money saved to upgrade the pitching. Of course with the M's luck Sexson will get traded and end up dropping 40 bombs and everyone will wish we hadn't traded him.