RAUUUUUUUUUUL! For that reason alone I would love to see Raul Ibanez come back to the Seattle Mariners. Yeah, it's sentimental, or is it just mental? Same reason I would love to see Jamie Moyer come back for a final year and the same reason I loved it when Griffey came back for the final year and tried for another. Now it's rumored that the Mariners could go a third round with Raul.
Is Raul someone that could add something to this team at age 40? Well, the Yankees sur got value from him all the way to the end last year. In fact, it was Raul that provided late game heroics in many pinch hit at bats in the playoffs and it was Raul that took the DH spot from Alex Rodriguez in the ALCS.
He would most likely be another DH/Pinch Hitter which the Mariners really don't need, but I'm sure they are more interested in his veteran leadership. That, he would provide.
Raul is another player that has experience in Seattle, has done well in Seattle and isn't opposed to come back to Seattle. At age 40, I doubt he would be looking for multiple years or multiple millions. However, he probably is looking for a chance to play consistently. Can the Mariners provide that? At what cost? That DH role is something that is very valuable to the Mariners in getting some of our younger players consistent at bats and with the addition of Raul that could be jeopardized.
Raul, John Jaso, Jesus Montero, Justin Smoak, Kendrys Morales all could take time at that designated hitter spot and the Mariners, if truly looking at Ibanez would be piling on players that we simply don't need.
That brings us to the secret trade that is supposed to be in the works that Jack Zduriencik talked about earlier this week. Could the Mariners be parting with Justin Smoak? Could they be saying farewell to Jesus Montero already? I wouldn't think so, but anything is possible when trades are involved. We've invested a lot into these guys but investment doesn't mean anything if the right pieces come back in return.
Speculation is all this is though. All this could very well be way off considering that the Mariners front office never talks about anything. So who knows where these rumors came from and even if they're legit. But, if they are, you can expect a big trade coming really soon.
SodoJoe
