So, the Mariners are big players in MLB’s great off-season, huh? Never thought I’d see the day.

The M’s got a nice pickup this week with Chone Figgins, the former Angel third baseman who can pick up 40-plus steals, hit .300 from either side of the plate … and he plays great D. Nice work, front office.

The latest (as of Thursday afternoon) is that Adrian Beltre, the M’s free agent 3Ber, may be headed to Boston. The BoSox just traded Mike Lowell to Texas for pocket change. I guess they’re trying to get younger at third. Although Beltre is 30 (Lowell is 35), the M’s third-sacker plays like he’s 40 sometimes. Still, he’s a heck of a hitter and should produce well swinging at the Green Monster 80 games a season — if he goes.

The other chatter is that the M’s are trying to sign John Lackey. That’d be two big pieces from the Angels and should even things out a bit in the wild AL West. I love the move, in that it hurts the enemy and helps Seattle.

But Texas may be the team doing the biggest moves out west (not necessarily in a good way), as owner Tom Hicks imposes spending limits as he tries to sell the team. So far, the Rangers have picked up reliever Chris Ray and the dreaded player-to-be-named-later from the Orioles for veteran starter Kevin Millwood. That left the Rangers open to sign oft-injured-but-great-when-he’s-healthy Rich Harden, which they did for a one-year pact.

The A’s? Pretty quiet. They’ll stay that way and build through their farm system. Seems to work for them … once in a while.

The Yankees have made the biggest move, shipping prospects around to get Curtis Granderson from the Tigers. Granderson’s a freak of nature (in a good way) and he’ll prosper anywhere, particularly a hitter’s park like Yankee Stadium. The rich, as they say, get richer, but perhaps it’ll cost the Pinstripes down the road.

Back to the M’s. Seattle is setting itself up as a contender for this year, not for years down the road, and that has to be encouraging for every Seattle fan. The lynchpin in all this is, of course, King Felix. Singing Hernandez to a long-term deal is a must, and the rumored dollar figure thrown about is $100 million over six years.

Is a pitcher worth $16.7 per year? Yeah, in this baseball economy, this one is. So do the deal and be done with it.

As for Beltre, I really like the guy when he’s not injured. An infield of Beltre, one of the Wilson not-brothers, Figgins and Broussard, and outfield of Ichiro, Gutierrez and revolving door candidate No. 1, plus Rob Johnson or Adam Moore at the plate, plus the greatest Mariner ever hitting at the DH spot, with Felix throwing the good stuff? Yeah, I can watch that.

Baseball awards, in hindsight

I think I did pretty well with my baseball postseason picks — or at least I got close. Let’s take a look:

American League
• Manager of the year
My pick: Don Wakamatsu
The winner: Mike Scioscia
The skinny: Okay, this was kind of a homer pick. Considering this award, never bet against a manager who’s had a player on his team die during the season. Scioscia was a close second on my ballot.

• Rookie of the year
My pick: Andrew Bailey
The winner: Bailey
The skinny: The A’s closer edged Elvin Andrus for the top pick. A solid 26 saves and a 1.84 ERA helped him beat out Andrus and Rick Porcello. Nice kid, great stats: Now, go blow a bunch of saves so the M’s can finish ahead of their alphabet foes.

• Cy Young
My pick: Zack Greinke
The winner: Greinke
The skinny: Yeah, a nice debate about Felix or Greinke, but voters saw through the bad team thing and gave it to the deserving guy. Watch out for Felix in ’10, though.

• MVP
My pick: Mark Teixeira
The winner: Joe Mauer
The skinny: This one should have been easier to call. While Teixeira clearly had solid numbers, Mauer’s season was amazing, particularly considering he missed a whole month. My bad. I did have Mauer, not Derek Jeter, No. 2 on my list.

National League

• Manager of the year
My pick: Bruce Bochy
The winner: Jim Tracy
The skinny: Bochy, the San Fran manager, did a hack of a job getting his team in contention. That being said/written, Tracy is a fine pick. I’m not starting this set of picks off well, huh?

• Rookie of the year
My pick: J.A. Happ
The winner: Chris Coghlan
The skinny: Coghlan hit well above .300 and deserves it, but I thought Happ pitching the Phils into the playoffs with a top-five ERA would impress enough voters. Um, not so much.

• Cy Young
My pick: Adam Wainwright
The winner: Tim Lincecum
The skinny: I had Timmy third on my list, although he has legitimately earned No. 2 in my heart among baseball pitchers (Felix is No. 1, the Big Unit No. 3) and deserved his second consecutive NL Cy award. Kind of a surprise though, I think. A lot of folks had Chris Carpenter, Wainwright’s teammate, getting this one.

• MVP
My pick: Albert Pujols
The winner: Pujols
The skinny: Duh.