Chone Figgins, Seattle Reach Agreement (4yrs/$36M)

[crewcrazy]

While it's not completely official yet, it's one step past being rumor, according to AP reports.

 

The Mariners and Figgins have reached a preliminary agreement on a $36 million, four-year contract pending a physical, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Friday night.

 

The contract for the former Los Angeles Angels sparkplug includes a vesting option for 2014 that could make the deal worth $45 million over five years.

 

The deal likely won't be announced until Monday, when they can be sure that Adrian Beltre won't accept arbitration. Once the signing is official, the M's will have to give up the 18th overall pick to their division rivals.

 

Not sure how I would feel about giving a 31-year old speed guy 4 years guaranteed, possibly 5 if the option vests. It has the potential to be a pretty good deal the first couple years and this is less money than a lot of people thought he was going to get, but it's still a pretty big gamble by Jack Z. He could've just gotten Mat Gamel for Felix Hernandez and saved a lot of money. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[pitchleague]

Good for Jack Z and the M's but is it "good?" I guess time will tell.

 

Beltre did and didn't work out for them in the long run. Offensively, he was far from what Seattle expected but defensively, he was probably above and beyond what they thought they'd get out of him.

[jerichoholicninja]

I don't see the Mariners competing soon in that division so I hope Figgins is happy with a lot of losing and years with a lot of winning. He should put up some nice numbers in that park though since his power is non existent.

[HiAndTight]

I don't know, the Mariners are a team that with just one more impact bat I think could do some interesting things this year.

 

I really like the idea of Figgins hitting leadoff and then Ichiro hitting 2nd or 3rd. Perhaps Branyan can put together another good season.

 

It's just too bad for them they didn't hire Jack Z a little earlier. Could have had a 1-2-3 of Figgins, Ichiro and Adam Jones.

 

Anyway, I've seen it suggested that speed actually ages better than other skills, so while that's counter intuitive, it would bode well for Figgins.

[RobertR]

That seems o.k. cost wise. Especially since Figgins should post a very good OBP. You don't necessarily have to hit HRs to score runs if your team does enough things as a whole.

 

They still need at least two bats, LF and DH. Not bad places to go cheap on, but you still have to find guys for the position. Certainly they've been linked to Matsui for awhile, so that would be a pretty solid acquisition.

 

Still, it's easier to go from terrible to about 80 wins than from 80 wins to 90 wins.

 

Robert

[NievesNoNO]

I like the deal alot for Seattle. One big bat and another arm and they could be awfully dangerous. They arguably will have one of the best defensive teams in the league with Figgins, Wilson, Ichiro, and Guiterrez. Ichiro and Figgins at the top of that line up will have whoever hits 3-4 smiling.

[craigharmann]

Jack Z is a very smart baseball man. I'm very sad that he left Milwaukee.

[dadofandrew]

I'd project him at about a 750-770 OPS. He's a solid defender, but he's getting paid for his best year, and he'll be 32-35 for the contract. Too much and too long.

[endaround]

How is getting paid as a 2-3 win player after a 6 win season mean that?

[Ennder]

If he keeps up his BB rate and defense from the last 2 seasons this is a really good deal, if he reverts to 2007 it isn't a disaster. Seems reasonable to me.

[dadofandrew]

His defense was far higher than ever before, so that will likely revert back to like +5. I just see him as a 750 OPS 3B, which is hardly impressive.

 

If he was a +17 on D annually, it'd be far easier to take.

[MessiahRp]

They still need at least two bats, LF and DH. Not bad places to go cheap on, but you still have to find guys for the position. Certainly they've been linked to Matsui for awhile, so that would be a pretty solid acquisition.

 

Still, it's easier to go from terrible to about 80 wins than from 80 wins to 90 wins.

 

Robert

From what I've read they seem very eager to try to lure Jason Bay over so that could handle the LF situation rather quickly and give them some serious pop in their lineup. I'm still thinking Griffey's going to get that DH job until he gets hurt or plays so horribly that they have to bench him so I don't see them signing another player to DH.

 

Rp

[endaround]

$9m=average starter pay. So yeah he'll fall back but he still won't be a drain. If he was getting 12-14 you'd have a point but he isn't.

[Ennder]

His defense was far higher than ever before, so that will likely revert back to like +5. I just see him as a 750 OPS 3B, which is hardly impressive.

 

If he was a +17 on D annually, it'd be far easier to take.

If his OBP stays where it has been the 2 last years he'll still be an above average hitter. OPS is a nice stat but it really undervalues OBP. If the deal were for more I could see it being bad but $9M a year is not really a ton for an above average player. He has put up $9M in all but 1 of his last 6 seasons. They might regret the 4th year of the deal but other than that I have no problem with it.

[JoeHova]

From what I've read they seem very eager to try to lure Jason Bay over so that could handle the LF situation rather quickly and give them some serious pop in their lineup. I'm still thinking Griffey's going to get that DH job until he gets hurt or plays so horribly that they have to bench him so I don't see them signing another player to DH.

 

Rp

Griffey already had his horrible year last year. He's strictly a bench player (at least, I fervently hope). The problem with signing Bay is that he would ruin their excellent defense. Bay is a butcher by all accounts. Sure, a team could get by with a non-fielder in the same way that teams sometimes get by with having a non-hitter or two but the flaw in that approach is that good-hit/no-defense guys cost a heck of a lot more than good-defense/no-hit guys do. Bay is a very good hitter (except for 2007, for whatever reason) but he's not a top-flight one. He's somewhat comparable to Richie Sexson in terms of being a power-hitting lummox from the Pacific Northwest. That contract ended disastrously for the Mariners so I don't see them being eager to repeat the same mistake. Bay may age better than Sexson did but even if he does, the chances of him providing a good return on an investment seem slim because of his poor defense. In other words, if the Mariners (or any team) signs Bay to a 5 year, $80 million deal, pretty much the best they can hope for is to break even. There's no upside there like there is with Figgins. If Bay ends up signing a Pat Burrell or Bobby Abreu-esque contract, that's a different story but if he's going to get a big deal, I hope the Mariners aren't involved, despite their pressing need for good hitters.

[dadofandrew]

He's 32 at the beginning of the deal, so he's likely peaked, to say the least. $9M is 10% of payroll, or close to it, so that can be a huge drain.

[TooLiveBrew]

From what I've read they seem very eager to try to lure Jason Bay over so that could handle the LF situation rather quickly and give them some serious pop in their lineup. I'm still thinking Griffey's going to get that DH job until he gets hurt or plays so horribly that they have to bench him so I don't see them signing another player to DH.

To build off what Joe noted, putting Bay in Safeco for half his games would result in a noticeable dip in his production, to boot. If I'm Seattle, I just can't justify spending the franchise player type money it'd take to land Bay, to essentially get .850-.875 OPS production with awful defense. I doubt Bay would want to sign a contract to DH anyway, since that would probably cut into his value. There's definitely a love-in with Junior enjoying his twilight years back in Seattle, and I agree that he has the DH job basically out of courtesy (& ticket sales) at this point.

 

I think the M's spent a lot of money on an aging player that doesn't provide much power, but at least Figgins is a competent IF defender. Of course, there's also the aspect of this signing that Seattle improved themselves while hurting a divisional rival. However small that impact may be, it's still a bonus if Jack Z. plans on competing in the next coming seasons. What confuses me is choosing Figgins over retaining Adrian Beltre. Will Beltre really command that much more than 4/$36M? He's an elite defender, and has a lot more pop. I guess I'd find it pretty funny if Beltre winds up signing with LAA.

[EdgarDiazRocks]

Will Beltre really command that much more than 4/$36M? He's an elite defender, and has a lot more pop. I guess I'd find it pretty funny if Beltre winds up signing with LAA.

Two words. Scott Boras. Word is they are looking for 5/$50 to start.

[TooLiveBrew]

Understood, but 5/$50M isn't that much worse than 4/$36M, especially if the production you get is better.