MLB Free Agency: Chone Figgins wants to play in 2014
By Hayden Kane
When last we saw utility man Chone Figgins, he was collecting a huge paycheck from the Seattle Mariners and not playing baseball very well. Worse yet, things got contentious between him and the Mariners with regards to his role and his playing time.
It was a brutal fall from grace for Figgins. After a number of years of productive baseball for the Los Angeles Angels, he signed a five year deal that paid him roughly $9 million a season in Seattle. Figgins’s production declined so significantly in 2011 and 2012 that the Mariners had no choice but to release him and eat $8 million.
Perhaps the worst sign of all for Figgins was the fact that he then caught on with the Miami Marlins last spring and they cut him. If you can’t make the Marlins’ roster, especially after one of those famous Marlins off-seasons where they get rid of a bunch of good players, well, that might be the end of the road.
This morning Jerry Crasnick of ESPN reports that Figgins wants to come back to baseball in 2014:
Chone Figgins wants to continue playing after sitting out all of 2013. He's working out for MLB teams this week in Tampa.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) January 12, 2014
Figgins turns 36 in 2 weeks. He's a .277 hitter in 11 seasons with #angels and #mariners. Released by #marlins last March.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) January 12, 2014
In 81 games in 2011, Figgins batted .188/.241/.243. In 66 games in 2012 he batted .181/.262/.271 and surely would not have gotten 194 plate appearances if not for his salary. If he’s hitting at a competent level, his versatility is useful to many teams. But at age 36 and three years removed from a season where he batted over .200, that’s a big if.