Moyer traded to Phillies

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jamie Moyer had the team's permission to return home Saturday to attend a family event.

The Mariners, however, needed Moyer's permission to send him out of Seattle.

They got it on Saturday, trading Moyer to the Philadelphia Phillies for two right-handed pitching prospects currently at the Class A level. The Associated Press also reported the Mariners included cash in the deal.

Moyer was asked what he would like to say to the city of Seattle in a phone interview Saturday night.

"I can do nothing but say thank you," Moyer said. "They've opened their arms, they've opened their hearts, they've supported our teams, and we have a lot of friends outside of baseball."

Moyer, 43, had to approve the deal because he has 10 years of major-league experience and five years' tenure with the same team. He came to Seattle in a 1996 trade from Boston for Darren Bragg, and he began his big-league career with the Chicago Cubs in 1986.

Moyer, a left-hander, did not approve a deal that would have sent him to Houston last year. He said the primary reason was the Astros were not interested in discussing a deal for the future.

He re-signed with Seattle in the offseason, agreeing to a one-year deal for $5.5 million. The deal with Philadelphia includes a mutual option for next season that either side can get out of. Exact terms are unknown.

"The willingness this time was because the club I was dealing with was more apt to deal with me," Moyer said.

Seattle acquired Andrew Baldwin and Andrew Barb in the trade.

Baldwin projects to be a starting pitcher and is currently at Clearwater, Fla., the Phillies' highest Class A team. The 23-year-old was a fifth-round draft pick in 2004. Barb, 21, resides in Redmond and is with the Phillies' lower Class A club in Lakewood, N.J. He attended Everett Community College.

Manager Mike Hargrove said it was too early to say who would take Moyer's place in the rotation.

Moyer said he will continue to live in Seattle, and he will return as soon as the season is over.

"Hopefully after the World Series is over and we win it," he said.

The move leaves a void greater than just in the starting rotation.

"[Moyer was] a guy we kind of all looked toward, if we had any questions or concerns about something going on around here," Gil Meche said. "He was the guy to ask. As far as who that guy is now, I have no idea. It's tough to see him go."

The end of Moyer's decade-long tenure with the Mariners is the beginning of the team's look at who will be in the starting rotation next season.

"We have got the potential for three openings in the rotation," Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi said. "So we better start looking at some people now and trying to win some games."

Meche will be a free agent, Joel Pineiro is still arbitration-eligible, and Moyer was unsigned beyond this season.

Ichiro was asked after Saturday's loss if he was disappointed to learn of Moyer's trade.

"Out of the members of the 2001 [team], he was the last person who was playing regularly," said Ichiro, who debuted that season with Seattle. "So, yes, in that way."

Moyer is 6-12 this season, but the Mariners have averaged just 3.52 runs in his starts this season, the second-lowest run support in the American League. The Phillies are 2 ½ games behind Cincinnati in the NL wild-card chase, and the addition of Moyer is part of the team's playoff push.

"I have an opportunity to go to a team in contention for the last five weeks of season," Moyer said, "and hopefully beyond that. That's the exciting side of it. The downside is leaving."

Moyer is from Pennsylvania. He was born in Sellersville, and grew up idolizing Steve Carlton. The move, however, was not something done as a courtesy to Moyer, Bavasi said.

"I'd love to tell you that taking care of Jamie was a high priority," Bavasi said. "It wasn't. Our job is to take care of the Seattle Mariners, so the fact that he's getting to go to a club like Philadelphia, a couple of games back in the wild card, is great. We are really happy for him. But we always take care of ourselves."

Bavasi was asked if this signifies the Mariners have shifted the organization's focus to preparing for next season.

"I don't think any more than you see us doing right now," Bavasi said.

But the one thing Moyer's trade did was take away one of the best examples of professionalism in the sport.

"I've been around some really great players, and I don't know that I've ever seen one that prepares better than Jamie did," manager Mike Hargrove said.

Danny O'Neil: 206-464-2364 or doneil@seattletimes.com