M's sign Lawton

[Sp_Da_Man]

The Mariners have signed Matt Lawton to a one-year, $400,000 deal, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

He could make an additional $1.25 million in bonuses based on plate appearances. Lawton will probably be the Mariners' fourth outfielder, though there's a slight chance he could play left with Ichiro Suzuki in center and Raul Ibanez in right if Jeremy Reed is traded. It's a good signing at the price. Lawton has turned into a lousy defender, but because of his on-base ability, he could easily be a better DH than Carl Everett.

Dec. 22 - 8:11 pm et
Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer



Not a bad deal for the money I guess. Washburn, Everett & Lawton aren't superstars but at least SEA is trying to field a more competitive team.

[TheYanks04]

Their is an article in the Sports Weekly on Lawton...I can't say I buy all the BS about him succumbing to the pressures of NY and needign to perform in the playoffs...claiming he was clean until then...yada yada yada.

[Pedantic]

This is about on par with their offseason moves so far.

[Cleveland Steamers]

Its ashame Lawton has done steroids...who knows if he will get a good reception from the Mariners and their fan base.

[Music2004Man]

This seems like a very solid pickup for the money. If the M's move Reed then Ichiro, Lawton, Sexson and Beltre are a solid top four if Beltre can hit 30-35 homers (which is not a guarantee at all). The problem is that the lineup drops off drastically after those four.

[Pedantic]

This seems like a very solid pickup for the money. If the M's move Reed then Ichiro, Lawton, Sexson and Beltre are a solid top four if Beltre can hit 30-35 homers (which is not a guarantee at all). The problem is that the lineup drops off drastically after those four.

Unless Lawton's skills have deteriorated to the point where he can't hold a starting job, which seems to be a distinct possibility.

[Music2004Man]

This seems like a very solid pickup for the money. If the M's move Reed then Ichiro, Lawton, Sexson and Beltre are a solid top four if Beltre can hit 30-35 homers (which is not a guarantee at all). The problem is that the lineup drops off drastically after those four.

Unless Lawton's skills have deteriorated to the point where he can't hold a starting job, which seems to be a distinct possibility.

I agree that his skills have deteriorated but he still posted a 380 OBP for Pittsburgh last year in 101 games. That OBP would look nice in the 2 hole for the M's.

[Another Blown Save]

I don't think he will be starting, unless they decide to trade Reed, which I see no reason to do so.

[Music2004Man]

I could see them trading Reed for some SP. Their rotation is really pretty thin. There was some talk in another thread about Reed for Bronson Arroyo.

[Pedantic]

They would be fools to trade Reed. He is much better than his performance last year suggests. Reed would be a much better two hitter than Lawton. Although Lawton was decent in Pittsburgh, he didn't do so well with the Cubs and the Yanks. And he certainly isn't going to be getting better, now is he? He isn't much more than a glorified platoon player or pinch hitter at this point.