Deadline looms for Bavasi

Seattle fans are about to see a new aspect of the Mariners' general manager, one they've yearned for throughout the lean years that have marked his tenure.

Bill Bavasi, trade-deadline buyer.

Oh, the Mariners masqueraded as buyers for a time last year, acquiring Eduardo Perez (June 30) and Ben Broussard (July 26) from Cleveland for prospects. They weren't even a .500 club, but close enough to the top in the struggling American League West to act like a contender while augmenting a pitiful designated-hitter situation.

But when the bottom fell out of the season in August, they assumed their more familiar role as sellers, peddling Jamie Moyer to the Phillies on Aug. 19 for two pitching prospects.

That jibed with the other midseason trades that Bavasi swung during his first two Mariners seasons, when he dumped the likes of Freddy Garcia, Randy Winn and Ron Villone before the July 31 deadline for making non-waiver deals.

But after three years in the cellar, the Mariners are indisputably in contention as July 31 looms just 11 days away. And Bavasi and his staff are doing what buyers do — canvassing the majors, working the phones, trying to beef up their current roster.

On Thursday, for instance, one of Bavasi's top lieutenants, Dan Evans, was at Fenway Park watching the Chicago White Sox, who have plenty of pitching to deal. He even dispatched former M's closer Norm Charlton on a scouting assignment this week.

"We're covering guys that today are not available," Bavasi said. "We're tracking them. We're watching every one of their starts, just because they might become available."

Teams that are on the fringes of contention now could fall hopelessly out in the upcoming days. It happens every year, even with the wild card to pump up the false hopes of faux contenders.

"Or sometimes they just change their minds," Bavasi said. "Now they say this guy is not available, but maybe in a week they change their mind."

While some GMs have predicted an inactive trading period — Milwaukee's Doug Melvin told ESPN.com's Buster Olney he had never seen the market so quiet in all his years, and that he anticipates few, if any, significant deals — Bavasi's not so sure.

"It's not quiet," he said. "That doesn't mean anything is getting done. There's a lot of white noise, I'd guess you'd call it. People are trying."

Bavasi, of course, wouldn't talk specifics, but he did drop a few interesting tidbits. For starters, don't look for the Mariners to be giving up their No. 1 prospect, Adam Jones, in a go-for-broke blockbuster. It's far more likely that Jones will find himself in the Mariners' outfield down the stretch.

Asked if fellow GMs are all seeking the same Seattle prospects in trade talks, Bavasi replied, "There's the obvious one. But he's not going anywhere. There's nobody good enough available."

That said, Bavasi is not philosophically opposed to trading promising prospects for a piece that can help the Mariners return to the playoffs.

"It's real uncomfortable," Bavasi said of weighing the chance that dealt prospects could blossom into stars with their new teams. "But it's part of the deal. It's part of the game. If you want to win, that's the price."

Translation: Though Jones isn't in play, that doesn't mean that Wladimir Balentien, Ryan Feierabend and/or Jeff Clement won't be sent off if the Mariners are presented with a deal they deem to be a winner.

Bavasi confirmed the obvious, that he is looking primarily for pitching — both starting and relieving. A new bat isn't out of the question, he said, but most likely only if in the process of acquiring pitching, a hole in the lineup was created.

The problem is, at the moment there's not much quality pitching to be had, especially after the White Sox re-signed Mark Buehrle, who would have been the jewel of the market.

"There's three starters that are definitely available right now, and I'm not convinced they're better than ours," Bavasi said.

He could be speaking of the White Sox's Jose Contreras, the Giants' Matt Morris and the Royals' Odalis Perez, who are all reputed to be on the market.

Of course, if the White Sox decided to make Jon Garland available, that might be a different story. According to one report out of the Newark Star-Ledger, the M's had interest in New York's Andy Pettitte, but the Yankees' recent surge has left them unlikely to purge.

As always, Florida's Dontrelle Willis looms as a potential trade target, but his recent struggles have scouts wondering if something is wrong with his arm (which he denies).

For dreamers, the name Roy Oswalt is beginning to circulate, but the Astros would obviously need a huge package of prospects to even consider dealing their ace.

"We wouldn't mind trying to get a sixth starter, or someone as good as our guys, so we could have him in the bullpen to work long and spot start, and guard against injury, too," Bavasi said.

He is also open to picking up setup help for the bullpen. "We're not looking for a closer, let's put it that way," he quipped.

Kansas City's Octavio Dotel has emerged as a hot commodity for teams seeking a bullpen upgrade, and now the names of K.C. teammates Zack Greinke — who can start or relieve — and lefty Jimmy Gobble are beginning to be heard.

The Rangers would probably deal Eric Gagne or Akinori Otsuka (but perhaps not to a division rival). And one more name for dreamers: The St. Paul newspaper recently speculated that the Twins might be willing to deal closer Joe Nathan to clear payroll for re-signing Johan Santana.

Other names being thrown around, for better or worse: David Weathers, Steve Trachsel, Kyle Lohse, Salomon Torres, Shawn Chacon, Casey Fossum, Kevin Millwood and Josh Towers.

Bavasi is trying to be smart about it all, but he knows first-hand the potential cost of not making a deal. In 1998, while running the Angels, he was roundly criticized for not making a deal at the deadline.

While the Angels stood pat (until making a flurry of minor moves in August), the Rangers picked up Todd Stottlemyre, Todd Zeile and Royce Clayton on July 31, and went from trailing the Angels by a game at the deadline to winning the division by three games.

"I had a job to do and I didn't get it done," Bavasi told the Los Angeles Times after the 1998 deadline passed without a deal. " ... I've created a void."

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com