Chone Figgins on the trade market, Mariners hope to engage San Francisco

According to Jon Morosi, the Seattle Mariners are looking to trade Chone Figgins and are willing to include cash. This, of course, comes as no surprise. The Giants, apparently, are a target of interest for the Mariners, as a team that’s “in need of a leadoff guy”:

Mariners officials are hopeful that teams in need of a leadoff man will engage them in trade talks over the next few weeks. Sources say Seattle officials view Cincinnati, Detroit, and San Francisco as possible fits for Figgins.

Figgins, 33, is signed through 2013 on a four-year $36MM deal, and he has a vesting option worth $9MM for 2014 (it vests if he gets 600+ PAs in 2013). He’s a career .280/.352/.368 hitter but in the past couple years, those numbers have dropped significantly. He posted a .302 wOBA (88 wRC+) in 2010, and hit just .188/.241/.243 (.218 wOBA, 34 wRC+) last year.

He’s somewhat of a utility player, having played around the diamond throughout his career, but he’s mostly spent time at third base, second base, and centerfield. In addition to the dropoff in performance at the plate, his defensive skills seem to have eroded over the past few seasons.

Needless to say, Figgins isn’t a very attractive target (the guy was worth -1.2 wins above replacement last year). He doesn’t seem to be a great fit even if he rebounds. Bill James, who’s notoriously optimistic when it comes to projections, projects Figgins to post a .305 wOBA next season.

Even assuming that Seattle throws in a significant sum of money, it would make little sense for the Giants to acquire Figgins.