The Mariners should make it very clear that the plan for Ibanez is to platoon at DH throughout the season and start in left field once a month (if that). Then hope that he turns down arbitration and the M's get the two compensation picks that are worth more than Ibanez.

joe - raul won't accept arbitration.

Yeah, there's no chance he accepts. He'll get a multiyear offer from a team that could contend. This is just a formality.

This is just another way of saying "Hey... we tried to sign him, he turned US down." It seems like the new boss is the same as the old boss.

I understand they have to do certain things and are looking at the future but don't be surprised if there are still a lot of empty seats in the park. Especially since they aren't bothering to keep our best player, and meanwhile signing guys off of independent league teams as their "big splash".

shark - no one has suggested the mariners have made a splash yet with players. offering minor league contracts to players who will play in the minor leagues is something all teams do in the off-season.

I am fully aware of that. I am just saying it feels the same. I don't know how anybody could feel any differently. I realize no teams are really doing much, but so far we've heard that basically they want to let Raul walk and receive the picks (I guess that's fine if they draft well and get guys they can and will actually sign), and they haven't had much interest in any top tier type of talents like Sabathia and the like.

Call it what it is. A massive overhaul of a team and system that is basically in ruins thanks to Bill Bavasi and company. It is really too bad that they had over 100 million dollars into that mess. That is some bad investing. Remind me to never take stock advice from the M's! :)

Raul has been a solid veteran with well-above average career numbers...that doesn't change the fact that he no longer fits into the Mariners upcoming rebuilding project (about 2-3 years) due to age and shoddy defense.

The Mariners are left with two options: 1.) Sign Raul to a multi-year deal with the intention of trading him at some point this summer, or 2.) Offer arbitration that he'll reject and gain two high draft picks.

It seems that LP attempted to trade him last summer but did not receive offers that were better than the two draft picks, so we kept him. Essentially, the trade market for Raul has already been set.