Mariners, Padres dump bad contracts

By Will Kimmey
January 6, 2004

Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi and Padres counterpart Kevin Towers had tried to swap bad contracts with the Mets for Roger Cedeno and his ugly deal. Seattle had offered Jeff Cirillo and San Diego had proposed Kevin Jarvis. Bavasi and Towers realized they matched up better with each other, and on Tuesday they agreed on a six-player deal to get rid of players they no longer wanted. The Mariners traded Cirillo, Brian Sweeney and more than $1 million to offset the salary differences to the Padres for Jarvis, Dave Hansen, Wiki Gonzalez and minor league outfielder Vince Faison.

Cirillo, 34, will back up third baseman Sean Burroughs in San Diego and also see some at-bats as a pinch-hitter. He has two years and at least $15 million left on a four-year, $29.05 million contract that he signed when he became a Mariner in 2002, and he had a precipitous falloff in Seattle after making two all-star teams in the National League. He batted just .205/.284/.271 last year with two homers and 23 RBIs in 258 at-bats. He was useless to manager Bob Melvin late in the year, getting just one at-bat after Aug. 21. A career .299/.369/435 hitter with 102 homers and 647 RBIs in 1,317 games, Cirillo once was a solid contact hitter who shot line drives to all fields. But he has become tentative and defensive at the plate, losing the ability to drive the ball. He's still an above-average defensive player with a strong arm. He'll make $6.725 million in 2004 and $7.025 million in 2005. He also has a $7.625 million option for 2006, which most likely will be bought out for $1.25 million.

It's not immediately clear what role Jarvis, a 34-year-old righthander, will fill on a deep Mariners pitching staff. He's likely to find himself a long reliever. He signed a three-year, $9 million deal with the Padres before the 2001 season and was their Opening Day starter in 2002. He tore a flexor tendon in his elbow that July, which prevented him from taking the mound again until last June. Jarvis went 4-8, 5.87 in 16 starts last season, compiling a 49-32 strikeout-walk ratio in 92 innings while yielding 15 homers and a .304 opponent average. He works quickly and aggressively, peppering the strike zone with four average offerings: a fastball, curveball, slider and changeup. He has a career 33-45, 5.83 record in 164 career games. His $4.25 million price tag in 2004 (and $500,000 buyout or $5.25 million option for 2005), combined with his substandard performance, made the Padres look to deal him.

Hansen, 35, can play first and third base adequately but is best utilized as a lefthanded pinch-hitter. He hit .244/.358/.333 with two homers and 15 RBIs in 135 at-bats last year. He shows mostly gap power and makes solid contact. He's a .265/.365/.376 career hitter with 31 homers and 199 RBIs in 1,084 games.

Gonzalez, 29, was dubbed San Diego's catcher of the future in 2000 after hitting better than .300 during the previous two straight minor league seasons. But he has had trouble staying healthy and fell into disfavor last season, when he was outrighted to the minors in May and never returned. Gonzalez batted just .200/.264/.277 in 65 major league at-bats last year and is a career .238/.312/.361 hitter with 17 homers and 99 RBIs in 269 games. He has average power and a decent eye at the plate. He's solid defensively with quick feet and a strong arm, and he has thrown out 36 percent of basestealers during his career.

The Mariners signed Sweeney, a 29-year-old righthander, out of the independent Heartland League in 1996 and likely included him in the deal to free up a spot on their 40-man roster. He's a finesse pitcher who made his major league debut last season in Seattle with a 1.93 ERA in five appearances. Sweeney went 11-10, 4.28 in 29 appearances (21 starts) at Triple-A Tacoma in 2003, with a 115-32 strikeout-walk ratio and .288 opponent average in 141 innings.

Faison, 22, was the 20th overall pick in the 1999 draft out of a Georgia high school. A $1.415 million bonus persuaded him to choose baseball over a scholarship to play defensive back at the University of Georgia. Like plenty of multitooled, multisport athletes, Faison has yet to turn his abilities into consistent production. He hit .230/.318/.298 with four homers, 28 RBIs and 13 steals in 119 games at Double-A Mobile. He has gotten stronger as he has matured, but that has cost him some of his formerly blazing speed. He tries too much to hit homers and doesn't make enough contact. His weak arm limits him to left field.