3/16 19:28: According to John Hickey of AOL Fanhouse, he tweets, “Don’t go to the bank with those Jarrod Washburn-to-Seattle rumors. He just said in a text that he’s not close to signing with anybody.”

3/15 17:36: According to Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports, the Seattle Mariners still show interest in bringing Washburn back to Seattle. However, Washburn said in an email last week that the odds of returning to Seattle “are probably not great.”

3/15 11:23: According to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated, the Seattle Mariners have interest in free agent Jarrod Washburn, but the team is believed to be at their budget. Heymans also says the Minnesota Twins may make the most sense as a destination for Washburn, but the decision to sign him could be tied on the status of injured pitcher Joe Nathan.

Nathan has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar colateral ligament in his elbow. He’ll know soon if he can pitch this season or have Tommy John Surgery which will shut him down for the rest of the year. With that said, there are have been several rumors as to his replacement. External resources could be John Smoltz or Kerry Wood, or an internal pitcher such as Francisco Liriano. Heyman suggests that Jon Rauch is looking like the favorite to replace Nathan. Hayman believes that Liriano is pitching well as a starter and the Twins will probably keep him in that role, but if the team moves Liriano to closer, that would create an opening to sign Washburn.

Washburn, 35, has a career 107-109 record with a 4.10 ERA and 1.301 WHIP. He pitched for the Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers last season where he made $10.35 million in the last year of a four year contract. You can see Washburn’s contract history and statistics here.