B-Rob & Chone Figgins

[CaptainRedbeard]

The other day I tried to compile a list of the main weaknesses of this team on offense and defense:

1. Contact issues, OBP
2. Defense at 3B (and to a lesser extent, 1B and OF)
3. Speed on the basepaths
4. Situational hitting and bunting
5. No "leadoff" hitter, Hardy batting second

And my immediate first thought was that it would be really nice to have a healthy Brian Roberts back at the top of the order. Pushing Andino over to 3rd, Reynolds into the 1B/DH mix, and Reimold to 2 in the order with Hardy in the 6-7 range solves literally all these problems.

If the Orioles ultimately decide that Reynolds/Betemit aren't going to cut it at 3B, we have few available options. If we can't count on B-Rob, or don't want to go to an Antonelli/Flaherty platoon-ish situation (ugh), another option we can turn to is Chone Figgins. I know he was an unmitigated disaster last year, but in 2010 he had a .340 OBP. His value was killed by the fact that he played awful defense at 2B and had a dismal .047 ISO. Put the 2010 Figgins back at 3B and in Camden Yards rather than Safeco and that could be a very valuable player to have on our 2012 squad. That's not even considering the many great years Figgins had for the Angels, and the potential for a bounce-back to anything even close to those levels.

Figgins' contract is an obvious barrier, but also one of the reasons he's available. Try to look past that- if he were making the league minimum, would you prefer to have him over say, Nick Johnson? There is potential for much higher reward with Figgins as the 25th man.

I always thought Figgins had an albatross contract so I was surprised to see that he's only making 9 MM this season. A Figgins for Gregg swap leaves only a few million for the M's to pick up to make the deal a wash, money-wise. Maybe we throw in Bergesen, who is making 0.8 MM this year. For 2012, that looks like a great deal for both teams- the M's open up 3B and LF for their promising young players, and get a young pitcher in Bergesen who has had past success and could thrive in Safeco with a good D behind him as 5th starter/long reliever type. Maybe they think Gregg can figure something out in their canyon of a ballpark and trade him at the deadline.

The bigger issue is 2013 when Figgins is due 8 MM and 2014 when he has a 9 MM option that vests with 600 PA in 2013. He turned 34 in January so even if he bounces back, he's not going to be a good bet to sustain it too far into the future. I think we could avoid vesting the option in 2013, when we may see Machado or Schoop forcing their way onto the club, but that 8MM tab for next season would have to be picked up almost entirely by the M's for the deal to make sense for the Orioles.

What do you think? As long as Figgins is not costing the Orioles anything significantly over the minimum, is he worth a gamble? Would the Mariners trade him for Gregg and Bergesen, and include 1 MM+ in 2012 and 7+ MM in 2013 in the deal? Do we need to throw in a low minor leaguer, or do they?

In my eyes, anything that gets Reynolds off 3B and Gregg off the roster can only help this club. Obviously, we would start Figgins at 9 rather than leadoff, but hopefully by the end of May, we'll know if we have B-Rob or Figgins back to their former selves in the leadoff spot. Having two possibilities to solve those 5 problems listed at the top certainly increases our odds.

[sangar]

Friggen Figgens had an OPS of .484 last year with an OPS+ of 39.

Granted, he has been scorching through this season so far with .608 and 69 respectively, but he is bound to cool off.

[ShaneDawg85]

Figgins is 34 years old, and terrible. I can't sugar coat that in any way, terrible. The last three years he has posted OPS's of .646, .484, and is currently at .608. He hasn't even been able to get on-base anyway. Outside of 8 games this season, he hasn't even been better on the road. No amount of money eaten, or even getting rid of Kevin Gregg (who absolutely nobody wants) is worth taking on Chone Figgins. At this junction of his career he provides nothing that someone else couldn't provide.

[CaptainRedbeard]

Figgins is 34 years old, and terrible. I can't sugar coat that in any way, terrible. The last three years he has posted OPS's of .646, .484, and is currently at .608. He hasn't even been able to get on-base anyway. Outside of 8 games this season, he hasn't even been better on the road. No amount of money eaten, or even getting rid of Kevin Gregg (who absolutely nobody wants) is worth taking on Chone Figgins. At this junction of his career he provides nothing that someone else couldn't provide.

Figgins has never been a high OPS player, outside of his walk year in 2009 and his 2007 with an outlandish .391 BABIP. In his normal BABIP seasons, his value is coming from high OBP, baserunning and defense at 3B, which is exactly what we need. I'm not sugar-coating 2011 at all, he was miserable. But he only played in 81 games; I don't know if that was injuries or benching or both.

Instead, compare 2010 with 2008. Essentially the same offensive player both seasons, with a slightly unlucky BABIP in 2010 of .314 compared to .333 in 2008 and a .329 career average. In 2008 he was playing 3B, had a .319 wOBA, and had 3.2 fWAR. All with a .685 OPS.

Figgins can be a valuable player even with an OPS in the mid-.600's, because when he was playing well he was an amazing defender and baserunner. He was a little unlucky on offense in 2010 and was terrible at 2B. 2011 was certainly a lost season, and he may be done entirely. I'm just saying he's worth a flier, because if he resembles anything like the player he was even in 2010 or 2008 (and that's ignoring his great 2009), he can help the 2012 Orioles in a lot of ways.

[crowmst3k!]

Huge pass. It would make more sense to play Flaherty everyday at second and Andino at third if the O's were looking to reinforce the defense.

[El Gordo]

It's awfully early to be pushing the panic button at 3B. SSS alert. Currently Reynolds has a -.7 UZR, the same as Longoria. Betemit has a 1.7.

[clapdiddy]

I think I'd rather see us move Andino over there and let Flaherty play 2nd full time. Either way, I agree with El Gordo...we need to let this play out a bit longer.

[Tony-OH]

No offense, but I still can't believe anyone, and I mean anyone would want Figgens on their major league team, especially considering the contract he's under. The guy's bat makes Itzuris' look like Fielder.

[CaptainRedbeard]

No offense, but I still can't believe anyone, and I mean anyone would want Figgens on their major league team, especially considering the contract he's under. The guy's bat makes Itzuris' look like Fielder.

Well the point was that he'd be on a major league minimum contract if the Mariners were paying all of it and we traded Gregg in the deal. And yes, I'd rather have him on the roster than Nick Johnson if Betemit and Reynolds are considered to be inadequate at third base. I think we should continue to stick with Reynolds for now but if he doesn't improve and B-Rob doesn't make it back, we are going to need some answer. That answer could be Flaherty or Antonelli, but those are pretty underwhelming options as well.

Figgins has 22.8 fWAR in 1190 games, or a 3.1 WAR/162 game average in his career. That's counting his miserable last year (-1.2 WAR). Obviously I don't want that on the team. But he was once a very good player and based on how he performed 2 years ago, there was still some signs he could ge a solid contributor as a 3B. And, when he was going right, his game brought a lot of aspects to the table that our team could really use. Seems to be worth a shot to me as a classic change-of-scenery, no risk involved deal.

[LookinUp]

Figgins is in the Dunn category. The only way I'd take either is if their team agreed to pay the full contract and he agreed to go to AAA if/when we want. I'd rather have Kevin Gregg. Plus, he'd likely be taking a spot on the 25 man roster. What position player are we dropping? If you say Flaherty, kiss him goodbye.

[crowmst3k!]

Well the point was that he'd be on a major league minimum contract if the Mariners were paying all of it and we traded Gregg in the deal. And yes, I'd rather have him on the roster than Nick Johnson if Betemit and Reynolds are considered to be inadequate at third base. I think we should continue to stick with Reynolds for now but if he doesn't improve and B-Rob doesn't make it back, we are going to need some answer. That answer could be Flaherty or Antonelli, but those are pretty underwhelming options as well.

Figgins has 22.8 fWAR in 1190 games, or a 3.1 WAR/162 game average in his career. That's counting his miserable last year (-1.2 WAR). Obviously I don't want that on the team. But he was once a very good player and based on how he performed 2 years ago, there was still some signs he could ge a solid contributor as a 3B. And, when he was going right, his game brought a lot of aspects to the table that our team could really use. Seems to be worth a shot to me as a classic change-of-scenery, no risk involved deal.

The Mariner's GM would likely avoid this dance all together and just release Figgins, rather than trying to swap him and eat salary for a deal involving a terrible reliever (and hopefully not much else).

Also, the Orioles have Antonelli sitting in Norfolk, who has a much higher upside than Figgins, and is a phone call, bus trip away, not to mention my aforementioned shuffling of Andino and Flaherty.

Any scenario that involves Figgins becoming an Oriole this season is one that should be avoided.

[Lucky Jim]

Friggen Figgens had an OPS of .484 last year with an OPS+ of 39.

Granted, he has been scorching through this season so far with .608 and 69 respectively, but he is bound to cool off.

A tip o' the hat to this fantastic bit of sarcasm.

[CA-ORIOLE]

Friggen Figgens had an OPS of .484 last year with an OPS+ of 39.

How were his clutch numbers?