Is Richie Sexson about to follow Bill Bavasi out the door?
According to the Everett Daily Herald's Kirby Arnold,
probably:
One day after general manager Bill Bavasi was fired, interim GM Lee Pelekoudas and club executives held meetings throughout the day Tuesday to set the course for the final 3½ months of the season.
Among the hottest topics: Sexson.
According to one person familiar with moves that are planned, Sexson will be let go, possibly within days. The timing is not set because the team is dealing with other personnel issues that go beyond the procedures for moving Sexson.
There also is the delicate process involved with getting rid of Sexson, who's making $14 million this season in the final year of a four-year, $50 million contract.
Because Sexson has more than five years of major league service, he could decline an assignment to the minor leagues if he clears the 48-hour waiver process and isn't claimed by another team. It's unlikely other teams would be interested because of his high salary, about $7 million for the rest of this season.
Because of the power his service time gives him, Sexson could choose to refuse the Mariners' attempt to make him a free agent and remain with the team. In that case, he would sit the bench, collect what remains of his salary this season and watch others play first base.
--snip--
While there are options on the current roster -- left fielder Raul Ibanez, DH Jose Vidro and utility player Miguel Cairo have started there this season -- the team is leaning toward calling up Bryan LaHair from the Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers.
LaHair entered Tuesday's game at Las Vegas batting .260 with 11 home runs and 41 RBI. Those numbers were second on the team to catcher Jeff Clement, who was called up to the Mariners on Tuesday.
Clement's callup was the first of what will create a new look to the Mariners' lineup.
Manager John McLaren said Clement would catch a majority of the games, putting current catcher Kenji Johjima's playing time in question. Johjima, who signed a three-year $24 million contract extension on April 25, entered Tuesday with a .227 average, two home runs and 17 RBI, also disappointing numbers.
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Really? Sexson can refuse becoming a free agent?
I'm stuck in an airport -- and not an airport I expected to visit today, which makes it all the more exciting -- and I don't know where to look or who to call about this. But I cannot recall a single instance of a player forcing a team to keep him in uniform when he's not wanted. I suppose one could design a contract that would allow that to happen, but I don't believe it's ever been done.
Anyway, why would Sexson (or someone like him)
want to be where he's obviously not wanted? No, what's going to happen is they're going to designate him for assignment, he's going to refuse an assignment to the minors, and will become a free agent. It's hard to imagine him showing up in the majors again this season, but many stranger things have happened.
But the M's need to get rid of him with all due haste. With the rebuilding about to begin, it's hard to justify giving Sexson more than a few plate appearances per week, maybe against the odd left-handed starter. But whatever small contribution he might make is more than balanced by the embarrassment of a $14 million salary spending most of his time on the bench. While it's easy to blame Bavasi for Sexson's contract, a lot of other people in the organization would have signed off on that contract, and as long as he's around he's an embarrassment to them, too.
So he's got to go. Let the Bryan LaHair Era begin.
(Bonus Mariner news:
Bavasi, sabermetrics vs. makeup, and the next GM.)
Rob Neyer
