As Greg Johns reminds us, the Mariners have until Thursday to tender a contract to Jose Lopez - who, you'll recall, had his 2011 option declined, but who remains under team control for another year. What this means is that, if Lopez is getting traded, it's probably happening within the next two days. If they don't trade him and don't tender a contract, he's a free agent. If they don't trade him and do tender a contract, then that'll be a fun day to read the comments. You know how Zduriencik seems to like surprises? (note: as Dave points out in the comments, the M's can offer Lopez arbitration and then try to trade him later.)