Mariners - Signed Figgy Pudding

Seattle Mariners - Signed 3B Chone Figgins to a 4-year, $36 million contract.

I have mixed feelings about this signing.  Figgins is a really solid player, with a broad base of skills that I feel will keep him from truly ever being a disaster for the Mariners.  That being said, I do worry about the length of the contract considering his age and the fact that he really needs to maintain most of his offensive value at 3B.  I just can’t help remembering how quickly Jose Offerman’s skills went downhill after a few leg injuries.

All-in-all, I don’t expect the Mariners to get burnt too badly if things go wrong.  If Figgins becomes a 340/330 player, while that’s obviously not good, it’s not that damaging if he’s still a +5-10 run defender.  Similarily, if his defense regresses, he’s still a really good player if he can maintain 350/350 or so.  I guess I do like the contract as a whole, just a little uncomfortable about that 4th year.

ZiPS Projection - Chone Figgins (3B)
————————————————————————————————————————-

              AB   R   H  2B  3B  HR  RBI  BB  SO  SB   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS+   DEF
————————————————————————————————————————-

2010         497  85 139  21   4   4   41  75  99  36 .280 .373 .362   99    VG    

2011         505  85 138  21   4   4   40  76 103  34 .273 .367 .354   95    VG 

2012         501  82 134  20   4   4   39  74 106  32 .267 .360 .347   91    VG

2013         487  79 126  18   3   4   36  72 110  28 .259 .353 .333   86    AV  
————————————————————————————————————————-

Top Offensive Comps:  Bob Dillinger, Heinie Groh, Don Buford

ODDIBE

Offense

Top Quintile     10%

2nd Quintile     23%

Mid Quintile     27%

4th Quintile     25%

Low Quintile     15%

OPS+                    OBP                3B              Hits

160+             0%     .400+      18%     10+     4%      200+    0%

140+             0%     .375+      46%     5+      44%     150+    24%

130+             2%     .350+      79%

120+             10%    .325+      97%     2B

110+             23%    .300+      100%    45+     0%

100+             45%                       30+     10%

90+              73%

80+              93%

60+              99%

BA                      SLG                HR              SB

.350+            1%     .550+      0%      50+     0%      70+     0%

.325+            6%     .500+      0%      40+     0%      50+     12%

.300+            23%    .450+      1%      30+     0%      30+     79%

.275+            56%    .400+      17%     20+     0%      10+     100%

.250+            87%    .350+      65%     10+     3%

(Based on Projected PA)