Prospect Insider - Countdown to Peoria: eight days

Countdown to Peoria: eight days

By Alex Carson

By 02-03-2012

Eight days. Eight days! Pitchers and catchers report in eight days, guys.

Jackson and Kotchman Sign
A couple more free agent names left the market Thursday, as the Washington Nationals signed Edwin Jackson to a one-year deal valued in the $9 million to $12 million range and the Indians inked Casey Kotchman to a one-year $3 million pact.

Some Mariners fans had ideas of Seattle inking Jackson to a bargain deal. In the end, though, it proved true that Jackson would prefer to go to a team with contention potential if all he could get was a short-term contract.

For Kotchman, he had a few options and chose a Cleveland team that will allow him to compete with the disappointing Matt LaPorta for time at first base. If Kotchman's 2011 success at the plate carries over it can be combined with his defense to add a cheap boost for the Tribe.

The Third Base Battle
There aren't a ton of exciting position battles to watch this spring as the club is pretty much set everywhere. But third base could be the one spot to watch. Between Kyle Seager, Chone Figgins and newly acquired Carlos Guillen, there are a few ways the club could go.

The biggest problem with Guillen is the lack of versatility he provides. The one thing Figgins provides this team is someone who can play the outfield in a pinch. While Guillen could limp through part of a game in the middle infield in an emergency, running him in the outfield isn't something you want to have happen.

The club could opt to send Seager back to Tacoma and platoon Guillen and Figgins at third, but Figgins isn't a natural left-handed platoon mate as he's much* better from the right side.

* Much better doesn't mean he was good

Should the Mariners find another team to take Figgins off their hands, the versatility issues still aren't resolved. The team may then prefer to have someone like Luis Rodriguez on the roster as opposed to Guillen. Mike Carp being pushed to left field after the Montero Acquisition actually make moving Figgins harder to do.

In the end, unless the team were to move Miguel Olivo and stick Montero behind the plate more often (highly unlikely), we'll probably see the Figgins debacle play out in 2012.

Link Time
- The Cubs have signed Ryan Rowland-Smith to a minor league deal.
- Want to be depressed? Sure! We all do! Read this Larry Stone piece.
- Josh Hamilton has reportedly had an unfortunate relapse with alcohol. I can't imagine how tough fighting these demons are for him. He's such a special talent and good person that you hate to see him struggle.

Have a good weekend, folks. I'm going to work on my left-handed stroke some more.

countdown-to-peoria:-eight-days

Comments
The following 13 comment(s) for this article are shown below:

1. By: FWBrodie on 02-03-2012 02:46:30
I disagree. Blocks Jaso, and probably Carp some. Olivo is going to get loyalty AB's. He's terrible and I hate him. I'd much prefer Giminez not getting AB's and playing emergency catcher than Olivo playing 5 times a week.

2. By: FWBrodie on 02-03-2012 02:47:59
Wrong post.

3. By: sexymarinersfan on 02-03-2012 11:17:50
I too know what it's like to battle alcoholism. When I met Josh at an autograph signing I told him to "keep fighting the good fight." he acknowledged me and we carried on for a couple of minutes. Truly one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. He is hilarious when he gets around children as well, they love him. Keep fighting Josh! God bless!

4. By: cc80rm84 on 02-03-2012 11:38:25
The Figgins "debacle" as Carson calls it is mainly due to the mismanagement of an acquired asset in my opinion. In 2009 the Mariners acquired a player whose best position is 3B and biggest strength is plate discipline and on base %. They proceeded to move him to 2nd to maximize the potential of JOSE FREAKING LOPEZ!!! Or maybe it was to limit the downside of Lopez, which is considerable. In either case, Figgins has to start his career playing full time at a new position. Then because of our deference to Ichiro, Figgins is told to hit 2nd where his OBP ability is limited by our old school approach to hitting with Ichiro on base. Much better scenario would have been to have Figgins lead off and Ichiro follow him, a walk then a hit is much better than a hit then a walk. When we acquired Figgins his chase % was a league leading 16%, in his two seasons with Seattle, it has DOUBLED To 32%, so he has become the exact opposite player than the valued asset we acquired. Obviously part of this is Figgins pressing while struggling with new surroundings etc, but a big part of it has to be the coaching staff constantly in his ear to be more "aggressive in the strike zone" a philosophy that I totally hate and believe it will keep this team from ever consistently getting on base at an acceptable rate. If Wedge loves Olivo so much, that is the WORST possible example for every other player on the team. Olivo and his 50% chase rate does not deserve to have a pitcher throw him a strike because if you throw him 6 pitches in the dirt, he will swing 3 times and walk back to the dugout in shame. I agree with Brodie here, Olivo sucks and should not clog this lineup/roster for Jaso, Montero or anyone else. Figgins should play 3rd and lead off, and let him be patient. Jaso/Montero should platoon at C with Carp/Wells platooning in LF. Guillen a good utility infielder and Seager can get every day at bats in Tacoma, which is what he needs. With a lineup of Figgins, Ichiro, Ackley, Montero, Smoak, Carp, Guti, Jaso, Ryan you give yourself the best chance to score runs on a consistent basis.

5. By: nater on 02-03-2012 11:52:10
I agree somewhat with c80rm84's take on Figgins, but going forward my question is: is it absolutely unrealistic to think Figgins could ever again be the player he was before coming to Seattle? I guess one of my pipe dreams for the season is that they let him lead off and get a lot of time in at 3B (I know they've already said he will be a super utility guy) and he actually becomes the player we thought we were getting 2 years ago, so much so that the argument becomes not "who can we unload this guy on," but rather "should we trade him to a contender for real value or keep him through his remaining contract."

6. By: Alex Carson on 02-03-2012 12:20:37
@nater: Nothing is absolute, so no. Weird stuff can happen in baseball, right?

I don't think his +6.9 fWAR 2009 was something anyone ever expected to happen again. On the other hand, his -1.2 fWAR 2011 is probably a blip as well. I just don't see that 114 point BABIP dip from his career average being repeated.

So, I guess it depends on what previous player you're expecting. A guy around +3 fWAR? Maybe not the most probable thing ever, but I wouldn't call it impossible.

7. By: roosevelt on 02-03-2012 13:10:27
No team is going to take Figgins off our hands as things stand right now. The only hope is that he has an AMAZING spring training. Then, he could move if a major portion of his promised salary is eaten. Jeeeez, I wish this guy had the ethics of a Japanese player and headed off into the sunset guided by honor reasons.

8. By: Jason A. Churchill on 02-03-2012 13:18:01
Correction: No team is going to take Figgins off the M's hands without having a large portion of his contract covered by Seattle.

If he's super cheap, I know of at least two clubs that would have strong interest.

9. By: sexymarinersfan on 02-03-2012 14:53:33
You beat me too it Jason!! Lol!

10. By: nater on 02-03-2012 17:00:17
Yeah, I was implying that a large portion of his contract would be covered. I guess I may be one of the few people out there rooting for him to succeed, I just think it would be a huge boost to the entire team to have him turn it around. I'm talking somewhere between his 2009 and 2010 #s -- .275 BA, .375 OBP, 40 steals, and good D at 3B is what I would expect.

11. By: vertigoman on 02-03-2012 20:11:45
roosevelt,
If you have a guaranteed contract as a MLB player, you don't walk away from it. That is, not if you want to have anything to do with baseball for the rest of your life. Even socially. The players union would run you out of town. Not that I totally agree with it but the MLBPA has been fighting for what they have for over 50 years. It is it's own good ole boys club.
If you're going to have a wish for Figgins, wish that he honors the contract he was given by living up to it.

12. By: dewey on 02-03-2012 20:32:00
I dont know why everyone is so mad at Figgins all he did was sign the contract that he was offered. It looks to me like the Mariner scouts and front office misjudged his talents? Im sure there our a few teams that would pay 7-800 k if the Mariners picked up the rest. I personally think he is gonna have a bounceback year.

13. By: valencia on 02-04-2012 00:14:25
Willie Bloomquist and Yuniesky Betancourt are being paid $2M/year. Figgins is worth at least that much...right?

He wasn't that bad in 2010. If his defense didn't drop off a cliff he would have been a 3~ WAR player. If he can get back to even 2010 form, he would be an awesome utility player and I bet someone would take him for us, salary and all.

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