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Chone Figgins

Odds & Ends: Glaus, Orioles, Figgins, Papelbon

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Links for Sunday, as Jeremy Hellickson aims for his third win in his third career start….

Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Harper, Canseco, Figgins

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Saturday afternoon linkage..

  • Boston sent catcher Michael Thomas to Texas to complete the trade for Jarrod Saltalamacchia, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.
  • Dusty Baker has no interest in becoming a general manager, writes MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
  • A former teammate of Bryce Harper's doesn't see the first overall pick going back to school, writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
  • The Laredo Broncos, an independent minor league team, say they have signed Jose Canseco to a short-term contract, according to the Associated Press.  Canseco will serve as a bench coach and designated hitter during two Laredo homestands.
  • Chuck Finder of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Pirates GM Neal Huntington and scouting director Greg Smith are expected to sit down with agents Randy and Alan Hendricks in Houston this weekend to discuss a contract for second overall pick Jameson Taillon. MLB's slot recommendation for that pick is $3.25MM, though Taillon is expected to receive more than that.
  • We know the Braves have not asked the Mariners about the availability of Chone Figgins in the wake of Chipper Jones' injury, but ESPN's Buster Olney says a deal is unlikely anyway. It would be pretty tough for GM Jack Zduriencik to tell ownership they have to eat tens of millions of dollars to move a player they just signed this past offseason.
  • Ken Fidlin of The Toronto Sun says that Blue Jays' second round pick Griffin Murphy and his father were on the field at Angels Stadium talking with club officials, "a surefire sign that a deal is done." MLB's slot recommendation for the 61st overall pick is just short of $600K. 
  • The Yankees have come to terms on well-overslot bonuses with a pair of draft picks. Baseball America's Jim Callis reports that they signed ninth rounder Taylor Morton for $450K while Kendall Rogers of Yahoo! Sports reports an agreement with tenth rounder Ben Gamel (Mat's brother) for $500K. Both deals are more than three times over MLB's recommendation, and Gamel's is the largest given to a player selected in a double digit round so far.

Braves Have Not Asked Mariners About Figgins

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The Braves, who are considering ways to replace Chipper Jones, have not asked the Mariners about Chone Figgins, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). The clubs considered a Figgins deal before Chipper's injury, leading up to the July 31st trade deadline. Figgins, 32, would likely clear waivers, since he's hitting just .253/.343/.303 and has over $28MM remaining on his salary.

Baker, Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner and MLBTR all considered possible deals that would send Figgins to Atlanta. Click here to predict how the Braves will replace Chipper.

Chone Figgins & Kenshin Kawakami

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The Braves lost Chipper Jones to a season-ending injury, so they’ll now give some thought to players outside the organization. Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner believes the Mariners "should be focusing on future wins," so he suggests a Chone Figgins for Kenshin Kawakami trade.

Figgins has more than $28MM remaining on his contract, so the Braves would presumably want salary relief in any deal. Could Atlanta ship Kawakami to Seattle for Figgins? Cameron suggests that would be a good deal for Seattle. Let’s consider the possibility, starting with the two players:

Figgins

  • He earns $2.25MM before the end of the season, $9MM in 2011, $9MM in 2012 and $8MM in 2013. There's a vesting option for 2014.
  • The 32-year-old has hit .253/.343/.303 in 494 plate appearances with 30 steals in 38 attempts.
  • In his last 15 games, Figgins is batting .397/.426/.500.
  • Among qualified hitters, only Cesar Izturis has a lower slugging percentage
  • Figgins has played exclusively at second base this year, but can also play third
  • Recent UZR data suggests Figgins is a strong defender at third, but below average at second.
  • About 17% of 2,000-plus MLBTR readers believe the Braves will acquire Figgins.

Kawakami

  • He earns $1.9MM before the end of this season and $6.7MM in 2011.
  • He has a 4.75 ERA in 83.1 innings with 6.2 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.
  • The Braves, who removed Kawakami from the rotation in June, barely used him as a reliever, so they shipped him to the minors, where he'll build stamina in case the team needs him.

The Braves have Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson, Jair Jurrjens, Mike Minor and Derek Lowe in their rotation and appear to lack faith in Kawakami. He is expendable and the Braves could use an infielder, though Omar Infante, Martin Prado, Brooks Conrad and Eric Hinske give the club enough flexibility to get by without making a move.

The first place Braves want to win now, especially since it's Bobby Cox's final season as manager. Swapping a player they don't rely on at all for Figgins would probably help the team in 2010. Figgins has next to no power and has a substantial amount remaining on his contract, but has been an above-average player for a while and was fantastic as recently as last year.

The Mariners wouldn't necessarily improve their chances of winning now if they sent Figgins to Atlanta for Kawakami, but, as Cameron points out, it probably makes sense for the team to focus on winning in 2012. Shedding most or all of Figgins' contract would allow them to spend on other needs. This hypothetical deal would help the win-now Braves in the short term and the win-later Mariners in the long term, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see the clubs consider this swap.

Braves Inquired On Chone Figgins

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3:38pm: The Braves asked the Mariners about the availability of Figgins, tweets Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, and were denied.  It seems odd to me that Figgins would be unavailable – would he even be claimed on waivers next month?

2:35pm: The Mariners approached the Braves about taking Chone Figgins off their hands, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.  Crasnick adds that the Braves are also making a late bid for a reliever.

1:43pm: The Braves are working on potential deals for hitters and relievers, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Consitution, and there's a "reasonable chance" something gets done by the deadline.

Odds & Ends: Hart, Angels, Blue Jays, Mariners

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Some links for Saturday as Roy Oswalt prepares to make what might be the final start of his Astros' career…

What’s Next For The Mariners?

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The Mariners cashed in their biggest chip yesterday, dealing Cliff Lee to the Rangers for Justin Smoak and three prospects. With the team currently 34-52 and 16 games back in the division, it's reasonable to expect GM Jack Zduriencik to continue making moves geared more towards contending in 2011 than righting the ship in 2010.

Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times points out that with Smoak set to man first on an every day basis, the Mariners now have three players (Milton Bradley, Russell Branyan, and Michael Saunders) for two roster spots (left field, designated hitter). Bradley's sore knee buys them some time, and Saunders could also be optioned to Triple-A, but flipping Branyan to a contender looking for some pop is very possible.

Saunders was almost sent to Philadelphia in last winter's Lee deal before the Phillies' requested Tyson Gillies instead, and Baker says the Zduriencik regime "hasn't exactly been in love" with holdover prospects from the Bill Bavasi era. Saunders could again find himself on the chopping block.

Backup first baseman Casey Kotchman could go at any time, though it's tough to believe there will be much trade interest in his .208/.292/.344 batting line, regardless of how good his defense is. The same could be said of the currently injured Mike Sweeney, though he was hitting a tolerable .263/.327/.475 before his back flared up.

Jose Lopez is very much available, but Baker doesn't think either Brandon League or David Aardsma will be dealt. Both are under team control for the next two seasons, so the Mariners aren't feeling pressure to move them immediately.

The Lee trade basically represented the white flag, but the Mariners don't have much left to trade away beyond Lopez, some relievers, and possibly Branyan. More than anything, they need to start getting better production out of Chone Figgins (.235/.334/.277) and Bradley (.211/.295/.368) while Jason Vargas (3.09 ERA) and Doug Fister (also a 3.09 ERA) continue to establish themselves as viable starters behind Felix Hernandez.

Execs Name Best, Worst Moves Of The Offseason

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Recently MLBTR spoke to several MLB executives to gather their nominations for the best and worst moves of the offseason.

Free agent signings that received mention for the best moves: Felipe Lopez, Adrian Beltre, Adam LaRoche, Chone Figgins, Hideki Matsui, and Aroldis Chapman.  Said one exec on Chapman: "He might truly live up to the hype."  It's hard not to praise the Cards for getting Lopez on a one-year, $1MM deal.

Three trades came up as choices for the best moves of the offseason: the Mariners' acquisition of Cliff Lee, the Royals' trade of Mark Teahen, and the Rangers' trade of Kevin Millwood.  One exec noted that the Mariners "didn't trade anyone that can hurt them in the next couple of years" for Lee, while another believed that "trading Lee and Kyle Drabek in the Roy Halladay deal will hurt [the Phillies] in the long run."  The Royals received props for "getting some value for Teahen," while the Rangers' increased payroll flexibility from the Millwood deal was noted.

Nominated for the worst moves: free agent deals for Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, Brandon Lyon, Jason Kendall, Aubrey Huff, Jason Marquis, Randy Wolf, and Garrett Atkins.  All the execs polled mentioned Holliday's seven year, $120MM deal when choosing their worst deals of the winter.  Said one: "The fear that he would sign a one-year deal elsewhere and take his chances a year from now — that just doesn't make sense to me."

Aside from Kendall and Huff, there was a vibe of "like the player, hate the contract" with the panned free agent signings.  One exec felt the Royals downgraded behind the plate with Kendall.  Huff was nominated as a small-scale misstep, in that the exec felt that "Hank Blalock is better and he couldn't get half that salary on a non-roster deal."

Bowden Talks To Epstein, Zduriencik, Reagins, Wren

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Jim Bowden's weekly GM's Corner video pieces for FOX Sports make for good viewing.  This week he talked to Theo Epstein, Jack Zduriencik, Tony Reagins, and Frank Wren.  A few hot stove highlights:

  • Epstein admitted that new third baseman Adrian Beltre would "have to have a big year" to achieve Type A status after the season, but finds at least Type B likely.  Epstein noted that there's the possibility of signing Beltre long-term if he proves to be a good fit.
  • Zduriencik told Bowden he was aggressive in pursuing Chone Figgins, and got the deal done within 48 hours.  Also, Zduriencik mentioned that the Brewers were one pick away from taking Casey Kotchman in the first round in 2001; they instead took Mike Jones at #12 overall.  I wonder if the Brewers still would've drafted Prince Fielder in '02 if they had Kotchman.
  • Reagins is "not really concerned" about having a limited number of lefties in the bullpen, after the Halos lost Darren Oliver to the Rangers this offseason.
  • Wren believes the Braves have "improved quite a bit" offensively, and talked up Nate McLouth, Martin Prado, Jason Heyward, Melky Cabrera, and Troy Glaus.

California Notes: Headley, Angels, Weaver

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Someone alert Dr. Dre and the Beach Boys, since here's a rundown of news from the Golden State…

  • The Padres are so high on Chase Headley that MLB.com's Corey Brock says the team once turned down a deal with Pittsburgh that would've brought Nate McLouth and Xavier Nady to San Diego.
  • MLB.com's Lyle Spencer reports that the Angels will pay their five regular infielders a total of $8.05MM in 2010 — or, almost $1MM less than Chone Figgins by himself will make in Seattle.
  • Tony Jackson of ESPN Los Angeles talks to Jeff Weaver, whose minor league contract with the Dodgers allows him to opt out and become a free agent if he doesn't make the club out of spring training.  Weaver said the escape clause allows him to stay out of the minors: "I am here to make this team. If it doesn't work out…then I don't really want to do the Triple-A thing again."
  • As part of a reader mailbag, Jackson said it's unlikely that Jamie McCourt's claim of half-ownership of the Dodgers will hold up in court.  But if it does, then Jackson predicts Frank McCourt "probably will be forced to sell, whether it's to Jamie and the group she allegedly has lined up to buy the club or to someone else."  One would think that if this divorce halves McCourt's fortune as many predict it will, he may have to sell the team regardless of the result of his ex-wife's claim.
  • Scout X (who may or may not be ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski) previews the 2010 season.  One of the more interesting tidbits in the piece is that Scout X would take Matt Cain over Tim Lincecum if he had to choose between the two Giants aces because "Cain pitches with such ease." 
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