I feel like signing George Sherrill is another sign that Zduriencik plans to compete, otherwise, why sign him at all, why not give the spot to a rookie or a journeyman for free and see if you can't turn them into something. The only way George Sherrill works in a non-competition year, is as a mid-season trade. At his height, closing for Baltimore, he netted a couple AA prospects, as a LOOGY, maybe you could turn him into a all talent/no polish low-A prospect, which you would be similarly likely to accomplish with your theoretical journeyman alla David Aardsma, Chris Ray, David Pauley, Shawn Kelly, Jamey Wright, Tom Willhemsen...the Mariners have had a decent amount of success with the scrap heap/out of nowhere rookies. If anything they have higher odds on being able to assemble a bullpen from nothing this year, and if they were just going to phone it in, George Sherrill is 3 times more than you're paying the bunch of LOOGYs you've already invited to camp