Mariners Inform Clubs Jarrod Washburn Is Now Available

According to Ken Rosenthal and John Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com, the Seattle Mariners have indicated to clubs that left-hander Jarrod Washburn is "officially available."

Furthermore, Morosi and Rosenthal report that the Mariners have formally placed a call to the Yankees informing them that they'll officially begin listening to offers.

The Yankees are believed to be very interested in acquiring another starting pitcher, and it's believed the two names at the top of their list are Bronson Arroyo and Washburn, however, at this point Arroyo seems like a last resort should they not be able to complete a deal for Washburn.

Another team very interested in Washburn is the Milwaukee Brewers, but one complication for the Brewers could be the impending free agency of Jarrod Washburn. After being burned last year by CC Sabathia, many folks around baseball believe the Brewers might be hesitant about landing another potential three-month rental. However, others within the Brewers organization believe that because Washburn in a Wisconsin-native, the team might be able to convince him to agree to a contract extension, but as of now this is just all speculative.

It's believed that in exchange for Washburn Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik is seeking at the very least a major league ready shortstop. If that is in fact true it would make the Brewers seem much more viable candidates than the Yankees. The Brewers could present a package built around current big league shortstop J.J. Hardy (who was drafted by Zduriencik), or even one around prized young shortstop Alcides Escobar. On the other hand the Yankees don't really posses a top-level shortstop that they could offer the Mariners, but they do have a collection of young arms in the minor leagues that they could potentially build a deal around.