By Will Kimmey
December 15, 2003

When the Mariners signed Greg Colbrunn away from the Diamondbacks last offseason, they imagined him replacing Edgar Martinez as their regular DH in 2004. Now that Martinez has changed his mind about retiring, Seattle sent him back to Arizona on Monday for Quinton McCracken. The Mariners also gave up $375,000, splitting the difference in the 2004 salaries for Colbrunn ($2.5 million) and McCracken ($1.75 million).

Colbrunn, a 34-year-old first baseman, totaled just 58 at-bats in a Seattle uniform because of a strained right oblique muscle and torn cartilage in his right wrist. A career .291/.340/.464 hitter with 98 home runs and 421 RBIs in 972 games, he previously played for Arizona from 1999-2002. He has the bat speed to turn inside fastballs into home runs, and he excels as a pinch-hitter. Purely an offensive player, he has limited speed and defensive ability.

McCracken, 33, is a reserve outfielder whose best assets are his speed and bat control. He's an inconsistent hitter who draws a few walks but hits for little power. He's coming off his worst full season in the majors, a dismal .227/.276/.271 showing with no homers, 18 RBIs and five steals in 115 games. He's a career .280/.341/.383 hitter with 17 homers, 216 RBIs and 80 steals in 746 games.

The most significant part of Colbrunn's trip to and from Seattle came when the Mariners decided to forfeit their 2003 first-round pick (19th overall) as compensation for signing him. Arizona turned that choice into outfielder Conor Jackson, who set a short-season Northwest League record with 35 doubles and drove in a league-best 60 runs in his pro debut.