» Branyan

As much as the M’s don’t have a closer, they don’t have a starting first baseman, either. Larry LaRue covered the crowd at first, summarizing the situation aptly: “There are more candidates for utility jobs than there are first basemen.

Russell Branyan has been tapped for the job, but he’s showing little power at the plate and has played in more than 100 games only once in his 12 seasons. He’s got some power, but not enough to intimidate.

Chris Shelton, who had an epic early April for Detroit in 2006, hitting nine HRs in the first 13 games, has hit three home runs and has a 1.250 slugging percentage in his 12 at-bats this Spring. Shelton hasn’t demonstrated he’s a season-long starter. In the meantime, Brian LaHair, who filled the First Base position for the Mariners last year, just hit a lead-winning home run in today’s game; yet, he’s hitting just .231 in his first 13 at-bats.

Jeff Clement, who has been catching this Spring, could fill in at 1st, as well as Jose Lopez, who was the fourth-best batting second baseman in the majors during 2008. If Cedeno and Betancourt perform well through Spring, Lopez could be moved to 1st, but his 17 home runs (up from 11 in 2007) still falls short of the power needed at that corner.

The counter-intuitive option: Move Matt Tuiasosopo to first. Sure, he’s the third-baseman of the future, but the team could retain Adrian Beltre after 2009, sacrificing nothing on defense and keeping 20-HR players at both corners. Tuiasosopo has batted .533 this Spring. He made a rocky transition from shortstop to 3rd in the minors.

Ultimately, none of these guys is what the M’s need at 1st, and Tuiasosopo will likely be needed at third.

This is a position where GM Jack Zduriencick needs to deal for a true starter, so that Lopez can stay at second and the team can add another big bat in the three, four or five slot in the batting order. How about sending Bedard to Cleveland for Matt LaPorta, a good defensive first baseman with power, and Wes Hodges, a third-base prospect who hit very well in Winter League ball. Both would be under the club’s control for years, while Cleveland needs a starter to headline its rotation after losing C.C. Sabathia and injuries to Fausto Carmona. That trade would help both clubs in their current situations, move Bedard closer to his Eastern Canadian roots, and provide the M’s a lot of options in its infield.