Chris Flexen, Kodai Senga, and other headlines from the GM Meetings in Las Vegas
Chris Flexen, Kodai Senga, and other headlines from the GM Meetings in Las Vegas
Could Chris Flexen be traded soon? Could Kodai Senga fit? What could Prelander Berroa offer Seattle next year? Matt Brash as a starter? We answer it all here.
At the General Manager meetings in Las Vegas we got a lot of interesting tidbits from President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto. The more you read between the lines on his comments you can begin to paint a picture of the Mariners plan for the offseason.
Chris Flexen
Chris Flexen was a very nice story for the Mariners over the last two seasons, appearing in 64 games for Seattle over the life of his deal. By reaching his 300 inning incentive mark he triggered an 8 million dollar vesting option for 2023.
Flexen is a player that Seattle received a ton of calls on at the trade deadline this year, and could look to move this offseason. With the Mariners currently having a surplus of starting pitching, the 28 year old pitcher would have many suitors.
He could be a valuable innings eater for a non contender or be a back end of the rotation piece for a contender. Flexen also showed some ability to pitch out of the bullpen this season, and have some pitches many teams would be intrigued about including a devastating slider.
Both Divish and Brock have often mentioned a trade involving Flexen that nets the Mariners a position player. A deal like this with the Cubs could make sense for a player like Ian Happ. I would expect Flexen to get moved as the fit doesn’t really seem to be in Seattle any longer.
Kodai Senga
Kodai Senga is coming to the United States and the Seattle Mariners may have interest in him. The Japanese righthander is expected to sign with an MLB team this Winter, and Seattle could have interest. The Blue Jays and Cubs are the two other teams with supposed interest in Senga.
The righthander posted a 1.94 ERA in Japan last season over 144 innings. There isn’t a ton of video on Senga, but the stuff looks electric. Dipoto said he sees Senga as an “Impact Pitcher.” He also confirmed they have done their due diligence and will be reaching out to his representation.
While the Mariners aren’t the best fit here, but Seattle could only add to a glutton of starting pitching with Senga. The Blue Jays could really use another starter especially with the struggles of Jose Berrios and Hyun-jin Ryu’s health issues. The Cubs are always in competition for Japanese players as well, snagging Seiya Suzuki just last offseason.
Prelander Berroa
Berroa was announced as an addition to the Mariners 40 man roster. He was acquired from the Giants from Donovan Walton last season and reached Double A Arkansas by end of the season.
Berroa could add impact at the big league level as early as next season, especially if he can find some command. He could follow a similar path that Penn Murfee did this season with some good development.
Matt Brash
Brash will be stretched out as a starter next spring to give him a chance to start, but the likelihood is he will be a member of the bullpen. Being a starter gives Brash more value, but he due to control issues he is likely a reliever. In the end of the season press conference Jerry Dipoto referenced him and Andrés Muñoz as players the Mariners can build a bullpen around.