Results tagged ‘ Figgins ’
Angels Relegated, Mariners Promoted?
I know, I know. There is still a lot of time before the new season is upon us and teams have lots of time to tweak and finalize their rosters. However, we could be witnessing a changing of the guard in the American League. For the past several years the junior circuit has had three top dogs. The Yankees, Red Sox, and Angels have all been very competitive every season. All three teams don’t always make the playoffs but it is generally accepted in April that they have a pretty good shot. This year there could be a slight change.
So far the Angels have only managed to lose players. Figgins has signed with the Mariners. It looks like Lackey will be wearing Red Sox. It doesn’t look like Vlady will be back. The only hole they have filled is the DH spot with Godzilla. The Mariners, on the other hand, have signed Figgins, look like they are picking up Lee in the three way trade that will send Doc Halladay to the Phils, and are major players in talks with Jason Bay.
Are you kidding me? King Felix and Cliff Lee in the same rotation. It sounds like the Ms are gearing up for the playoffs already. It also sounds like Seattle is definitely going to be giving the Halos a run for their money. Ichiro and Figgins are going to cause some major disturbances on the base paths, Hernandez and Lee in the rotation is going to give the Mariners a lot of fire power, and an aquisition like Jason Bay will give Seattle a much needed big bat in the middle of the lineup.
Of course, it’s not too late for the Angels to start improving their team. Bay and Holliday are still out there and it appears that there are a lot of teams willing to deal. I just can’t wait to see how all of this is going to pan out. If the Mariners do sign Bay, I look forward to seeing some new faces come playoff time.
Mariners Set to Make Splash?
Although the Redsox are my team, the Mariners rank very highly with me as well. I was not sure what to expect of them in the off-season this time around. I was happy when they re-signed Junior. I think that he still has some games left in him and that he is a great influence in the clubhouse that really helped to unite the Ms by the end of last season.
After the Griffey signing I heard very little out of the Mariners’ camp. I didn’t know which direction they were headed (and really I still don’t.) The most that I heard was that they were looking at Greg Zaun…wow…stop the presses. All of a sudden interesting things are afoot in Seattle. They offered arbitration to Beltre. I found this a little suprising because he comes with a pretty hefty price tag. I don’t think that he will be able to get anywhere close to $12 million on any other team so there is a really good possibility that he will stay in Seattle. The Mariners have also been in talks with Russell Branyan. If they could re-sign him that would fill yet another hole on the depth chart.
Now for the really splashy news. I don’t know how much merit to give these items but here goes. MLBTradeRumors.com is reporting that the Mariners are very close to signing Chone Figgins to a four year deal and MLB.com is saying that Seattle is also pursuing Jason Bay. WOW!!!!!!!
Chone Figgins is a great baseball player…actually one of my favorite baseball players. He wreaks havoc with his baserunning ability and is a really solid defender. He is also very versatile as he can play second, third, and in the outfield. Acquiring Figgins would definitely give Wakamatsu some flexibility when he is filling out his lineup card.
Jason Bay, on the other hand, only plays one position but he also hits the ball out of the park. If the Mariners can re-sign Branyan and then sign Bay they will have a pretty decent back-to-back punch in the middle of the lineup.
If the Mariners can make these deals happen then I don’t see any reason why they can’t contend for the AL West pennant.
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