Russell Branyan Longs to Return to Seattle in 2010

Don't fault Russell Branyan for thinking ahead to 2010.

The Seattle Mariners slugging first baseman has been on the disabled list with a herniated disc since Aug. 29. He's been working hard to make it back to play this season and even has a goal to make his return in one of the games during the Toronto Blue Jays series, somewhere between Sept. 24-27. No matter if he returns this season or not, Branyan definitely wants to be back playing in Seattle next season. That could be expensive for the Mariners.

Branyan saw his first major league action in 1998. Since then he's played 11 seasons of baseball for eight different teams, never amassing more than 315 at-bats in any one season. That was until the 33-year-old first baseman broke out this season.

Branyan shocked the baseball world when he smacked four home runs and batted .333 in April. He kept the power hitting going in May and June and entered the All-Star break with a .280 batting average and 22 home runs, more home runs then he'd ever hit before in his career.

Since the break, Branyan hasn't fared well. He hit nine more home runs but has batted only .193, showing signs of fatigue prior to landing on the disabled list. Surely, everyone involved would love to see Branyan make it back this season to finish what he started, but the bigger question looms on the horizon. What's going to happen to Branyan next year?

"I can't ask for anything more than to come back here,'' He said. "From Jack Zduriencik to Don Wakamatsu to the coaching staff to my teammates to the clubhouse staff to the grounds crew to everyone, I haven't been treated better in my career, I haven't met better people. The fans here, the city...but obviously it's going to be up to them whether they want to bring me back here or not. I'd love to come back here, I enjoy playing in this ballpark, I enjoyed getting to play on an every-day basis this year. I'd be excited to entertain the option to come back here next year.''

As easy as it would seem for the Mariners to bring back a guy who hit 31 home runs in 116 games, you must remember that Branyan will be a free agent heading into 2010. A number of teams could be looking for a power-hitting first baseman. And when other teams start calling, the asking price definitely escalates.

If that asking price is driven up, can the Mariners really pay big bucks for a career .234 hitter who is aging, may have durability issues and definitely strikes out too much? The next few weeks will certainly lend to answering that question, especially if Branyan can make it back and produce in these final few weeks of the season. Either way, you should expect some long conversations between Mariners brass and Branyan's agent in the offseason.