Jack Zduriencik

The Mariners successfully prevented their opponents from scoring in 2012 — just two American League clubs allowed fewer runs. However, no AL team had more trouble generating offense than Seattle, which finished last in the league in scoring. Will the Mariners swap arms for bats, or will moving the fences in at Safeco Field be enough? GM Jack Zduriencik checked in with MLBTR at the 2012 GM Meetings at Indian Wells, California. Here are some highlights…

• The Mariners have lots of young pitching, and they’re not going to rule out the possibility of trading it to strengthen other areas of the team. “You have to keep your options open,” Zduriencik said. “At this stage people are feeling each other out, people are lining their ducks up in a row. All 30 clubs are doing this and everybody has their Christmas list if you will.”
• Zduriencik will consider trades and free agency as the Mariners search for offense. “You never know what’s going to be out there,” the GM said.
• Early on in the offseason, there’s “an awareness” from free agents that the Mariners will be moving the fences in at Safeco Field in 2013. “It certainly becomes a conversation piece and hopefully it helps us.”

SATURDAY: Zduriencik's new deal is for two years, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.

WEDNESDAY: The Mariners announced a multiyear extension for GM Jack Zduriencik. Despite the team's place at the bottom of the American League West standings, president & CEO Chuck Armstrong says the club is headed in the right direction for long-term success.

“Jack arrived in Seattle with a clear plan, and he has not deviated from that plan,” Armstrong said in a team press release. “Jack wanted to increase the talent base in our organization through scouting and player development. That is exactly what he has done.”

Zduriencik, whose contract was set to expire after 2011, said today that he intends "to continue to acquire talent at all levels of [the] organization" as the Mariners look to improve.

MLBTR's extension tracker has all of the moves Zduriencik has made since taking over baseball operations in October of 2008. His most memorable deals to date include the two Cliff Lee trades, the Brandon League for Brandon Morrow swap, the three-team J.J. Putz deal and the Milton Bradley for Carlos Silva trade. He also signed Felix Hernandez and Franklin Gutierrez to extensions and spent $36MM on free agent Chone Figgins. In total, Zduriencik and his staff acquired 28 of the 32 players currently on Seattle's active roster and disabled list.

The Mariners won 85 games in 2009, the club's first season under Zduriencik. However, they lost 101 games last year and are now 57-77, last in the AL West.

Zduriencik became the first non-GM to win Baseball America's executive of the year award in 2007, when he was Milwaukee's scouting director. He has spent 28 years working for MLB organizations, including nine with the Brewers (1999-2008).

Mike Salk of 710 ESPN first reported the deal.

Mariners fans and those that would like insight on where their new GM Jack Zduriencik will take the team should read this piece from Geoff Baker’s Mariners Blog. 

Baker praises Zduriencik (whose name I will copy and paste for the rest of this post) for his low key nature and respect of the organization and positions as currently arranged. While he seeks to make sweeping changes, he carries no agenda to do so abruptly. This refers not only to players but also employees and scouts within the organization. Says Baker,

"The best GMs in this game are the ones who know how to use the people who work under them. Look at Billy Beane in Oakland and the parade of fine assistants he relies on. Or at Gillick in Philadelphia, who holds weekly conference calls with the Phillies pro scouting staff — something that truly allows them to feel they are making a difference."

Baker says the most important decision Zduriencik will make could be his choice of manager.  Baker breaks it down eloquently:

"The GM is the master-planner. But the manager is the guy in the field. The guy in the trenches. There is always the theory and the reality of carrying something out. A GM comes up with the theory. And a good manager takes that theory and — providing he has the proper tools and experience — knows how to make in work down on the field."

Baker notes how former GM Bill Bavasi did not communicate his reasons for making certain moves (Rafael Soriano-Horacio Ramirez anyone?) to his fans. Baker warns Zduriencik tends to play it close to the chest as well and how he handles the media will be decisive in his re-engaging and earning the trust of M’s fans.

See also this piece by Phil Rogers where he gives credit to the Mariners for "getting the best baseball mind available." He says Zduriencik’s scouting ability and keen judgment are responsible for the Brewers’ recent successes and should be a GM in the mold of Pat Gillick. Interestingly, Ned Yost is being seriously considered.