Chone Figgins

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Originally Posted by John Bonnes

He's not Drew Butera because Drew Butera never had the success Chone Figgins had. When Figgins signed that bid deal with the Mariners (which nobody thought was particularly crazy) his career OBP was .363. Even now, after two years of having an OPB of .241 and .272, his career OBP is still .349.

Maybe he just got really old really fast. He is 34. But I'd be a lot more comfortable giving him a job at 2B and having Carroll play SS than I am choosing between Dozier and Florimon as a starter next year.

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I think what Shane said was, he has turned into Drew Butera, minus the defense. At 34 I'd pay a lot more attention to .241, .272 over the last two years than a career .363, that's over with, then there's the attitude.

Not that I believe that Florimon or Dozier are the answer but I'd rather find out for sure, at least with Dozier, before I threw in the towel and went with Figgins is at this stage.

I've been trying to figure out why Figgins' BABIP hit the floor. I see a few things:

* IFFB% spiked in 2011 to 15.8% (career avg 8.0%)

That's about it.

His plate discipline, ground ball, line drive, and fly balls rates haven't changed much. He did make contact on 83.1% of out of zone balls in 2011, which was a career high. Mainly I think he's just slower. He didn't get a single infield hit in 2012. His bunt hit% is also down every year since 2009. SB's are obviously down too, though he has attempted fewer swipes.

In terms of cost, Figgins may be a good option. But in terms of what he can still offer at this stage of his career, I see some Tony Bautista/Juan Castro/name another low-cost veteran the Twins have signed in recent years in him.

How is this still a discussion? He is now TERRIBLE. Trust me, I loved the guy years ago, but once this type of player loses speed there is a disaster coming. Anyway, a .484 OPS in 2011 and a .533 OPS in 2012 should, you know, be pretty damn telling. Couple that lack of ANY offensive production with a sub-par-to poor defense and there is NO REASON WHATSOEVER TO WASTE TIME WITH THIS GUY. I am shocked there is any argument about this. Even Florimon and Dozier at their worst are not going to suck this bad. And there is potential that something happens with at least one of them. As in, they are on the incline and Figgins is obviously on the decline. I would rather have James Beresford start at second base RIGHT NOW than waste anything on Figgins.

Gardy is right, mi speed wins, but Chone has got to prove it first.