Mariners Moose Tracks, 12/13/16: Encarnacion Rumors, Jansen & Turner Sign, and Airplane Jerks

Good morning everyone! An interesting article surfaced yesterday in which David Schoenfeld at ESPN suggested that the Mariners should sign former Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion to a deal. His advice runs contrary to what Jerry Dipoto has said is the team’s priority: getting an innings eater to round out the starting rotation.

However, Dipoto has also hinted that such a starter is more likely to come to the team via trade (with Jon Morosi reporting the M’s are “in contact” with the Reds and Rays regarding pitching), which leaves some money on the table that could potentially be used for a player like Encarnacion.

In Schoenfeld’s words:

“[The Mariners are] unlikely to get 82 home runs again from Nelson Cruz and Robinson Cano, and while they could use a starting pitcher, the free-agent market has only risky veterans like Jason Hammel, Doug Fister and Derek Holland. Adding runs or subtracting runs: runs are runs. Maybe Cano (a friend of Encarnacion) and Cruz can persuade their fellow Dominican to come to Seattle. Plus, imagine a playoff matchup against the Red Sox featuring lefties Sale, David Price and Eduardo Rodriguez or Drew Pomeranz in the rotation: Adding another right-handed bat like Encarnacion would be huge.”

The chances of Dipoto inking another aging player to a large contract are slim to none. While it would sure be fun to see him in the lineup, it would really tie the M’s hands even tighter than they already are in terms of payroll flexibility. But feel free to dream on a lineup featuring Seager, Cano, Cruz, Encarnacion, and Segura.

Now let’s leave fantasyland and get to the hard news of the day.

In Mariners news...

• It appears that Mariners fans will now have two reasons to root for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic (the first reason being James Paxton, of course).

• Also, the Brewers inked former University of Washington standout and Mariners prospect Forrest Snow.

Around the league...

• Cionel Perez, who was recently re-signed by the Astros, feels “abused by the system.”
• True Blue LA really wanted Kenley Jansen to sign with the Dodgers again. So much so, they made a funny parody of “Baby Come Back” about him.
• Perhaps the song got stuck in Farhan Zaidi’s head, because Los Angeles signed Jansen to a multi-year deal.
• The Dodgers are also close to re-signing third baseman Justin Turner, who many considered to be the best position player left on the market.
• Nick Stellini at Fangraphs wonders what baseball’s equivalent of a slam dunk is.
• Meanwhile, Jeff Sullivan breaks down the Danny Espinosa acquisition by the Angels, comparing the infielder to Cubs youngster Javier Baez.

Anders’ picks...

• If you recline your seat in an airplane, 41% of people think you’re being an ass, according to a recent study by FiveThirtyEight. And apparently 21% of people don’t want you to converse with the person sitting next to you, either.
• Eric Roseberry from Red Reporter had our good pal Patrick Dubuque on his podcast to talk about baseball writing.