Yanks trying to finalize trade for M's Washburn

TORONTO — A throng of reporters surrounded Mariners pitcher Jarrod Washburn as he emerged from the clubhouse shower.

Washburn had not thrown a pitch in this seventh straight Mariners loss Saturday afternoon, an 8-3 hammering under the mallet of the Toronto Blue Jays. He didn't give up the two home runs hit by Alex Rios, commit any fielding miscues or pop out on a bunt attempt with runners at the corners and only one out.

But news that the left-handed starter was on the verge of being traded to the New York Yankees made him the most noteworthy thing to come out of this latest debacle for his team. Washburn was scheduled to start today's series finale and said he'd yet to receive a phone call from agent Scott Boras about waiving his no-trade clause once any agreement in principle with a club is reached.

"It's no different, my job doesn't change," he said of preparing for today's outing, even though he might be headed out. "Nothing's done yet, so that's what I'm preparing to do."

The Yankees turned all of their focus toward finalizing the Washburn deal Saturday. That's because, on Friday, they had completed a deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates that included outfielder Xavier Nady as its centerpiece.

One of the components of the Washburn deal is said to include an outfielder, most likely center fielder Melky Cabrera, but possibly prospect Brett Gardner, heading over to the Mariners. It has been reported that the Yankees are also trying to get the Mariners to take on the salary of AAA starter Kei Igawa, owed $4 million in each of the coming three years.

Money has been the big element to the discussion between the teams. Washburn is owed roughly $13.5 million through the end of next year and getting Seattle to take Igawa would lessen some of that burden.

But if they are saving less money in a Washburn trade, the Mariners would also like to get some value back — which is where the outfielder discussion on Cabrera and Gardner comes into play. Anyone in the Rogers Centre crowd of 33,041 attending Saturday's game could see the Mariners are in need of a full-time center fielder.

Willie Bloomquist did not distinguish himself in the sixth inning on a throw home. Joe Inglett had singled to right center, but Bloomquist's throw was off-line and enabled the cement-footed Gregg Zaun to score from second base.

Bloomquist is only a backup outfielder, while Jeremy Reed has seen his hitting totals level off — his on-base-plus-slugging percentage is just .653 — as he gets more playing time.

The Bloomquist throw was hardly the decisive moment in a game that saw knuckleballer R.A. Dickey tagged for eight runs and six extra-base hits over 5-1/3 laborious innings. Dickey had trouble getting his knuckleball over, fell behind in counts and paid for it on the scoreboard.

"I could have walked less guys, that's for sure," Dickey sighed, having issued four free passes in the game. "A couple of those walks hurt me."

So did an attempted "safety squeeze" bunt by catcher Jamie Burke with runners at the corners and only one out in the second inning after Jose Lopez had already doubled in a tying run off Toronto starter David Purcey. The play is less aggressive than a suicide squeeze — since the lead runner only advances once he's sure the bunt is down.

But Burke popped out to first base and the inning died soon after. Matt Stairs tripled and scored in the bottom of the inning to put Toronto up to stay.

Mariners manager Jim Riggleman said he called the bunt because the Mariners have hit into too many double plays with slow runners at the plate and wanted to stay out of one this time. Riggleman denied knowing anything about a Washburn deal being completed.

But he may have tipped the team's hand by leaving the struggling Dickey out there as long as he did. Riggleman is almost certainly being advised about any trade progress and may have wanted his bullpen rested in case Washburn is yanked from today's start and a bunch of relievers have to pick up innings.

Washburn said he spoke to Boras on Thursday to go over details of what would take place in an agreement if a trade is reached. The pitcher took that time to outline any compensation he'd like for waiving his no-trade clause and expects all that to be hammered out by the time Boras gets back to him.

Once that call comes, Washburn would have little else to do but say "yes" or "no" to a trade.

"That's pretty much it," he said.

For now, he waits. So do the Mariners. To see whether their best pitcher outside of Felix Hernandez the past two months is off to far greener pastures.

Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or gbaker@seattletimes.com