Is Raul Ibanez the answer? General Manager Jack Zduriencik thinks so.  Ibanez will get his third go with the Mariners in 2013 and ComingUpSmall is pretty sure it’s not a home run.  The man will turn 41 as a Mariner next year and at .240 last year he was not a sure thing in the batting order. But he’s got some power and could launch a few over Safeco’s new more hitter-friendly confines.

Zduriencik has been doing some interesting things this offseason, including trading away one of the Mariners’ most consistent pitchers of 2012 — Jason Vargas — for some oomph in the lineup by way of Kendrys Morales.  Of course, Morales is a first baseman just like perpetual future-superstar Justin Smoak.  That could set up some intrigue in spring training this year.

With these moves in place, C.U.S. predicts the Mariners will not finish last in the AL West. Thank you, Houston Astros.

Never underestimate the inexplicable allure to Mariners management of signing an athlete with local roots.  How else to explain their signing of Jason Bay, who spends the offseason in the Seattle area and went to Gonzaga in eastern Washington State?

Bay has not been impressive as a Met. His batting average dropped in every year since his first with the New York team, when he managed just .259 and 6 home runs. He was also injury-prone: sustaining concussions and rib injuries.

To be fair, at $1 million for a year with the Mariners, with only $500,000 in guaranteed money, it appears the deal is not overly expensive and could be a bargain if the 34-year-old can turn things around.

And the Mariners are still wooing Josh Hamilton to Washington State [insert marijuana joke here]. Would be nice for once to have a household name on the field that’s not playing for the other team.