As almost every Mariner or just general baseball fan probably knows, Chone Figgins has been released by the Seattle Mariners after three years of watching the former All-Star fall like a star from space. Now there are a few questions that are on my mind after this news. The first is simple: was this the right time to release him? Secondly, who is going to take Figgy’s spot on the bench? Finally, is if this is the signal of Chone Figgins’ baseball career coming to an end? Of course, all of these questions will be answered with time, but I have some ideas about what possible answers could be.
The first question is whether or not this was the right time to release Figgins, instead of letting him stay with us for the remaining year left on his contract. My response is that this action was the right thing to do, and was done at the perfect time. When he was just signed, Mariner fans everywhere rejoiced, saying that he was going to be a new face of the organization while pushing the Mariners over the edge and into the playoffs. What we actually got was a soaring player that fell so hard that the people in Australia felt the vibrations. This was the right time to release him, not only for his stats, but because he no longer had any desire to play ball here which would have only made his numbers go even lower, impossible as that may seem.
Next are options the Mariners have to replace Figgins’s roster spot. There are many different options Seattle can take. Whatever the option, in my opinion, the Mariners would get more production than they did out of Figgins.
The last question is whether or not Figgins will continue to play professional baseball. He is now on the free agent market waiting to be picked up by another team. I think that he probably will be picked up by another organization, but the team is unknown to me.
I hope that Figgins does re-find his stride with another team, and he has a good finish to his career.