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Felix Hernandez in pinstripes is something that a lot of people still see as a possibility, even as early as this season.

A lot has been ballyhooed about the reigning Cy Young’s status with the Mariners, his no-trade clause and whether or not the Mariners should consider shipping off their ace for a true king’s ransom.

Stephen Meyer, who heads up the MLB content team here on Bleacher Report, put together a logical piece discussing Felix’s no-trade clause and why it doesn’t mean he couldn’t be traded to one of the listed teams.

Stephen made a lot of solid points. Often times, no-trade clauses are misconstrued as a player’s desire not to go to a specific team.

In reality, players of Felix’s ilk retain smart agents who make sure their client has leverage in any trade negotiation.

That said, there are some things with Stephen’s piece I disagree with. These issues aren’t something I’d use to claim he’s wrong per say, but rather to play devil’s advocate and point out some things that people who follow the Mariners more closely may be privy to.

Here are three major points to counter his argument that Felix could indeed be traded this season:

1. Mariners General Manager Jack Zduriencik and his front office are renowned around the league as a group that hold their cards extremely close to their vests. It was for that reason that Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. approached Zduriencik at the winter meetings a year ago to discuss a potential Cliff Lee deal.

Ken Rosenthal, probably the most connected reporter in baseball, was finally able to sniff out some details, but the Mariners’ involvement remained a secret until the deal was virtually done.

What this all means is that the Mariners don’t talk about stuff—not their GM nor his employees.

When Zduriencik does talk, you can walk the check into the bank and cash it without issue. He’s tight-lipped, giving canned answers often, but has no problem being candid once a decision is made.

His continued insistence that Felix isn’t going anywhere shouldn’t be looked at as posturing. The depth of his insistence shows that he and ownership have no desire to trade Hernandez.

2. Felix has been up front about his desire to stay in Seattle. Of course, the no-trade clause doesn’t mean things can’t change, but usually players give canned responses like “This is where I am now, we’ll see what the future holds” if they aren’t sure or have other plans.

Sometimes, you can just read people.

The way Felix’s face lights up when he talks about Seattle, it doesn’t look like a guy who is sick of losing or wants to force his way out.

3. The team would need motivation to trade him.

Rosenthal and I exchanged some tweets about this. He believes that the time is now, while the return would be the greatest, for the Mariners to consider a deal.

He and others may believe that a full rebuild should be done at this point, considering the state of both the big league roster and farm system.

While I agree with that logic, Felix is in a special category. I think people forget that he still has to pay a surcharge to rent a car.

He’ll turn 25 in time for his third start of the season.

Furthermore, the hardest thing for any team to get is a bone fide No. 1 starter.

Of the names that people have mentioned that could come back from New York, there is no certainty any will yield the value Felix already has at a young age.

Look, I’m the first guy that is willing to let his emotional attachment to a player go if a deal makes sense. As a Mariners fan, I’ve become an expert at this as our superstars have fled the scene of the accident.

In this case, though, you have a player that is far too special to flip for some unproven prospects—each with their own potential issues.

Next season, the club will be another year removed from the mess that Bill Bavasi left. They’ll finally have some payroll flexibility to make roster moves that come from places other than the scrap heap and rehab room.

The Mariners don’t need to rebuild without Felix Hernandez. They need to build around him.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Mariners ace Felix Hernandez has been one of the hottest stories of the MLB offseason, but not resulting from his 2010 Cy Young or his actions on or off the field.

Trade speculation has been rampant and relentless regarding the American League’s best pitcher, as Hernandez’s Mariners team walks the tightrope of adding payroll or starting from scratch in a rebuild.

FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi recently revealed eight of the 10 teams in Hernandez’s much-discussed no-trade clause, and all of them were high-profile and high-payroll organizations.

The list included the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs—which inevitably caused outcry for the “King Felix to the Yankees” talk to stop for good.

The problem with that logic is a clear misunderstanding of the no-trade process and why a pitcher of Hernandez’s skill set would construct one in this framework.

Are we to believe that King Felix, a man with ice water running through his veins and an unrelenting competitiveness, would suddenly get cold feet about large-market baseball?

Additionally, we’re to take seriously the notion he would all but eliminate every MLB team that could pay the astronomical salary he’ll command when the time comes for an extension?

This no-trade construction is simply a savvy move by an agent that is doing his job—maximizing the earning potential of his best and most desirable client.

The Yankees, Phillies, Red Sox and Cubs of the world are included not because Hernandez would never pitch there.

These teams are instead chosen for two key reasons:

1. The larger payroll markets are most likely to not only afford Felix’s salary in the short and long term, but also pursue a trade for him in order to make a run at a title.

2. Players with no-trade clauses in their contracts have the ability to be “compensated for forfeiture” of that right in order to complete a deal. As a result, Felix can essentially be “bought out” without losing a dime of his contractual value ($20.03 million per year from 2012 to 2014).

Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik has repeatedly shot down any rumors of the situation, and he has no motivation to do otherwise. It is far too early to even consider moving your franchise player—especially in the most wide-open AL West in recent memory.

Felix is happy in Seattle, the Mariners are thrilled to have him and they have every reason to believe they’ll contend in the near future.

Do I believe that a trade is imminent in 2011? No, absolutely not. Do I believe a third season in four years of between 60 and 65 victories could begin to sway that opinion after 2011? Yes, I do.

If Seattle struggles as a franchise until the July 2012 trading deadline, they will be forced to reevaluate the future of the organization—including Ichiro Suzuki in his contract year and Felix representing about 50 percent of current 2013 payroll obligations.

They will have plenty of money to spend and prospects to groom over the next 12 months, but much like LeBron James in Cleveland, they’ll have to show Felix he can win a title there…and soon.

The odds of Hernandez ending up in pinstripes—or any other MLB uniform—is very slim in 2011. They are not even one percentage point lower, however, than they were before word of his no-trade reached the news wire.

If Felix stays a Mariner for the duration of his contract, it will be because they build a team around him, maintain a stable financial position and establish the groundwork for a World Series contender.

It will not, however, be based on a disinterest in pitching for large-market teams or a devout commitment to his no-trade clause.

It is important to first understand the real reasons behind a no-trade before assuming a player’s motive.

Felix would not prefer to pitch in Cleveland or Kansas City as opposed to New York or Chicago, but that does not mean he will move out of Seattle in the near future, either.

One thing can be said for certain amidst all of the speculation and frustration: Interested teams will never stop trying to change Seattle’s mind.

The Mariners would demand a player ransom that could make the Twins feel like they got fleeced in the AJ Pierzynski deal, but this would be one occasion where a US organization would negotiate with terrorists.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

How do you fix a team that has lost 100 games twice in three seasons?

That’s the glaring question that general manager Jack Zduriencik and manager Eric Wedge are tasked with in 2011.

After a few nice trades and additions propelled the team a giant step forward in 2009, they took another giant step back in 2010. Though most assumed that ’09 team overachieved, the additions to the club last season led those same pundits to believe we’d at least see a similar outcome, perhaps even a better one.

With pitchers and catchers doing bullpen sessions and position players trickling in ahead of the mandatory report date this Friday, the team is getting a chance to have a hard, long look at their squad early.

It’s a good thing, too, because there are questions that must be answered post-haste.

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After an award-winning 2010 campaign, with trade rumors constantly swirling around him, Felix Hernandez is set to enter his 10th season of professional baseball in the Seattle Mariners organization. Hernandez has enjoyed several successes in his 10 years in professional baseball, but he has much higher sights for himself.

At the age of 16, Hernandez signed with the Mariners on July 4, 2002. According to Hernandez, the Mariners were not the highest bidders, but they were the team that made him the most comfortable.

“The money was good, and Seattle treated me the best,” he said through an interpreter at the time in an interview with The Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

The Mariners were among a handful of teams that recognized the unique talent that Felix Hernandez possessed, a talent that could develop into one of the best pitchers of all time.

“After watching him, I could understand why we gave him some money,” farm director Benny Looper said in an interview he gave in 2004. “He was a good-looking prospect even at that age.

“If he lives up to his potential, I’d put him in the same class with Junior (Ken Griffey) and Alex (Rodriguez).”

Hernandez has lived up to his potential, earning his first Cy Young award last season at the age of 24, and he is just now entering his “prime.” How do you provide an encore to a Cy Young season? If you are Hernandez, you raise the stakes and attempt to become the best pitcher in the Major Leagues.

Felix respects other great pitchers such as Tim Lincecum, Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, David Price, Ubaldo Jimenez, etc., but he wants to stand at the front of that line.

Hernandez is one of those rare athletes that possess the desire to be the best at everything he does, a trait that has already taken him far in his professional career, but also one which gives him a very high ceiling in regards to his potential accomplishments.

Scott Budner, Hernandez’s pitching coach with the Missions in 2004, made this prophetic statement one year prior to Felix’s Major League debut with the Mariners:

“The thing that’s going to make him special is that he’s (fiery) on the mound,” Budner said. “He doesn’t like to lose. He’s a great competitor, and when things get tough, he gets tougher.

“That’s why Michael Jordan is so far above everybody else. Michael Jordan had incredible talent, but a lot of guys do. Jordan wanted to win more than anybody did, and that’s why he dominated. Felix has that nice combination that you look for of raw talent, and he…wants to beat you. That’s a beautiful thing.”

His then-teammate Rene Cortez also added, “He wants to win everything. Playing cards, PlayStation, whatever we do, he has to win. That’s what I like about Felix. Whatever he has to do to win, he’ll do it.”

Since making his debut in 2005, that is what Hernandez has done more often than not. He has won on a team that has only seen a winning record twice since Hernandez joined the rotation (2007 and 2009). Over that time, King Felix has compiled a 71-53 record with a 3.20 ERA.

In fact, Felix Hernandez has improved every season since making his debut. His 2006 ERA (his first full season with the Mariners) was 4.52. In 2007 he lowered his ERA to 3.92. In 2008 his ERA was 3.45. The 2009 season was spectacular with a 2.49 ERA, and in 2010 Hernandez won the Cy Young award on the strength of his league-best 2.27 ERA. This is not accidental. Hernandez strives for improvement with each new season.

“Do I think I can be better? Why not?” Hernandez says. “I’m trying to get better every year.”

This spring, Hernandez has not been content sitting back and enjoying the success he had personally in 2010. He has been limited to only 2.2 innings pitched, but has a 1-0 record and 3.38 ERA to show for it as he beat the division rival Oakland Athletics.

Hernandez has spent the rest of the spring throwing bullpen sessions and carving up hitters in live batting practice sessions designed to limit other teams ability to see Hernandez too many times before the regular season.

Hernandez’s intensity shows through even in these live batting practice sessions. If he is not happy with the break on his pitches, he lets you know. He seeks perfection with every outing, even meaningless spring sessions that are as much practice for the batters he is facing as they are for him.

With the level of success that Hernandez has accomplished at such a young age, there are the inevitable rumors that come from the “big-market” franchises such as New York and Boston. Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik has reiterated he has no intention of trading Hernandez. It would be irresponsible, however, not to at least field calls from interested teams given the return that trading Hernandez would bring.

As important to Mariners fans as Hernandez’s success on the field though is his desire to stay in Seattle and turn the franchise into a winner. Felix negotiated a no-trade clause into his contract that includes both New York and Boston.

While Hernandez admits that pitching in the environment of the AL East holds a small appeal to him, he prefers to pitch in that environment as a visiting player with the Seattle Mariners.

“I’d love to be in that position playing against the Yankees or Boston,” he told Yahoo’s Jeff Passan. “The field is always packed. The adrenaline is up and up. It’s the best place to pitch.”

Asked if he would waive his no-trade clause to pitch elsewhere, Hernandez says:

“I’d say no. I hear it all the time, but I’d love to stay here. I like Seattle, like the organization, like all the people I’m around, and I live in Seattle. We’ve got a lot of talent here—young talent. We could be good. If [Erik] Bedard stays healthy, and [Jason] Vargas is pretty good, [Doug] Fister’s pretty good, [Michael] Piñeda is big and has great stuff. And I’m OK.”

“OK” is drastically downplaying Hernandez’s abilities, and he knows it. He will play a major role in the Mariners future success in 2011 and beyond. He does not simply want to rank above Mariners greats such as Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey, Jr as Benny Looper once predicted; he wants to stand as one of the greatest pitchers in Major League history.

With four years remaining on his current contract with the Mariners, Seattle fans will witness first-hand as Hernandez pitches his way towards the top of pitching ranks.

With respect to the other great pitchers in the game today, Hernandez simply says:

“This is my time.”

Felix Hernandez’s Career Statistics:

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Pitching wins championships.

It’s not overly complicated: if you have a great starting rotation, you’re going to win some ball games. Just ask the San Francisco Giants, or a Philadelphia Phillies fan if you’ve got the time.

Every offseason teams try to bring in talented arms. Sometimes those arms are found through free agency, while other times it comes from a hot prospect or even taking a chance on an aging veteran.

For many teams, their seasons hinge on the performance of their starting rotation.

That said, let’s take a look at who will be the best starting pitchers in the AL on their respective teams in 2011.

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One key to winning a fantasy baseball league is finding value in the latter stages of the draft, especially starting pitchers who can provide help with wins and strikeouts without hurting a team’s overall ERA. Late-round value picks who pan out can also be excellent trade bait to help bolster other weak areas of a fantasy roster.  

After spending all of 2010 on the disabled list, Erik Bedard returns to the Mariners rotation this spring after making only 30 starts for the club since being acquired in 2007. Bedard joins a rotation of young arms led by defending AL Cy Young winner Felix Hernadez, who will again be the team’s ace and opening day starter. 

A Franco-Ontarian, Bedard’s journey to the major leagues can be described as anything but typical. He began his college baseball career by haphazardly accompanying a friend to tryout for the Norwalk Community College in Norwalk, Connecticut. After making the team as a walk-on, he quickly made a name for himself and became a junior college All-American. 

One of the things that makes Bedard so valuable from a fantasy perspective is his ability to strike batters out. In his seven-year major league career, he amassed an excellent strikeout-per-nine ratio of 9.0, including an impressive 10.9 k/9 average in his best season in the big leagues.  

It goes without saying that Bedard is a huge risk and should not be counted on when building a fantasy roster. However if he can somehow stay healthy this season, he could be a viable low-end starter.  His 3.72 career ERA will not hurt an owner too much and he will help out with strikeouts and wins.  

In two starts this spring, Bedard has pitched three scoreless innings while striking out six batters. His once-famous curveball appears to have regained some of its bite and for the first time in a while he appears to be pain-free. The question is: will he be able to deliver his first full season in a Mariner uniform?

Check out our other sleepers for 2011:

Craig Kimbrel

Jeremy Hellickson

Rick Porcello

This article was originally published on www.kramericasports.com. The home of free fantasy baseball news, rankings and advice.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Earlier this spring, New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman insisted that Manny Banuelos, who won’t turn 20 years old for another few days, had “no chance” to make the major league team out of spring training. 

The young left-hander, says Cashman, will begin the 2011 season at Double-A Trenton.

This would make sense if Banuelos were your normal soon-to-be 20-year-old pitcher; which is to say, somebody in desperate need of more seasoning before being ready to even dream of pitching in the major leagues.

But to watch Banuelos pitch, even in spring training, is to know the minor leagues have nothing to offer him but innings. We see no rational reason to waste those innings in the minor leagues—especially when the major league team is in such desperate need of quality innings from the rotation.

While Banuelos possesses overpowering stuff—he has great command of three plus pitches—he is not simply overpowering batters. Even at the tender age of 19, the lefty is anything but the proverbial “thrower.” Banuelos is a pitcher, and an advanced one at that.

“(He’s a) special kid,” a former MLB scout told Yankees ‘n More. “This is the product you get when a guy learns to pitch first with pretty good stuff, and then picks up a couple ticks.”

And what about keeping Banuelos on the majors from the start this season?

“It’s incredibly tempting,” said the former scout. “Most young talents, you can see where they need seasoning. He (Banuelos) already has the moxie of a major league pitcher.”

For proof of that “moxie,” look no further than Manny’s performance Friday evening against the Boston Red Sox. Banuelos pitched two scoreless innings, but it’s not simply the results that impressed. It’s the way he achieved those results.

Banuelos twice spotted a nasty changeup for a strike when behind the count 1-0. He also dropped in a nasty curve for a strike when he fell down in the count 2-0 to a third batter.

And what did young Manny show when he found himself in a bit of trouble with two men on in his second inning of work? This kid, who had been sitting at 93 with his fastball most of the evening, reached back for 96—blowing away the batter to end the inning, while registering his third strikeout of the night.

So what’s the problem with allowing Banuelos the opportunity to pitch his way into the major leagues? Would this be any sort of issue if he were pitching as he is at the age of 22 or 23? Can Brian Cashman really be so blind as to not recognize a special set of circumstances when he sees them?

Seattle‘s Felix Hernandez was pitching in the major leagues at a younger age than Banuelos is now. In fact, “King” Felix pitched 84 innings in the major leagues the year he turned 19. He pitched 191 more the year he turned 20. If memory serves, that worked out okay.

That worked out okay because Hernandez was a special case. And when you watch him pitch, you know Banuelos is as well. To just blindly apply a strict set of rules to every 20-year-old for no other reason than because they are 20 is, at best, silly.

No, don’t misunderstand. The Yankees should be very protective of this young arm. But you do that with pitch and innings limits. Where those pitches and innings are thrown should be determined only by Banuelos’ performances. Period.

There is one other thing that must be considered with Banuelos, or any other pitcher for that matter: injuries.

Tomorrow is not promised to any of us, especially not to pitchers. God forbid Banuelos is one of those unfortunates who only has a very limited number of bullets in the chamber—think Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, etc.

But whether young Banuelos proves to be the next Mark Prior or the next Nolan Ryan when it comes to health, the question still has to be asked:

Just how many of Manny’s bullets do we wish to waste on the minor leagues?

Brian Cashman might not be ready to see Manny pitch in the major leagues, but the kid is sure enough ready to pitch at that level. To send him anyplace else would be a waste.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

With the recent trade talk involving the Yankees going after the Twins’ Francisco Liriano, who should the Yankees be going after instead?  

While I think the Yankees acquiring Francisco Liriano would be a great benefit to the starting rotation, it is bound to come at a high price (Jesus Montero and several of the young Yankees pitching prospects) for a pitcher who will be either the number two or number three pitcher. 

Even though Liriano is the best pitcher currently available in the trade market, there are others who are available that would cost less (in terms of money or prospects).

Why are the Yankees even bothering to get another pitcher? Don’t they have a bunch of young prospects and former Major Leaguers they signed this offseason? Yes, but the Yankees always want to win and in order to do that you need a solid pitching rotation, not one with a solid number one pitcher followed by four question marks.

If they can shore up just one more rotation spot before the season starts, they’ll feel better overall about their chances.

I came up with a list of seven players, some are targets the Yankees stand a better chance of acquiring, others are long shots that will have to wait till at least June to see if they’re even available and two are still free agents.  

Let’s start with the free agents available because they wouldn’t cost the Yankees any prospects and thus would cost the Yankees the least. 

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Every team wants one, he’s more important than a power hitter, a shut down closer, or a super utility man.  Every team wants a young No.1 starter at or under the age of 26; a young superstar pitcher you can build your team around, one less spot in the rotation that you have to worry about.

You hold on to these pitchers like your life depends on it, and you overprotect that arm like you overprotect your child.  Because your entire franchise is on that throwing arm, and everybody knows that throwing arms are made out of glass.

For this list, I am looking for several things: past performance, injuries, contribution to the team, pure stuff, and whether or not their future is looking bright. 

Every pitcher under or at 26 or under in the majors is eligible, injured or not. 

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2011 is finally here, which means we can forget about the disaster that was 2010.

We know that the Mariners won’t be very good this season. We could focus on that, but I think our time could be better spent looking at where the team is headed.

Prospects Dustin Ackley and Michael Pineda should make their debuts this season. Justin Smoak will try to take a step forward in his age 24 season. Michael Saunders and Adam Moore hope to improve and remind us of why they were interesting prospects. King Felix will hold court and Ichiro will be Ichiro.

There are plenty of things to look forward to in this 2011 campaign, and payroll relief will arrive next season.

Below you’ll find a table of contents with links for your convenience.

Slide 02: Player Profiles

Slide 27: Prospects to Watch

Slide 30: Coaching Staff

Slide 38: Bold Predictions

Slide 43: Division Rivals

Slide 46: Team Projection

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