Breathe easy, Mariners fans. The King isn’t relocating his castle any time soon.
Of course, that’s if you believe Felix Hernandez, who made a promise to Mariners fans that he’ll be sticking around for the foreseeable future.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Hernandez told Mitch Levy of Sports Radio KJR-950. The right-hander then said,”I promise,” when pressed on the issue further.
That’s certainly music to Mariners fans’ ears, as was Hernandez’s insistence that Seattle has the potential to win a championship at some point. However, this should hardly be taken as a legitimate promise. Not only did Hernandez seem somewhat uncomfortable by the line of questioning, giving a rather halfhearted response to Levy falling all over him, but the 26-year-old ace would be foolish not to see what can get in the open market.
Hernandez is a legitimate top-of-the-rotation starter, and his price is going to be through the roof when he’s up for free agency following the 2014 season. In fact, it might not even be his choice whether he sticks around in Seattle, as the Mariners could end up dealing him away at some point. If they do, expect a team to pay a king’s ransom (no pun intended) for Hernandez’s services.
Hey, at least Hernandez is saying the right things. Acting on his “promise” is a totally different story, though.
Check out Hernandez’s interview below, with the “promise” coming around the six-minute mark.
