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M's land Martin Seattle sends Mabry, minor leaguer to San Diego
SEATTLE (AP) -- The Seattle Mariners wanted Juan Gonzalez. They wound up with Al Martin. Martin, a veteran outfielder who bats left-handed, was acquired by Seattle from San Diego Padres on Monday for reserve infielder-outfielder John Mabry and Triple-A right-hander Tom Davey. Martin, 32, was hitting .306 with 11 homers and 27 RBIs for the Padres. The Mariners expect him to report before Tuesday night's game against the Boston Red Sox. He will back up left fielder Rickey Henderson and right fielder Jay Buhner for manager Lou Piniella as well as being available at designated hitter in case Edgar Martinez needs a rest. "We think he's a quality left-hand bat," Mariners general manager Pat Gillick said. "We'd like to rest our outfielders as much as possible. Al will be in there when Lou deems to rest them." Initially, that seemed to be OK with Henderson, 41, who has been Seattle's regular left fielder and leadoff hitter since being signed as a free agent by the Mariners May 17 after his release from the New York Mets. Martin is primarily a left fielder. If he plays, Henderson will have to sit and Henderson has not been happy in the past when he has to sit. "When you make a trade this time of the year, ballclubs are trying to help themselves," Henderson said. "This team needed a left-handed bat and he's a good player. He's capable of helping us." Asked about losing playing time to Martin, Henderson said: "I'm not going to worry about it. It's out of my hands." Piniella said he planned to sit down and talk to Henderson and Buhner when Martin gets to Seattle. He hopes the Mariners' team chemistry won't be harmed, but he liked the deal for Martin. "We've improved our situation," Piniella said. "That's the bottom line. Martin is a very capable player. He gives us good speed and a good bat. He'll allow me to keep my outfield new and fresh. He just fits right into my outfield rotation." Gillick landed Martin, a nine-year major league veteran who is signed through the 2001 season, in a trade that was completed at 3:30 p.m. EDT, about 30 minutes before the trading deadline. He talked to the Detroit Tigers about trading for Gonzalez, a two-time AL MVP, but the Tigers pulled him off the table. "We were optimistic," Gillick said. "It was a decision that was made by the Tigers. The ball was in their court." Gillick said the Tigers wanted to re-sign their star right fielder, acquired from Texas during the offseason. Piniella pointed out the Mariners had a four-game lead and a 61-43 record before Monday night's game. He said he didn't think the team needed to make a blockbuster trade. "You always look at the star of the movie, but if you don't have good supporting actors, you don't have a good movie," he said. Seattle thinks it didn't give up much to get Martin, a player the Mariners coveted during spring training. "We think we're fortunate that we didn't have to disturb our club," Gillick said. "We've been working on some things all week. We had a couple of false starts in the last 72 hours." Gillick admitted he was attempting to make a big trade. "You always like to do one of those," he said. "Sometimes it's not possible to do one of them, though." Gillick said other teams didn't bring up 6-foot-10 left-hander Ryan Anderson, pitching at Triple-A Tacoma. "We laid down the ground rules," he said. "If Ryan Anderson is going to succeed, he's going to succeed with the Mariners. If Ryan Anderson is going to fail, he's going to fail for the Mariners." Gillick said he was happy he was able to keep right-hander Brett Tomko, now in the bullpen, and left-hander John Halama. The Mariners have a surplus of starting pitching with Aaron Sele, Jamie Moyer, Freddy Garcia, Paul Abbott and Gil Meche. Both Moyer and Garcia have been on the disabled list this season. Meche currently has an inflamed right shoulder and could wind up on the disabled list. Halama is starting in his place. "We didn't want to tinker with that," Gillick said. "You never have enough pitching." Mabry is batting .243 with one homer and seven RBIs. Davey has gone 8-6 with a 4.61 ERA at Tacoma. Seattle was interested in Martin before the season, but he was traded to San Diego in February after eight seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He hit 24 home runs and stole 20 bases last year. He joins a lineup that already includes Henderson, the career steals leader, Henderson and speedy center fielder Mike Cameron. Mabry, 29, was signed by the Mariners as a free agent in December 1998. Davey, 26, was acquired along with left-hander Steve Sinclair in a July 1999 trade for first baseman David Segui. Martin has been the subject of a domestic violence and bigamy investigation in Phoenix and Las Vegas. He was arrested March 20 in the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale for investigation of assault in an incident involving a woman, Shawn Haggerty-Martin, who claims she married him in a 1998 Las Vegas ceremony when he already was married. Padres officials have said Martin has known Haggerty-Martin for four or five years, and that his wife, Cathy Martin, is aware of her. Martin has denied the accusations of violence and bigamy. Results of the Maricopa County investigation were forwarded to the Clark County District Attorney's office in Las Vegas in May. No charges had been filed in Las Vegas as of Monday.
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