Our Ancient Foe Returns
By If this blog has held to one central, core argument since its inception (and indeed its prehistory), it is that Raul Ibanez will never amount to anything.
The Seattle Mariners officially announced their $2.75 million, one-year deal with outfielder Raul Ibanez on Wednesday, returning the veteran to where he began his major league career in 1996.
Seattle confirmed an agreement with Ibanez over the weekend but needed to clear a roster spot before making the transaction official. That took place when the Mariners designated for assignment right-handed pitcher D.J. Mitchell, opening a spot on the 40-man roster. Mitchell was acquired from the New York Yankees in the trade last July for Ichiro Suzuki.
The deal allows Ibanez to earn an additional $1.25 million in performance bonuses. This will be his third stint with the Mariners, after rejoining them from 2004-08.
Let me be the first LGM contributor to decry and denounce this deal, to confidently predict that it will somehow end disastrously for the Mariners, and to reiterate my argument (first made in 1998), that Raul Ibanez just doesn’t have much of a future in the majors.