Chone Figgins with the Mariners: The Real Deal? | IXGAMES

The Seattle Mariners have a history of failing to sign the most free agents at the last hour over the past years.  Names like Omar Vizque, Miguel Tejada, and Vladimir Guerrero come into mind when asked to name free agents that were rumored to sign with the Mariners, only to turn negative at the eleventh hour.  Thus, people should not be blamed if they wait and see for the papers to finally be signed before they can really say that Chone Figgins is with the Mariners. Sources have been continually confirming that Figgins will be signing up for the Mariners for the price tag that goes as high as $36 million for four years.  While this item has been close to having a cigar, rumor still abound that Figgin’s team, the Los Angeles Angels, may still opt to sign their third baseman to their team once again. Mariners gain, Angels lose? With that in mind, it appears that if Figgins will end up with the Mariners, the team is really bent on improving their team while weakening their divisional team opponent at the same time.  It just happens that both the Mariners and the Angels are both playing in the American League Western division.  For the past few years, Figgins has been very effective as the third baseman of the Angels, and has actually been a key part of the Angel’s relative success. Having Figgins with the Mariners would displace their current third baseman Ichiro.  Compared to Ichiro, Figgins has more laudable stats.  This may make the Mariners’ coaching staff consider moving Ichiro in a different position.  But with Ichiro and Figgins on board, the Mariners still have to cast a power batter to respond to the plays that these two players set up. A bit more on the man of the hour Chone Figgins (his first name is pronounced like Shawn) is a native of Georgia.  The 31-year old baseball player is regarded as one of the Major Leagues’ top utility players in terms of speed, among others.  During his entire career, he has played a variety of positions.  In fact, he has played in all positions except first base, catcher, and pitcher.  He signed with the Angels in 2001 and finally had his breakout year in 2005, when he became co-MVP for the team with Bartolo Colon.  In 2006, the team did not let him go and, in fact, signed him for a $10.5 million deal to last for three years. In 2007, he broke two of his fingers and started the season in the disabled list.  Now that he is a free agent and the Mariners are courting him, their deal allegedly has a vesting option that could increase the contract’s value for over five years to $45 million.