Figgins on the Move?

Reports have been coming in today that the Oakland Athletics are trying to acquire Chone Figgins from Seattle. The name that the A’s are putting out there for a deal is Kevin Kouzmanoff. To make things even more interesting, there are reports that there could possibly by a third team entering the trade talks and it could very well by the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays are reportedly in search of a third baseman and Kouzmanoff could be that guy. I want to take a look at all the different ways a deal like this could go down and who might be involved. One thing to note is that Figgins does have a no-trade clause and it includes the Athletics so he would have to waive it for a deal to happen.

If the trade is involving only the Mariners and Athletics then I think it would be Chone Figgins for Kouzmanoff and possibly a pitcher, which the A’s have a lot of. This wouldn’t be a bad trade for Seattle at all. Kouzmanoff is 29 years old, four years younger than Figgins. Not only is he younger but he is also a lot cheaper. Kouzmanoff is in the final year of his contract and is set to make $4.75 million in 2011. Figgins on the other hand, will be making $9 million this year and is under contract through the 2013 season. It would be great if Seattle could dump a large majority of his contract in a trade.

Figgins is the better player but it really isn’t by much. Kouzmanoff is nowhere close to as fast as Figgins. Kouzmanoff rarely steals a base so the Mariners would be taking a hit in the speed category. Kouzmanoff offers a lot more power. Season after season he is hitting just fewer than 20 homeruns. Figgins only has 32 HR in his 9 professional seasons which is only 2 more than what Kouzmanoff has hit in 2009-2010 combined. Kouzmanoff posted a WAR of 2.9 last year. Figgins had a WAR of only .06. I really think Figgins will bounce back this year but the Mariners could use the extra salary space. If a pitcher was involved in the deal it would really sweeten things up for the Mariners. 

If the Blue Jays were involved in the deal I would imagine that Kouzmanoff goes to the Blue Jays and Chone Figgins would still be going to the A’s. Now who would the Mariners get? I assume that they would possibly get a combination of players from both teams. The Athletics have a lot of young pitching who would fit well in the middle or back end of the Mariners rotation. On top of a pitcher from the A’s, the Blue Jays could send one or two prospects the Mariners way.

There are still a lot of questions up in the air in regards to a deal but in the next couple hours watch for progress to be made.