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Mariners On Verge Of Signing Chone Figgins
SUNDAY, 6:33pm: Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times says Figgins will take his physical tomorrow, and assuming he passes, the team will announce the signing either later in the day or on Tuesday. Baker says probably the latter.
FRIDAY, 10:03pm: Not sure if this moves the story forward, but the AP says the Mariners and Figgins have a preliminary agreement on a four-year, $36MM deal.
9:21pm: Brown tweets that "Angels officials concede (that) Figgins (is as) good as gone to M's."
9:04pm: Stark says that the two sides are "very close" to finalizing a deal. He adds that Figgins would be guaranteed $36MM over four years, and there are indications that the deal will include a vesting option that could push the value of the contract to $45MM.
Meanwhile, according to Bill Shaikin of The LA Times, Angels' GM Tony Reagins said that Figgins is close to a decision, one way or the other. "We've made an offer," said Reagins. They've had a chance to evaluate it."
6:52pm: Larry LaRue of The News Tribune says the Mariners need to wait until at least Monday to finalize the deal. Why Monday, you ask? Because that's the deadline for free agents to accept arbitration, and they have to make sure Adrian Beltre declines before proceeding with Figgins.
3:48pm: ESPN's Jayson Stark agrees that the Mariners are close to a deal with Figgins, but says financial terms are still being negotiated and the Angels "aren't completely out of the running." Meanwhile Shannon Drayer of ESPN Seattle says the deal is "all but done" but most likely will not be announced today.
2:50pm: Heyman now tweets that the Ms are "very close to getting Figgins." In a subsequent tweet he suggests the deal will be for about $35MM.
2:26pm: SI's Jon Heyman has a more open-ended take on Figgins, via Twitter - he has the player asking for $36MM over four years with the Mariners at $32MM over four or $27MM over three. He says the Angels are at $24MM over three. Similarly, Yahoo's Tim Brown has an Angels source who says, "We're still hanging around."
1:35pm: The Mariners are on the verge of signing Chone Figgins to a four-year deal in the $36MM range, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. His source says the sides are "very close" to a deal. In his original article Rosenthal left the door open for the Angels to make a late push to re-sign Figgins, but that portion has been removed.
If they complete the deal, the Mariners would surrender their #18 pick to the Angels unless they also sign one of the other remaining Type As who was offered arbitration (the Angels could still end up with that pick if the Ms sign John Lackey too).
Rosenthal's price range doesn't sound too crazy given the five-year, $50MM predictions that had been floating about. With Figgins and Jack Wilson on the left side of the infield, the Mariners' defense would be spectacular. Figgins also helps offensively, given his league-leading 101 walks this year.
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