AL West

According to Fox Sports, the Seattle Mariners are going to "kick the tires" on the availability of All-Star left fielder Jason Bay.

With the bloated contracts of C Kenji Johjima, SP Erik Bedard, SP Jarrod Washburn, RP Miguel Bautista, and 3B Adrian Beltre coming off the books, it frees up roughly $45 million in cap space for them to use.

Bay has played for the Boston Red Sox since they acquired him in a three-way deal that saw the departure of slugger Manny Ramirez.

Almost four years ago, the Seattle Mariners signed left hander Jarrod Washburn to a four-year, $37.5 million contract. For the first three years, he posted 31-43 record with ERA never under 4.32, WHIP always over 1.35.

Every Mariner fans thought Washburn signing was another horrible mistake made by former GM Bill Bavasi.

The New York Mets have reportedly said that they will not pick up the $8.1 million option for JJ Putz next season.

They have instead opted to buy his contract out for $1 million, making him a free agent.

It was just one season ago that Putz was considered a top closer in the American League. He was also the centerpiece of the trade that netted the Seattle Mariners CF Franklin Gutierrez, 1B Mike Carp, OF Endy Chavez, P Garrett Olson, and INF Ronny Cedeno (later used in a trade for SS Jack Wilson, and SP Ian Snell), among others.

As I mentioned last week, although the Texas Rangers had a very successful 2009 season, they still have a shopping list that needs to be addressed this winter in order to build upon their success and hopefully take the next step towards making the postseason.

Today I want to cover item No. 1 on their randomly ordered list, which happens to be a veteran starting pitcher.