SAN DIEGO PADRES (Last year's record, finish: 88-74, first)

Pitchers/all report: Friday/Feb. 22

Key additions: Manager Bud Black, 2B Marcus Giles, P Greg Maddux, 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff, P Heath Bell, P Mike Adams.

Key losses: Manager Bruce Bochy, C Mike Piazza, 2B Josh Barfield, OF Dave Roberts, P Woody Williams, P Alan Embree, 1B-OF Ryan Klesko, INF Mark Bellhorn.

Player to watch: Kouzmanoff. The Padres seemingly use four 3B each season but hope Kouzmanoff, whom they got in a trade with the Indians for Barfield, nails down the job for years to come.

Reasons to hope: The rotation is deep and strong and closer Trevor Hoffman is still at the top of his game.

Reasons to mope: That rotation features 43-year-old David Wells and 40-year-old Maddux. … Counting too heavily on Kouzmanoff, OF Terrmel Sledge and C Josh Bard to replace the offense of Roberts, Barfield and Piazza.

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MINNESOTA TWINS (Last year's record, finish: 96-66, first)

Pitchers/all report: Feb. 19/Feb. 24

Key additions: INF Jeff Cirillo, P Sidney Ponson, P Ramon Ortiz.

Key losses: P Brade Radke, P Willie Eyre.

Player to watch: P Matt Garza. He made it to the majors last season all the way from Single-A. With openings in the rotation, the hard-throwing 23-year-old could be there to stay.

Reasons to hope: Johan Santana remains the best pitcher in the game. … The Twins boast a solid core of young players in C Joe Mauer, 1B Justin Morneau and RF Michael Cuddyer.

Reason to mope: Besides losing Radke to retirement, the Twins are without rookie sensation Francisco Liriano for the season after he underwent elbow surgery in November. That’s a lot of pitching to have to make up.

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NEW YORK YANKEES (Last year's record, finish: 97-65, first)

Pitchers/all report: Thursday/Feb. 20

Key additions: P Kei Igawa, P Andy Pettitte, 1B Doug Mientkiewicz, P Luis Vizcaino.

Key losses: P Randy Johnson, OF-1B Gary Sheffield, P Cory Lidle, P Jaret Wright.

Player to watch: 3B Alex Rodriguez. A lot was made of A-Rod’s “down” year (.290, 35 HR, 121 RBI) and his 1-for-14 showing in the playoffs. How will fans treat him in 2007?

Reasons to hope: The rotation, badly needing to be reworked, added Pettitte from Houston and Igawa from Japan. … The Yankees still have more offense than anybody, and should threaten to score at least 900 runs.

Reasons to mope: If Pettitte continues to be plagued by elbow problems, Igawa struggles and Carl Pavano – remember him? – can’t get healthy the rotation might be worse off. … Rogers Clemens decides to sign with Boston instead of returning to New York or Houston.

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SEATTLE MARINERS (Last year's record, finish: 78-84, fourth)

Pitchers/all report: Thursday/Feb. 20.

Key additions: P Jeff Weaver, P Miguel Batista, P Horacio Ramirez, P Chris Reitsma, RF Jose Guillen, 2B-DH Jose Vidro, P Arthur Rhodes.

Key losses: P Gil Meche, P Joel Pineiro, P Rafael Soriano, OF Chris Snelling.

Player to watch: P Felix Hernandez. He was supposed to be the second coming of Dwight Gooden but he was overweight in camp last year and got off to a slow start. He’s in better shape now and must improve on his 12-14, 4.52 ERA from 2006.

Reasons to hope: The rotation, with three new starters, has to be better than last year. … Lineup gets an upgrade with addition Vidro and Guillen.

Reasons to mope: Players coming off injuries – Guillen, Vidro, Reitsma and Ramirez – might spend more time in the training room than the field. … The rotation’s different, but is anyone that excited about the three new starters?

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The question was posed about Ichiro's contract status. I'll try to shed some light on the matter.

Ichiro can be a free agent at the end of the season. The Mariners – and this is GM Bill Bavasi and president Chuck Armstrong we're talking about – have said they want him to return. Ichiro's thoughts on the matter are less clear.

Ichiro's agent said recently he's prepared to listen to the Mariners' offer at an extension. He also down-played reports from Japan that Ichiro is prepared to move on at the end of the season.

Ichiro's true feelings about his future are a more closely guarded secret than the crown jewels. He has said he wants to win and his agreement to move to center field seems to indicate that he's serious about trying to give the Mariners the best chance to do that. (As a note, the move could be short-lived if Adam Jones develops and Jose Guillen flops. Stay tuned.)

Bavasi said at the team's kickoff luncheon that he wants to get something done but wouldn't say when or if it was a pressing priority. He's notoriously tight-lipped about deals and trades. When it comes to Ichiro, who has a different status than others because he's from Japan and he's an owner favorite, expect "news" about negotiations to be even harder to determine.

If something is going to get done I would think it would get done before the end of the season, probably even sooner. Ichiro's still a fantastic hitter and he takes incredible care of himself, so there's not much risk involved in signing him.

The wild card in all of this is Ichiro. Does he want to stick around Seattle if the Mariners are competitive? It would be hard to blame he if he didn't. But if he does want to stay, expect the Mariners to pay him what it takes to keep him.

FYI: Ichiro's last extension was a four-year, $44-million dollar deal signed in 2003.

With the Mariners' pitchers and catchers scheduled to report in about a week interest is beginning to build in baseball. With that, comes the inevitable question asked by many fans: What are the Mariners going to be like this season?

It's a question with no good, short answer. Before we start speculating, let's try and break down what we know.

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In a trade of minor leaguers, the Seattle Mariners acquired outfielder Jeff Frazier from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for right-handed pitcher Yorman Bazardo.

Bazardo had been designated for assignment on Jan. 30 when the Mariners added pitcher Jeff Weaver to the 40-man roster.

Frazier, 24, has spent the past three seasons in the Tigers’ minor league system. In 2006 at Class A Lakeland, he hit .228 with 13 homers and 73 RBI. He's a career .261 hitter.

In 2004 Frazier was rated the best outfield arm in the Tigers' system by Baseball America. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound right-handed hitter was the Tigers third-round selection in the 2004 June draft out of Rutgers. He left Rutgers as the school’s all-time home run leader with 34.

Bazardo was 6-5, 3.64 in 25 starts with Double-A San Antonio last season.

Jim Parque always felt like a major leaguer, even when his left arm didn’t.

Injuries derailed his once promising career but now the Puyallup resident and owner of a baseball training facility is going to give it another go. Parque agreed to a one-year, minor-league contract with the Seattle Mariners on Friday.

“My arm came back,” said Parque, who turns 31 on Thursday. “I don’t know why but obviously time had a big part to do with it. Coming off surgery I don’t feel like I had an opportunity to heal properly and I rushed back too soon.”

Parque went 31-34 with a 5.42 ERA in six seasons with Chicago White Sox (1998-2002) and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2003). He had surgery to repair a torn labrum on May 15, 2001 but said he was never right after the procedure.

“Even on the good days it was a dull throb,” Parque said.
The end – or so Parque thought – came in 2004 when he retired from Triple-A Tucson after going 3-2 with a 6.30 ERA. He returned to his Puyallup home and focused on running his baseball facility.

He said a hitter in one of his camps made a crack about Parque being a “has-been” last summer during a workout so he stepped on the mound and began firing fastballs in the low 80s. More importantly, his arm didn’t hurt like it once did.

He dedicated himself to a winter of working out and trying to regain his arm strength. In December Parque scheduled a workout in Southern California as several teams – the Anaheim Angels, Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies and Oakland A’s – were interested in what he could do.

The scouts were impressed. “The consenus was I would be stupid not to give it another try,” he said.

Parque, who was a “sandwich” pick between the first two rounds in 1997 and a member of Team USA in the 1996 Olympics, knows he’ll never throw 92 mph again like he did in his All-American days at UCLA. But he’s consistently hitting 85-88 mph and he said his curve is back, too.

“That’s pretty good for January,” he said. “I am real confident that I can get back to my pre-surgery form.”

If added to the major-league roster Parque would get $450,000 and the chance to earn more in performance bonuses.

As part of the Wednesday event, Mariners team president Chuck Armstrong announced that Edgar Martinez will be inducted into the team's Hall of Fame this summer. Not much of a surprise there, considering Martinez's career.

Here's the story and some notes, including changes at Safeco Field, Ichiro contract update and injury updates:

The question was never if but when Edgar Martinez would be inducted into the Seattle Mariners’ Hall of Fame, and that was answered Wednesday.
Martinez, the Mariners’ all-time leader in batting average, hits and games played, will become the fourth member of the team’s Hall of Fame when he is inducted in a pre-game ceremony at Safeco Field on June 2.

The seven-time All-Star played his entire 18-year career in Seattle. He won two batting titles and won designated hitter of the year five times. Upon retiring after the 2004 season, commissioner Bud Selig renamed the DH award after Martinez.

“It was such a joy to watch Edgar grow as a baseball player and a man, and we are so proud that he did it all as a Seattle Mariner,” Mariners president Chuck Armstrong said.

Martinez joins first baseman Alvin Davis, outfielder Jay Buhner and broadcaster Dave Niehaus in the team’s hall.

Changes to Safeco Field

Two changes to Safeco Field – a baseball museum and new premium seating options – were announced.

The Northwest Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame will open the same day as Martinez’s induction. It will be located on the main concourse of the ballpark along the third base line and was funded by the sale of personalized bricks in the Bullpen Market area. It will be open to the public during all home games.

The team converted some suites along the first base line into the All-Star Club. The club is a luxury lounge – featuring a complimentary buffet, cash bar and preferred parking – that can accommodate 140 fans. Prices range from $100 to $125 per person.

More information: 206-346-4001 or SeattleMariners.com/AllStarclub.

No news on Ichiro’s contract

General manager Bill Bavasi said working out a contract extension for Ichiro Suzuki is a “top priority” but not one that has a timetable.
Suzuki’s four-year, $44 million contract expires at the end of the season. In his six seasons since coming to Seattle from Japan he’s been a six-time all-star, won six Gold Gloves and has had at least 206 hits in each season.

''He's a special player,'' Bavasi said. ''But I also think Seattle's a special place for him. He means a lot to us.”

Manager Mike Hargrove, who said Ichiro will play center field, said he recently exchanged emails with Ichiro and that he was excited for the upcoming season.

Injury updates

Trainer Rick Griffin gave a rundown on Mariners recovering from injuries:

• Pitchers Cha Seung Baek (arm fatigue), Sean Green (pulled back muscle), Julio Mateo (broken left hand) and outfielder Jeremy Reed (broken thumb) were 100 percent and would be ready for spring training. Green and Mateo had each pitched in winter leagues and were OK.

• Newly signed outfielder Jose Guillen (Tommy John elbow surgery) and pitcher Chris Reitsma (ulnar nerve transfer surgery) are recovering and should be ready for the beginning of the season and probably sooner.

• Pitcher Mark Lowe (elbow surgery to repair defective cartiledge) is in Seattle working on increasing strength and range of motion. He’s not scheduled to begin throwing at all until February and not competitively until mid-May to early June.

Griffin cautioned that the plan for Lowe is to go slow. He said there’s “no guarantee” the surgery will work for Lowe but the 23-year-old has been making progress.

FanFest this weekend

Felix Hernandez, J.J. Putz and Yuniesky Bettancourt are the headliners at the ninth annual Seattle Mariners FanFest Saturday and Sunday at Safeco Field.

Also expected to appear at the event, which features tours, games and exhibits, are Guillen, Lowe and catcher Rene Rivera.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children 6-14 and children 5-and-under are free. Tickets are available at Mariners team stores, seattlemariners.com, the Safeco Field box office on the day of the event and Ticketmaster.

Darrin Beene: 253-597-8656
darrin.beene@thenewstribune.com

Wednesday was the Mariners pre-spring training luncheon at Safeco Field. This event usually features the manager and GM talking about how optimistic they are about the upcoming season and some player to interview and a lunch afterward.

All happened, and the player this year was Felix Hernandez. The big news with the young pitcher is that there's less of him thanks to a winter spent working out and eating right. Here's the story I wrote for Thursday's paper:

Of all that adjectives describing Felix Hernandez last season “lean” was not used and did not really apply to the pudgy young Seattle Mariners pitcher.

Hernandez has taken steps – and some of them while jogging – to change that in hopes of improving upon last year’s performance. At 226 pounds, he is 20 pounds lighter this year over last after a winter of working out and eating better back in his native Venezuela.

“If the season were to start tomorrow, I’m ready for the season,” said a noticeably slimmer Hernandez Wednesday at the team’s pre-spring training luncheon held at Safeco Field.

That wasn’t case last year when Hernandez showed up in Peoria, Ariz., for spring training tipping the scales at 246 pounds instead of the 230 the Mariners wanted. The extra poundage became an issue when Hernandez developed shin splints and missed the last two weeks of spring training, getting his season off to a start on the wrong foot, manager Mike Hargrove said.

At the end of the season Hargrove and pitching coach Rafael Chaves stressed to Hernandez (12-14, 4.52 ERA in 2006) that he needed to improve his conditioning if he was to realize his potential and live up to all the flattering words that had been written about him.

A program was developed that included exercise and diet tips. Hernandez, also sporting shorter hair than last season, said he’s been eating more vegetables and less fatty foods.

“I’ve been working pretty hard. I’ve been trying to get into the best shape I’ve ever been,” said Hernandez, who admitted that he was not in top condition at the beginning of last season.
Mariners’ officials are pleased that they are seeing less of Hernandez.

“He is in great shape,” trainer Rick Griffin said. “He’s been doing all of his exercises, his shoulder work, stomach and core work, his cardio work.”

General manager Bill Bavasi complimented not only Hernandez’s physique but his psyche. He said one of the mistakes young players make is to underestimate what they need to do to be a major leaguer. It’s not being lazy, Bavasi said, it’s just a lack of experience.

“His heart is in the right place, he just made a mistake and that’s just part of a 19-year-old coming to (big league) camp,” Bavasi said. “But you don’t see this guy making a mistake twice. He is so special, this guy. … When I saw him today I was stunned. This guy looks like a guy who is very prepared, very focused.”

Bavasi said Hernandez will be ready to expand his workload and the team is still trying to come up with a plan that monitors their young pitcher. Innings, which were limited to 191 last year because of the team’s desire to take it slow with their prized prospect, won’t be as much of a factor as pitch counts.

Good health remains the team’s top priority and the only goal Hernandez would tell the gathered media. Other goals are being established, and new Mariners bench coach John McLaren challenged Hernandez to pitch like his countryman, two-time Cy Young winner Johan Santana of the Minnesota Twins.

For now, the team is happy with the work Hernandez has done over the last three months.

“He is a leaner, better version,” Hargrove said. “Does that translate into more than 200 innings? We start Feb. 15 and then we’ll find out.”

The Mariners have agreed to terms on 2007 contracts with left-handed pitcher Horacio Ramirez and first baseman Ben Broussard. Both players had been eligible for arbitration.

Broussard, 31, split last season between Seattle and the Cleveland Indians. The Mariners acquired him on July 26, 2006 in exchange for outfielder Shin-Soo Choo. He hit a combined .289 with a career-high 21 homers and 63 RBI.

Ramirez, 27, was acquired by the Mariners from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Rafael Soriano on Dec. 7, 2006. He was limited to 14 games last season by a strained left hamstring and a sprained left middle
finger. He was also struck on the side of the head by a Lance Berkman line drive.

Ramirez was 5-5 with a 4.48 ERA in 14 games, all starts, with the Braves in 2006.He has a career mark of 30-22, 4.13 in 86 games, 84 starts, all with Atlanta.

The Seattle Mariners have agreed to terms on a minor league contract with infielder Sean Burroughs, the team announced Wednesday.

"Sean was limited due to injuries last season, but has always been a high-rated prospect at third base," Mariners director of player development Frank Mattox said.

"He is a solid left-handed hitter who has had success over the years and it's clear he wants to get back on track as quickly as possible."

Burroughs, 26, was originally drafted by San Diego in the first-round (ninth overall) in the June 1998 draft and made his Major League debut with the Padres in 2002.

Over parts of five Major League seasons with the Padres (2002-05) and Devil Rays (2006), Burroughs has a career batting average of .280 (431-for-1537) with 11 home runs, 63 doubles, 134 RBI and 179 runs scored in 440 games. He led all National League third basemen in 2003 with a .286 average and set career highs in nearly every major offensive category. He batted a career-best .298 the following season.

Burroughs was limited by injuries in 2006, hitting .190 (4x21) in eight games with Tampa Bay. He was acquired by the Devil Rays on Dec. 7, 2005 from San Diego in exchange for RHP Dewon Brazelton. Burroughs was optioned to AAA Durham on May 5, hitting .214 (28x131) in 37 games. After missing the entire month of July with a neck strain, he was released by Tampa Bay on Aug. 14.