Russell
Branyan and Franklin Gutierrez each played a key part in the Seattle
Mariners’ 8-4 win over the New York Yankees on Thursday night.

Branyan continued his impressive breakout, going 2-for-4 with his 20th home run (a moon shot that hit the restaurant
in center field at Yankee Stadium). Gutierrez also went deep to cap off
a three-hit performance as the Mariners roughed up Yankees starter CC
Sabathia for six earned runs. Ichiro Suzuki, as usual, also got in on
the action, but it was fitting that Branyan and Gutierrez each played
such an instrumental role in the high-profile win, which ended
Seattle’s 10-game losing streak against New York.

Each offseason
acquisition has been tremendously valuable to the Mariners, 40-38 and a
realistic contender in the weak American League West, in their own way.
Jack Zduriencik made several shrew roster moves in his first offseason
as general manager, attempting to upgrade his defense and spend money
efficiently on the open market. In most instances, Zduriencik has
succeeded on both counts and appears to have struck gold in some of
those moves, none more notable than the additions of the aforementioned
duo.

Rather than splurge on any high-profile free-agent bat,
with a surplus of them available, Zduriencik took a flier on Branyan,
who was offered (and agreed to) a one-year, $1.4-M contract. The former
Milwaukee Brewers scouting director and one-time Baseball America
executive of the Year then made it clear from the get-go that the
33-year-old slugger would get every opportunity to hold down first
base. It was his job to lose, the rookie GM said.

Zduriencik,
after seeing what Branyan could do first hand during his final season
with the Brewers, was confident in the decision. The first baseman made
a good impression by hitting .250/.342/.583 with 12 homers in 152 plate
appearances in Milwaukee in 2008, producing a .383 Weighted On-Base
Average (wOBA). Although he struck out in 31.8 percent of his plate
appearances, the Three True Outcome hitter did what he does best, going
on a home run barrage while walking in 12.8 percent of his plate trips
upon a mid-summer promotion from Triple-A Nashville. When accounting
for batting, fielding, positional and replacement factors, he was worth
1.2 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) in only 50 games; that production
translates to $5.2-M. After getting a front row seat and witnessing the
benefits of that cheap production in a limited sample, Zduriencik acted
quickly to get the veteran into a Seattle uniform, anxious to see what
he could do in a full-time role.

So far, the decision appears to
be one of the wisest investments in baseball. Once a top prospect, his
prodigious power has garnered a lot of attention throughout his
professional tenure; not too many journeyman boast a .259 career
Isolated Power (IsoP) and can put on a batting practice display like he
can. High strikeout totals (39% career K rate), a lack of opportunities
and plethora of injuries, though, have held him back from becoming the
performer that scouts originally envisioned.

Finally healthy and
given the opportunity to play every night, Branyan is flourishing in
his new surroundings. Despite having to play his home games in
pitcher-friendly Safeco Field, he has been on fire for the first three
months. He has raked to the tune of a .298/.394/.596 line with a .417
wOBA, hitting some absolute bomb home runs. According to HitTrackerOnline.com,
in fact, he ranks fifth in the league with five “No Doubt” home runs.
While much of the Mariners’ success is a result of the improvements
made at preventing runs, he obviously gets put in the lineup for his
bat, not his glove; after the Richie Sexson nightmare, though, first
base is a position that the club needed pop from. Although he has, as expected, graded out below average with the glove–he has registered a -0.2 UZR and -0.8 UZR/150
in 604.0 innings at first base–it’s a trade-off the M’s are happy to
make. Overall, when accounting for the factors mentioned earlier, he
has already produced 2.7 WAR.

Branyan, whose .367 batting
average on balls in play (BABIP) is 54 points higher than his career
clip, will regress some. He certainly won’t be this
good all year, but ziPS still forecasts a .376 wOBA the rest of the
way; that kind of offensive output is quite valuable, of course,
especially considering his price tag.

On FanGraphs’ Dollars
scale, Branyan’s production, even with the poor defense and positional
hit, is already valued at $12.1-M. For those scoring at home, that
total is nearly nine times greater than his guaranteed contract.
Clearly, he has been one of the biggest free-agent bargains around,
and, even with a BABIP-related drop off, he’ll remain near the top of
the list throughout the summer.

Gutierrez, on the other hand,
wasn’t brought in for his bat but rather his excellent defensive
ability in the outfield. Acquired from the Cleveland Indians in the
three-team deal that sent J.J Putz to the New York Mets, he was the
most noteworthy pick-up acquired mainly for his stellar defense. Having
inherited a fly ball pitching staff and spacious home environment,
Zduriencik made it a priority to upgrade his outfield defense, grabbing
the Fielding Bible Award winner in right field as the key return;
defensive whiz Endy Chavez was also included in the deal, coming over
from New York. Like Coco Crisp before him, Gutierrez was blocked by
Grady Sizemore in center while with the Indians. The Mariners were
confident that his defense (20.9 UZR, 26.9 UZR/150) would translate in
center field, though, as it has with Crisp during his time with the
Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals.

While the sample size is
still small, the early returns have been excellent in this regard.
Gutierrez has been a fine anchor in the Seattle outfield, ranking third
in the majors with an 11.1 UZR (second, behind only Los Angeles Dodgers
center fielder Matt Kemp, at his position) and fourth with a 20.7 UZR/150. With the fine
play of Chavez before he went down with a season-ending injury last
week and Suzuki, Seattle has given the Tampa Bay Rays (with Carl
Crawford, B.J. Upton and the all-Gabe platoon) a run for their money in
the competition for best outfield defense in baseball. Not
coincidentally, the M’s have converted 70.3 percent of batted balls hit
into play into outs, a stark improvement from ‘08. As a result, the
team pitching staff has appeared to be much better–Carlos Silva looks
respectable and Jarrod Washburn, whose also pitching as well as at
point during his career, has been surprisingly effective. The defensive
transformation, though, starts in center.

Gutierrez certainly
isn’t an elite performer with a bat in his hands, having produced a
career major league line of .262/.317/.409 and 89 OPS+ to along with
middling rates of 6.8 BB%, 23.4 K% and a .149 IsoP. Seattle understood
the importance of the whole package, though, and was intrigued by his
offensive upside. He hasn’t set the world on fire (.278/.346/.409), by
any stretch, but his better-than-league-average 102 OPS+ and .339 wOBA
have exceeded expectations. The 26-year-old has hit eight home runs and is drawing walks at the best rate of his career (9.0%). He
capped off a productive June with one of his finest weeks, finishing
the month batting .304/.360/.519 with an .879 OPS. His .337 BABIP will
regress a bit, but ziPS sees him producing at a rate of .266/.331/.411
going forward; with his defense at a premium position, that production
makes him a tremendous asset.

Indeed, according to FanGraphs,
Gutierrez has already produced 2.5 WAR (valued at $11.3-M) while making
the near minimum. He’ll become eligible for free agency for the first
time in 2010, so expect him to get a healthy raise. If he continues to
improve his skills as a hitter and strike zone awareness, though, he’ll
easily outearn his salary even as he gets expensive throughout the
arbitration process before becoming a free agent in 2013.

The
Branyan and Gutierrez transactions didn’t grab headlines on a national
level. Not too many offseason acquisition duos have been more valuable
to their respective teams, though, as they have combined for 5.2 WAR.

It was a treat to see them get their due on the YES! Network last night.

To reach Tyler Hissey, send an email to TylerHissey@gmail.com.