Mariners New General Manager Offers a Contract to a Secret Player

The Seattle Mariners have a bit of a rebuilding project in front of them, and the new administration knows that. General Manager Jack Zduriencik could be in search of signing a few veteran free agents, though, just to stay at least somewhat competitive for the next few years while they attempt to rebuild their farm system -- after former GM Bill Bavasi mortgaged it for Erik Bedard.

Today they tried to snag one early in the Hot Stove season, making an offer to, uh, I don't know. I can tell you who it's not, does that help?

He wouldn't name the player, but it isn't Ken Griffey Jr. Ok, so that really narrows it down.

Zduriencik also let us in on the fact that it was a position player, not a pitcher, and that he hopes to know within the next couple days.

So that's what we know. Let's just play a game here and try to guess who it was. We'll narrow the list by eliminating very high-priced talent. As Jacob told us in the Mariners' footprints, they need an offensive player. Raul Ibanez is departing from the outfield, and I think replacing him is their most pressing need.

Would they pony up the kind of dough it would take to land Adam Dunn? I mean, he wouldn't be an awfully large downgrade from Ibanez defensively, and he's a better hitter. Plus, he's only 29 years-old. I don't think the M's would offer a ton for a hitter like Dunn (lots of power, high strikeouts) because of the lingering stigma of Richie Sexson. Savvy baseball minds like you FanHouse readers know there's a huge difference between the two, but I think the old school fears prevent a large enough contract to woo Dunn this early in the process. Finally, Dunn is a type-A free agent. I can't see the Mariners coughing up high draft picks at this point in the rebuilding process.

Milton Bradley's name also jumps out, but I can't see a new GM and manager wanting to bring him into the fray in a year sure to be heavy on losses.

Anyone else is either too high-priced (Manny Ramirez, Pat Burrell), too old (Jim Edmonds, Cliff Floyd), or relatively boring (Craig Monroe, Jason Michaels).

I'll take a stab anyway: Jerry Hairston.

He's sure to be cheap, worked hard all season for the Reds, and has good versatility. At 33, he's not too old to be productive, yet he's old enough to accept a two year contract this early in the process, especially considering his career path and numbers. He's not going to cost them any draft choices, either, so this would be a good fit.