Lookout Linkage, 1/14/16

Hello and happy Thursday to all! To start things off...

The always-excellent Shannon Drayer got some quotes from players and front office personnel about the recent hitting summit for some of the young players. It's been mentioned before on this blog but it's fantastic to see a club not only being so transparent with their message and coaching approach, but also showing a clear plan on how to execute it. It appears that offensive coaches throughout the minor league system were also present to learn how the product was going to be implemented, and Chris Taylor had some very encouraging things to say which I urge you to check out as well.

The Mariners appear to see player development as a major piece to the puzzle and one that needs the most revamping. This much should be obvious when you look at the failures of the last regime. However, the Mariners' hiring of Scott Servais, the former player development guy, is even more interesting when you think about what Jerry Dipoto said in the "C the Z" video about how "development should not stop once you reach the major league level." It's important to remember that a manager is also a coach, and having a player development guru as a manager will certainly, in theory, lend itself to development at the major league level as well.

For now, all we can do is speculate and watch the building blocks get placed. Will it have the desired results? We'll see.

In other news...

• The Cardinals have singed Korean reliever Seung-Hwan Oh to a one-year deal.
• Ryan Raburn may be the most inconsistent hitter in MLB history, writes Jeff Sullivan.
• The Marlins have signed starter Wei-Yin Chen to a five-year deal.
• The Dodgers are in agreement with Yasiel Sierra on a six-year contract.
• The Rockies have signed outfielder Gerardo Parra to a three-year deal.
• The Marlins have signed Dee Gordon to a five-year contract extension.
• All Major League Baseball teams will now be required to have a full-time Spanish interpreter.
• Cricket star Kieran Powell recently held a workout for MLB teams as he tries to make the leap to baseball.