Keith Law: Mariners should release Chone Figgins
Jul 7, 2011, 1:26 PM | Updated: 1:33 pm
 Chone Figgins has two and a half years remaining on his four-year, $36 million contract. (AP) |
By Brady Henderson
The money the Mariners still owe Chone Figgins over the next two and a half seasons is commonly cited as the only reason Seattle shouldn’t release its underperforming third baseman.
But Keith Law of ESPN.com thinks having to eat the remainder of his $36 million contract shouldn’t keep them from doing so.
“You’re paying him anyway, right? So the money is irrelevant. That’s a sunk cost,” Law said Thursday on Brock & Salk. “No matter what you do with him — play him, bench him, release him — you’re paying that money.”
Figgins was reduced to a part-time player when Adam Kennedy took over as the Mariners’ third baseman last month. Since then, Figgins hasn’t exactly made a case for more playing time. He went 0 for 2 on Wednesday, dropping his average .183, and committed his 10th error of the season.
His playing time figures to decrease even more now that Kyle Seager has been called up and will assume third base, moving Kennedy into a utility infielder role.
“The question is: What’s the best use of the roster spot? And my guess is that they could find a better use for that roster spot than Figgins,” Law said. “You could try to trade him [but] you’re not going to get much in return, you’re certainly not going to save a lot of money; no one’s going to take on the contract. You could shop him. But I think at some point they’re probably going to end up releasing the guy.”
Follow Brady Henderson on Twitter @BradyHenderson
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