Last week, the A’s continued to make headlines, as the team was reported to have made an inquiry about the Seattle Mariners’ 3B Chone Figgins.
However, the A’s and Mariners were never close to pulling off a trade, reports FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal. The A’s, who would’ve sent over incumbent 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff and a pitcher to Seattle in exchange for the speedy Figgins, are probably done negotiating with Seattle.
Rosenthal cites that one of the big problems in the deal was money. The A’s, who have been willing to spend this offseason, still probably wanted Seattle to pitch in for some of the money owed to Figgins.
While the deal would have brought another speedy player to the A’s offense, I’m not sure that Figgins would have been an upgrade over Kouzmanoff.
Last season, Figgins hit .259/.340/.306 with one home run and 35 RBIs. Kouzmanoff, meanwhile, hit .247/.283/.396 with 16 home runs and 71 RBIs.
Kouzmanoff is the A’s third-baseman heading into the season, and while he did have a down year last season, he still led the team in home runs (16) and RBIs (71) in 2010.
The A’s are a team with limited power as it is, and adding Figgins could do more harm than good. Let Kouzmanoff prove his worth this spring.