MARINERS: Micheal Young anybody?

Written by Matthew Carlson

I’m sorry if I’m putting a raincloud over your happy Mariners/Ken Griffey Jr. thoughts today, but it’s about time we all came to terms with the mutterings and murmurings about present Texas third baseman Michael Young being traded to Seattle. As it seems, just about every other Major League ball club has been mentioned along with the unhappy veteran, from the Angels to the Mets, and even the penny pinching Marlins. I’m sure the majority of us would love to see Young come in and smash a few homers, but the bottom line is that I don’t think that’s going to happen. Keep reading below and you’ll find out why.
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If you need some quick catching up on the situation, here it is: Michael Young has been on the Texas Rangers (terrorizing the Mariners) since the beginning of this decade, and over that span he has arguably been one of the premier infielders in Major League Baseball. His consistency is just a level below Ichiro’s, as in the mid 2000s he had 5 consecutive 200 hit seasons (a statistic we Mariner fans take for granted). You can almost annually pencil him down for about 100 runs, 15 homers, 85 RBI, a .285 average, and 600 at bats. But of late, the Rangers signed 3rd baseman Adrian Beltre, so in turn caused the Rangers to move Young to a DH spot, which drove him to demand a trade out of Arlington.

So will Young be a Mariner next year? The answer is no. Jack Zduriencik has repeatedly said the Mariners have virtually no money to spend, and Young is not cheap option. Over the next three years Michael is due 48 million dollars, and that’s money the Mariners frankly don’t have.
To add to the negativity, Young is 34 years old and it appears his best days are behind him. Trading for him would require a couple of our young guys (Pineda, Smoak, Ackley, Franklin, Halman…), and possibly some cash.

I’m sure every Mariner fan wanted to see a power boost made before 2011 started, but with Spring Training mere days away, a move to get some pop should have happened in the wee beginnings of the offseason. In reality, Young just isn’t the right fit for the team at this time. The best thing to do is to stick to the plan, and let our young players play and improve. Soon we will see better days of baseball in Seattle. We just have to be patient. Our time is coming.

Reach Matthew Carlson at marinerfanmatt@gmail.com