As a diehard Seattle Mariners fan, I'm drooling.

The Chicago White Sox have bought out Frank Thomas' contract for 2006, meaning the slugger is eligible for free agency.

Although Thomas has been plagued by injuries, he still remains a slugger that pitchers are inclined to fear when he steps to the plate. He has a lethal bat that can reach the cheap seats in any ballpark on any given at bat. His biggest liability is being prone to injury.

But injuries don't often affect designated hitters nearly as much, and, since the departure of Edgar Martinez, that remains the Mariners' most needed void. If one needs proof, they need look no further than Ichiro Suzuki's career low batting average (OK, so his career low equals a career YEAR for about 80% of major leaguers, but since he has shown his awesome potential over the years he has been in the majors, the drops in hits and BA this past year are VERY notable). Frank Thomas could bring the M's a valuable hitter in the number four spot and restore them to the role of contenders. Even if Thomas were only to play 80-100 games, he could still reach the 30 HR plateau, a number the M's would most certainly welcome.

While I would love to jump on the bandwagon of M's fans begging for Ken Griffey Junior to return to the Emerald City, I think the M's upper management made that all but impossible through the way they reacted to Griffey during his final years in Seattle. And so if Griffey isn't an option to restore pop to the bats of the struggling M's, Frank Thomas may well be.