Seattle signed the arbitration-eligible RHP Freddy Garcia to a one-year, $6.875M contract on December 20th. Had he not agreed to a deal prior to that evening's deadline to tender contracts to unsigned players under their control, the Mariners would have non-tendered him rather than risk not completing a deal before his case went to arbitration. His 2004 salary will be the same as his salary in 2003 when he won his arbitration hearing against Seattle.

Garcia's walk rate rose slightly and he lost most of the gain he made in his strikeout rate between 2001 and 2002, but his skills remained close to their established levels this year. The declines in his ERA and win-loss record appear to be insubstantial fluctuations in superficial statistics. Unless his skills continue to decline, I expect the 27-year-old to appear more successful in 2004. While I am pleased the Mariners didn't throw Garcia away by non-tendering him, I don't believe he's a big bargain at this price. I'd much rather have RHP Miguel Batista.