I was listening to the Baseball Today coverage of the Winter Meetings this week. On Tuesday, Peter Pascarelli reported something which surprised me, bur probably shouldn’t have. Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik has told all player representatives that he wants to be “in on” all negotiations. In other words, he wants to be given the opportunity to bid on every player, even if that player isn’t an obvious match for the Mariners. This is great news for Seattle’s fans, suggesting that Zduriencik has both the financial resources and the creativity to turn the Mariners from a pleasant surprise (which their 85-win ’09 campaign certainly was) to a true contender.
He began by poaching the sparkplug from the division rival Angels. The Mariners signed Chone Figgins to a four-year, $36 Million contract. To me, that looks like a steal. Figgins is 32-years-old and coming off of arguably the best season of his career. He gets on bases, reeks havoc on the basepaths, battles for every at-bat, and is an excellent defender at third base. He also possesses a defensive versatility which is helpful for Zduriencik and his “open door policy.” Figgins could spend some time at second base and in the outfield before this contract is up. I personally expected Figgins would get a deal for at least $10-12 Million per season, so the fact the Zduriencik brought him in for 2/3 that cost this early in the Hot Stove season is especially impressive. Now, the question is, when you have arguably the two best leadoff hitters in the game, who bats first?
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