Seattle Mariners

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through Seattle

Not a creature did stir, nor squeak, nor rattle

The seats were placed 'round the diamond with care,

In hopes that a playoff berth soon would be theirs.

The fans were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of championships danced in their heads.

This year, the team really closed up the gap

We've already covered Brandon League, and I've tried to soothe Seattle's uncertain ego by establishing his rising value.

But what about this other guy, Johermyn Chavez?

Chavez is a 6' 3", slugging outfielder whose 220-pound frame will turn 21 on Jan. 26, 2010.

Kid can't even buy a drink yet.

An undrafted righty, Chavez was signed into the Toronto organization in 2005.  In four years in the Blue Jays' farm system, the young Venezuelan has demonstrated developing power.

In 2009, Chavez batted .283 with 21 homers and 89 runs batted in for Class A Lansing.

Are the Seattle Mariners a legitimate threat?

Now I realize that when thinking about who will be American League champions, your brain almost immediately makes your mouth say New York or Boston...unfortunately. But the boys in the rainy city have been slowly putting together a strong team, and could very well see themselves with a playoff birth and a chance to make some noise in the post-season.

The Mariners busy offseason continued today when they traded up-and-down pitcher Brandon Morrow to the Blue Jays today for relief pitcher Brandon League and prospect Johermyn Chavez.

This seems like a good move, both pitchers have similar production and the move gives the M's a good bullpen arm and one of Toronto's better position prospects in the process.

The next move for pitching will likely be to acquire a No. 3 pitcher after netting Cliff Lee for the No. 2 spot.

When you think of Brandon Morrow, one of the first words that springs to mind is "potential."  It was there for everyone to see during his first career start against the New York Yankees in 2008.

I was lucky enough to be at that game and watch Morrow come within four outs of a no-hitter.  He ended the game with just one hit against him and, more importantly, the win. 

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports is reporting that the Seattle Mariners have traded pitcher Brandon Morrow to the Toronto Blue Jays for reliever Brandon League and a prospect.

Former Cubs outfielder Milton Bradley (Cubbie Nation/file)

No.

I could probably end the article right there, but perhaps I should elaborate.

After winning the World Series MVP, Hideki Matsui has drawn praise from Masanori Murakami, the first Japanese-born player to play in the MLB.

Murakami stated that "Ichiro Suzuki has had many accomplishments, but they've all been in the regular season. As the first Japanese to win an MVP in the World Series, this is a great accomplishment for Matsui and will have a huge impact."

You have got to be kidding me.

While Scott Boras patiently waits for some team to offer Adrian Beltre a four-year deal worth around $10 million annually, the market for Beltre is simply not developing at this point.

And to make matters worse, the Red Sox, who were one of the few teams interested in Beltre that could come close to giving him the contract he wanted, might not be in the market for a third baseman anymore. The reason? The Mike Lowell to Texas trade is was cancelled yesterday: