M's say they'll miss veteran reliever Arthur Rhodes

ARLINGTON, Texas — What the Mariners will miss most about left-handed reliever Arthur Rhodes is the stuff he did off the field.

No one doubts his on-field comportment, being how it was good enough for the 38-year-old to bring back Class AA starting pitcher Gaby Hernandez from the Florida Marlins in the only trade Seattle made by Thursday afternoon's deadline. But in the clubhouse, Rhodes was the de facto leader and mentor of the relief corps, commanding the respect of everyone from J.J. Putz on down.

"He was the core of the whole thing," Mariners reliever Mark Lowe said. "The guy who's seen it all, been through it all. And probably a guy who most of us watched growing up. I know that J.J. used to watch him on television. And I remember seeing him on TV when I was just a kid."

It's hardly a surprise that the young group of relievers has become the team's most effective group of performers. The troubles experienced this season by Seattle, last in the American League with a 41-67 record, have some critics wondering why the Rhodes trade was the only one interim Mariners general manager Lee Pelekoudas was willing to make.

Pelekoudas has an answer.

"I'll just say that, right now, we took one step in a process we said was going to be a step-by-step process," said Pelekoudas, who was here with the team on this trip. "And again, repeat that the deadline is an artificial deadline and it's going to be a systematic process of redoing this club. And there are more opportunities that lie ahead. In August, in the offseason, in spring training. It's not going to be an overnight deal to redo the club."

For now, the "redoing" is limited to Hernandez, 22, who will start in Class AA.

After beginning the year in Class AAA, the 6-foot-3 right-hander got rocked in his hitter-friendly home ballpark in Albuquerque, N.M. But his numbers improved when he was demoted to AA on July 6, going 3-0 with a 4.30 earned-run average.

With a low-90s two-seam fastball and a sharp curveball, in addition to a changeup and cutter, the hope is that Hernandez could crack the back end of Seattle's rotation at some point in 2009.

But aside from this one deal, many teams complained in private that the Mariners were asking too high a price for players.

Pelekoudas stuck to his guns and opted not to move starting pitcher Jarrod Washburn to the New York Yankees, left fielder Raul Ibanez to the Toronto Blue Jays, or Adrian Beltre to the Minnesota Twins.

Toronto and Seattle had gone back and forth on Ibanez the past few days, with things intensifying in the hours before Thursday's deadline. Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi made it sound, in speaking with Toronto reporters, as if he thought he had a done deal.

"We were ready to go forward," Ricciardi said. "I think at the end of the day they just didn't feel as comfortable going forward to finish off the trade. It was just something that didn't come to fruition. Both parties worked hard. At the end of the day they probably weren't as comfortable with making the trade as we were. That happens."

Pelekoudas wouldn't comment on Ibanez, other than to say "we were close" on a couple of trades. But privately, sources say both sides exchanged a number of names, with the Blue Jays offering two players off their 40-man roster. The Mariners wanted players equal or better to the two compensatory draft picks they'd receive if Ibanez leaves as a free agent this winter.

In the end, sources say, no deal was ever agreed to even in tentative fashion.

A Washburn deal could be resurrected before the final trading deadline, though all of the players in such a trade — those on a 40-man roster — would have to clear waivers first.

But Pelekoudas reiterated that saving money — $13.7 million in Washburn's case — was not an issue. Pelekoudas could now keep the pitcher until the winter.

"In the offseason, your market pretty much opens up to 29 clubs, so you never know what the market's going to offer," he said. "It's a larger marketplace in the offseason, so your odds could increase and have a chance of getting a better return in the offseason."

Washburn said he'll try to build on his success of the past two months and "prove that it's not a fluke. Prove that I'm a quality major-league pitcher."

Several players agreed that Rhodes will be missed in the clubhouse.

Rhodes gave on-field advice, like telling Lowe how to gather himself on the mound when he'd fall behind 2-0 in the count. He'd tell the pitchers how to behave like big-leaguers and respect the clubhouse pecking order. Get on them to do their extra work and make themselves available to the media.

"Just the other day, on the board, someone wrote that we'd be able to wear jeans on the team plane," Lowe said. "I asked Arthur about it, and he said he was going to wear a suit. I asked him why he'd want to do that, and he told me, 'Because I'm a professional and that's how it's done.' "