M's place Millwood, Vargas on waivers

The Mariners have placed pitchers Kevin Millwood (pictured) and Jason Vargas on trade waivers. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports believes that both will be claimed. Vargas is owed roughly $1 million for the remainder of the season, while Millwood is owed about $200k.

Vargas gathered some trade interest from several teams last month, and is controlled through the 2013 season. He is arbitration eligible for the final time this winter. He has posted a 3.75 ERA in 180 innings so far this year, and he will be appealing for many teams. However, several teams may be a little reluctant to acquire him because Vargas struggles away from Safeco Field. He has a 2.62 home ERA and has a 4.63 ERA.

Millwood has a 4.28 ERA in 145 innings with Seattle this year. Unlike Vargas, his home/away numbers look very similar. He signed a minor league deal with the Mariners in January, and has enjoyed a nice comeback season.

Analysis: This is the right move for Seattle. They have a lot of young pitching prospects coming up (Hultzen, Walker, Paxton), meaning that Vargas and Millwood need to leave to open up a rotation spot. Both, especially Millwood, aren't in the team's future plans so they are as good as gone. I wouldn't be surprised if the Dodgers go after either one of them, because they are supposedly looking for more rotation depth.