7:06pm: Regardless of whether or not Figgins would allow a trade to the A's, talks appear to be dead. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link) hears from a source that "nothing is going to happen," and ESPN.com's Buster Olney says (via Twitter) that the Mariners, who talked to Oakland three weeks ago, aren't motivated to move Figgins.
3:47pm: We heard yesterday about a proposed trade that would've sent Chone Figgins from Seattle to Oakland, but the rumored deal would have hinged on Figgins accepting the move, given that the A's are one of the teams on his no-trade list. Speaking to fans and media — including Larry Stone of the Seattle Times — at the Mariners' FanFest event on Saturday, Figgins said he didn't want to be traded anywhere.
"I always said, it's a great thing to be wanted,'' Figgins said. "But I want to win here. I've said all along, this has been one of the best places I've ever played — the city, the fans. I'll always love playing here. This is where I want to be, and until they force me out of here, this is where I'm going to be.''
"I've been on the trade block for years, even with the Angels. Like I said, it's always a great thing to be wanted, but I'm a Seattle Mariner. I'm going to play third base unless they rip the jersey off me.''
Figgins briefly spoke to Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik at the event, and Zduriencik told reporters that their chat was the first time the two had spoken since the trade rumors broke yesterday.
"I just let Chone know how things get started," Zduriencik said. "In this game, it's interesting how things get started. It happens all the time. You have general managers talk, agents talk about players – I'm not referring to this particular situation, but the next thing you know, someone is putting two and two together and coming up with five."
This would seem to put an end to this trade speculation for the time being, unless the rumors about the Blue Jays as a third team involved in the deal develop into a seperate Toronto-Oakland swap involving Kevin Kouzmanoff. The Jays are in the market for a third baseman, though it's hard to see why the Athletics would create their own hole at third by moving Kouzmanoff without getting another third baseman (like Figgins) in return.
I’m a Mariners fan and I was really looking forward to this trade.
Could be a Kouzmanoff for Buatista kind of trade, if the A’s believe that Buatista can play 3B.
Or else, bring in another team with a 3B to trade.
Why not throw in Drabek and Lawrie while we’re at it?
Seriously? Kouzmanoff for Bautista? Really??
I did not say it was a 1 for 1 trade, did I?
it wouldnt matter lol bautista isnt going anywhere untill the trade deadline at the earliest lets not get start speculating randomly.
No, you didn’t say it was 1 for 1…. but if you’re going to suggest that there’s some “kind of trade”, perhaps you should put forward a few high-end Oakland prospects that AA might be interested in. Otherwise, your post just seems pointless.
high end prospects? really? he has one good season in an almost decade long career and you want high end prospects? kouzmenoff and a low end guy would got the job done. people think bautista has way more trade value than he does in reality. he hit homeruns and thats it. no average, no speed, just homeruns. he is no better than carlos pena.
Yes, anyone who reads your post will think that it’s bautista for Kouzmanoff.
Really? Jays won’t give up Bautista for a guy like Kouzmanoff. The speculation I’m hearing is possibly something like Rivera and Frasor for Kouz.
Why would the A’s want Rivera or Frasor?
Thats the funniest thing I’ve read all year, seriously
I wish to goodness the Chicago Cubs would get this guy. I think he is a National League player and has the ability to turn us into serious contenders this year if we could swing a deal.
The Cubs finished 16 games behind the Reds this past season. Chone Figgins isn’t a 16 win player. The Cards are going to be as good as they always are (and maybe even better if Rasmus fulfills his potential this year), the Brewers made significant improvements, and the Reds should only get better. So this division has only gotten tougher. I’d eat my hat if the Cubs trading for Figgins made them serious contenders.
My bad that should be 8 win player. Having a bad day with math it’s still 16 win player, not 8.
“my bad that should be 8 win player. having a bad day with math it’s still 16 win player, not 8”
what? which one is it
Oakland would have to give up A LOT more than Kouzmanoff to get Bautista. Kouzmanoff would be a throw in, not something to build the trade around.
Its only 1 year of Bautista though. Why are you and so many posters on here overvaluing him? Sure he’s got value, but its only 1 season of him. Kouzmanoff plus a couple mid-level prospects is a fine package for him.
right now Bautista’s value is high and Kouzmanoff’s value is low.
I’m actually one of the few who are not high on Bautista. I think he is closer to what he did before 2010 than what he did in 2010, but it’s all about what have you done for me lately. if the Jays wanted to trade Bautista and made him available, I think they could get more.
I’m also one who does like Kouzmanoff. I liked him when he was with the Padres, his stats away from PETCO were always productive. I do think he bounces back, but based on numbers from 2010 his value right now is low.
The Jays are not searching for a 3rd baseman , this is getting retarded , AA has said for a while its likely going to be Bautista, and it should be, end of discussion, and the end of preposturous trade proposals.
Do you really hang on everything AA has said this winter? He is very clever and very crafty. He knows that Bautista’s value is in RF and he is better suited there. If the Jays can get a 3B then they definitely will.
No, your wrong. Bautista is better suited in 3b THIS year, Lawrie is the 3b of the future why block him with someone else who will be gone in a year or two anyways? Then Bautista can go back to RF , Versatility my freind, is very valuable.
I agree with Lawrie being the 3B of the future but for Bautista’s value and for him to have a better chance at putting up decent numbers again he is better at 3b. People under estimate how important a players comfortability at a position is for them to put up offensive numbers too. Jose proved that he is more comfortable in RF and that is where he should stay. His arm strength is amazing but he doesn’t have the range or quickness to be a 3b and it could hurt his value down the road for both him and the Jays.
How would it hurt his value to play 3rd for a year??? hes played 3rd alot in his career, how does that have an affect on his offensive numbers? he played 3rd quite a bit last season, i dont understand your logic. If you get stop gap 3rd baseman all it does is create line up problems, who do you take out rivera or davis? if davis who plays center? Do you really want to take 50 sb out of the lineup and plus defence in center? or riveras 20 hr out of left? unless your getting back someone to replace rivera’s power it doesnt make a whole lot of sense. You’d then have to trade rivera or have him be the 4th outfielder which is a waste and doesnt help much considering your 4th of should be able to play center,and have respectable D which rivera doesnt have.
You would definitely take Rivera out of the line up. Snider in left Davis in centre and Jose in right. I don’t see the big line up problems you are trying to point out. I actually see more problems if we don’t sign a 3b, do you really want EE or Johnny Mac being the back up 3b? Bautista, if he stays with the Jays after next year, is their RF for years so why not keep him out there to get more accustomed to it? Yes he has played 3b a lot in his career but his value isn’t there it is in RF.
lol… and do tell who you think we should get for 3b… and if you say Michael Young(retarded speculation, as well as retarded contract), chone figgins( retarded speculation) or kouzmanoff(retarded speculation ), you have not replaced rivera’s production and have only spoken on horrendous rumours that have no legs.
Rivera’s production isn’t a big deal. If I told you a year ago Bautista would hit 54 hrs you would laugh in my face so I don’t think 20 hr’s is out of the question for Kouzmanoff and it would benefit more in the long run to get an average 3b for this year and for Bautista to play RF where he is going to play in the long run for the Jays. You have to remember the Jays aren’t playing for this year they are playing for years to come so taking a little hit in replacing Rivera in the line up and moving Bautista to the OF will help them more in the upcoming years which is more helpful for the team.
thats your solution lol kouzmanoff? now what do you give up for a stop gap 3b….
Do you really think Kouzmanoff is that much worse then Rivera? Kouzmanoff or any other 3b makes more sense for the Jays this year.
what do you give up for him? ive asked already with no reply yet
What about someone like Shawn Camp. Jays have loads of relievers and the A’s could use one. Camp would be the 4th or 5th guy out in the bullpen this year.
Woa what? A’s have a stacked bullpen as is…
I feel like I’m in the minority of Seattle fans when I say I want Figgins on the team next year.
People seem to completely overlook the fact that he rebounded nicely in the second half, and much of his drop-off in production can be attributed to playing a position where his range isn’t good, adjusting to a different park, and batting in a new slot.
His contract is a bit expensive, yes, but there is a ton of potential for Figgins to revert back into a 3 WAR type of player for 2011. Before completely writing him off after one bad half of a season, let him take over the hot corner and see what he can do.
I just don’t see us being anywhere close to contending during his contract. I don’t see him being worth it even if he rebounds and has a good 2011. I’d rather trade him now while he has some value, cause if he doesn’t have a good 2011, no one will take his contract.
I totally agree with you on Figgins! He also suffered from hitting behind Ichiro that took leadoff stats away from him, including additional steals. He batted 300 in Aug/Sept, and still hit 42 stolen bases.
I personally wanted Beltre longterm, instead of Figgins, but Figgins $9M versus a Beltre $18M+ is a pretty decent compromise.
The BIGGEST thing that I’m looking at in the future is in 2 years after Ichiro’s contract is finished…we’d still have Figgins for another 2 guaranteed years with an additional club option year “after” Ichiro’s contract expires. So, we would be setup to have Figgins leadoff after Ichiro. I personally liked the Figgins move, NOW if we can only get some middle of the order hitters to drive them in. Looking forward to 2012 when $30M comes off the books of Bradley/Silva/Aardsma/Wilson/Yuni!!!
The ONLY way Z should trade Figgins would be come June, when he rebounds to his ‘normal’ numbers, and when we can really decent prospects out of him. If he rebounds early in the year, his $9M/year will look pretty decent to any team needing 3B and a top Leadoff hitter!
Agree w/you on Figgins suffering from not batting lead-off. (See my other post above.)
And completely agree that SEA needs at least, if not big power bats, at least a couple formidable RBI bats in the middle of the lineup. If players with plus-power shy away from Safeco due to its pitcher-friendly confines, maybe the answer is to at least lure hitters who hit for high AVG and can drive in runs(?) I’m thinking line-drive hitters like Matt Holliday. (I know he’s not going anywhere, just using him as an example of the type of hitter I’m talking about.) Thoughts?
Matt Holliday would have been awesome for the type of LFer we needed, but Bavasi hindered this franchise through 2011 with all of his pathetic contracts and we just have to be patient like Jack Z said today at FanFest. Adam Dunn would have been awesome for a longterm DH for us, and several other boppers this offseason would have been exciting to see in a M’s uniform, but ain’t gonna happen until the $30M+ come off the books after 2011. We let the kids play and see what we have by mid-june/july and for 2012 and beyond before investing in next years offseason targets.
I can see the following things happening by July:
If Jack Wilson can stay healthy in the 1st half, after Ackley comes up in early June to avoid super-two status, Ryan will move over to SS once Jack Wilson is trade to a contender that has a SS go on the DL. This will free up salary for Seattle, and Ryan is another Wilson without the ‘continuous’ DL issues every month of the year.
There is a number of pretty decent LFers coming up as FAs next offseason. I personally would love to Seattle land Carlos Beltran on an incentive laden deal to man LF for us. Cust also could have a 30-32 HR year this year with Seattle, but there will always be CHEAP DH’s available as we’ve seen over the past several years.
I was never on board with the idea of Figgy in the 2-hole. Always thought he and Ichiro should have flipped in the order. Figgins is more patient than Ichiro and Ichiro is arguably the best contact hitter in baseball. A fast guy w/good OBP and a good (in Ichiro’s case, “great”) hitter w/superb bat control and contact rate is a classic formula for the 1-2 spots in a lineup.
I also think Figgins is one of those guys that gets a real thrill about being that guy at the top of the lineup responsible for creating excitement. Hopefully, his down season last year was the result of his lineup spot and adjustment and not the result of declining skills. I was a big Figgy fan when he was the Halos’ catalyst. Would love to see him “get Figgy wit it” again!
What am I missing? Isn’t Kouzmanoff not very good?
A’s interest in Chone pretty much says it all.
He’s not good he is average but the Jays interest in him would just be for a stop gap until Lawrie is ready to take the next step.
Kouzmanoff is pretty good on defense. Excellent to one side, average to the other, average arm. His bat appears to be aging poorly, at least at the colosseum.
.283 OBP last year IIRC *shudder*. Stay away, AA!
Not as good as he was initially hyped to be. That’s certain. But he’s not alone in that sense. 😉
why would figgy wanna be a mariner?? oakland is a better team clearly
Believe it or not a LOT of people like the Seattle area. I wanted the trade to happen but I’m not heart broken. We got plenty of money coming off the books at the end of the season. I think the M’s will contend again a lot sooner than people think. Figgins was expensive but the contract isn’t in the epic failure range of say a Wells or Werth contract.
Because Figgins doesn’t want to spend half of his games playing at that horrendous, outdated stadium the Athletics call home. And Figgins is sick of all the drama going back and forth between San Jose and Oakland and Wolfe, and he doesn’t want to wait another 4 years for the Athletics to get their sh!t together regarding a new stadium!
NOOOO Kouzmanoff for Seattle PLEASE!!! A’s can keep this pile of crap.
Kouzmanoff has the 12th highest WAR for 3B from 07-10. He’s hardly a “pile of crap”. He’s better than Mark Reynolds, Brandon Inge, Ty Wigginton and even Jose Bautista over that time.
Great so then why are you A’s fans wanting to dump him and land Figgins?! Kouz ain’t worth $5-6M, and I’ll keep Figgins for a few extra million more thank you.
because he’s fast… he’s like a shiny new toy. I personally think that kouz will benefit greatly from having dejesus, willington, matsui, added to the lineup as protection. The guy hasn’t had protection the last several years in san diego then oakland… they pressured him to be “the guy” but now he can just sit down in the bottom of the order and we’ll see how it goes
Hey MLBTR, kind of a pathetic headline….I mean he was at FanFest what’s he supposed to say? “Hey yeah maybe I’ll get traded and beat you guys all year!”.
“this has been one of the best places I’ve ever played — the city, the fans.”
Maybe even top 2!
Sure as hell isn’t the team, I guess he would rather be there than a winning team. Which is fine with me and most A’s fans. We rather keep kouz
he’ll be depressed soon enough…. leaving orange county for rainy seattle? Seattle is beautiful but its hard to move from CA to WA… trust me, i only made it a year then moved back. It was nice but the rain gets to you when you’re used to sun.
one of my favorite comments ever
I was hoping for a three-way deal to go down. Something like Kouz going to TOR, Figgs to OAK, and then Janssen, Litsch/Roenicke/Ray/Richmond, and plus Tolleson to OAK
would would jays give up anything for a 1 year stop gap 3b????
That’s really too bad. I was really wanting the Mariners to trade him. Showing up the manager last year was not cool.