Jack Zduriencik says trade adds late-inning relief Mariners needed

Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik insists he needed a late-inning reliever more than the kind of starting pitcher he thought Brandon Morrow could be this season.

That's the reason Zduriencik said he traded the former first-round draft pick to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for reliever Brandon League and Class A outfielder Johermyn Chavez. Bolstering the bullpen with hard-throwing right-hander League was the prime reason he'd discussed the potential move with Toronto general manager Alex Anthopoulos since early November, Zduriencik said.

"It was not an easy decision," Zduriencik said. "We had debated this thing for over a month. Alex and I had at least 15 different phone calls debating various scenarios. And at the end of the day, I think that he fit their need real well and Brandon League, at this moment in time, fits our need.

"When you acquire talent, you have to give up talent, and I think that was the case here."

League said Wednesday night from his home in Hawaii that he looks forward to joining a team making so many deals this winter in a bid to improve. He said his main goal will be to work on his consistency.

"Because I'm a sinkerball pitcher, I need to really work on my balls that sink," he said. "That's when I'm at my best. When it's sinking down rather than sinking across the plate. When it stays flat, that's when I get hurt the most."

Morrow moves on 3 ½ years after former GM Bill Bavasi selected him with the fifth overall draft pick in baseball's amateur draft. On Tuesday night, Morrow suggested his development as a starting pitcher had been delayed by Bavasi's decision to relegate him back to the bullpen before the 2008 season.

Zduriencik said he'd envisioned Morrow competing for a fifth-starter role this spring with pitchers like Garrett Olson, Jason Vargas and Doug Fister.

"All I can tell you is we had a handful of candidates for, let's say, the other parts of the rotation, the back end of the rotation," he said. "And I really didn't necessarily see this type of arm that could fit into the back end of our bullpen. And that's why we acquired Brandon League."

The Mariners had been concerned about the health and youth of the bullpen heading into 2010. Sean White is coming off season-ending shoulder woes, Shawn Kelley was inconsistent after an oblique injury, Mark Lowe had some up-and-down moments and David Aardsma enjoyed a breakout season after years of uncertainty.

"From our estimation, we were a little bit uncomfortable with the current status of our bullpen," Zduriencik said. "Last year, that was a big part of our success."

Mariners pitching coach Rick Adair, who worked with League in Class AA with the Blue Jays in 2003, said his sinkerball style should blend in well with the type of team Seattle plans to field.

"I like the fact he's a ground-ball pitcher," Adair said. "Some of the time, you have a good year with that, other times the ground balls get through.

"But with the kind of hard-throwing pitcher he is, and the guys we have playing behind him, I like our chances."

Adair said he enjoys League's laid-back manner and likes the split-fingered fastball League worked on last season.

Zduriencik says the move should make the Mariners' good bullpen even better and help "shorten the game" for a rotation headed up by Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee.

The Seattle GM added that Morrow's development plan as a starter could be a better fit with Toronto, a team in rebuilding mode.

"We acquired a very talented arm, and we gave up a talented arm," Zduriencik said. "They just are going to fit in different roles, one in their organization and one in our organization. We, at this moment in time, met a need that Toronto had. And Toronto, at this moment in time, met a need that we had."

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