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...would be for a series of trades of our excess which allows bringing up the first guy in mid/late May (probably Paxton), the next in June (Hultzen), and then finally in late July we're set. This also allows sorting out the bullpen so that we can have some long arms available to help limit innings, while having some shutdown arms as well. This maximizes the contracts for the involved players, while still allowing for a late run to really spur ticket sales for 2013.
You're right that late March is not prime trading time - but late April to mid-May will be active as teams try not to get left behind too far. Billy Beane's thirds of the season are going to accelerate with the extra wild-card. Pressure to sort it out early this year will be intense, particularly in both central divisions, which appear wide-open.
Baker saying that Catricala will not break camp with the team is a real downer for me - I really want to see signs of the commitment to talent as the theme/meme for the year. My head says the way to maximize what we get for Figgins is this way, but my heart really wants to see Catricala, Kawasaki, Ackley, and Smoak around the infield, and Kawasaki, Ackley, Ichiro, Montero, Smoak, Catricala, Carp, Saunders, and Seager facing whoever they want to throw against us. By June, teams aren't going to want to face Seattle. Can we make a run after that? Probably too many bumps ahead to say for sure, but to me, it will be meaningful games in August when the Rosenthals and Heymans notice that the Yankees and Red Sawks don't want to face us in early August and early September, respectively, because of the probability of losing ground to the other by doing so.