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Pro Quality. Fan Perspective.
Around SBN: Defense FAIL: Purdue 76, Michigan State 64

Jack Wilson Inked


Two-year deal. Details forthcoming.

Jeff's update: $10m, 2 years. I think I said everything I have to say about Wilson the other day, so the bottom line is that this is a great deal in a vacuum and still a pretty good deal for a team in our situation. The shortstop hole has been plugged without our having to make any sort of potentially debilitating commitment. Onward to solving the team's other problems. Call Felix!

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That kind of sucks. Seems like about the right value for projected production, but mostly only downside.

Oh well, I guess there weren’t a ton of better options. I was just hoping our FA money would be spent on a bat… Maybe it still can be, but this sort of rules out getting a Harden/Johnson combo doesn’t it?

by lailaihei on Nov 13, 2009 1:48 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Why would it?

FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS!

by Goose on Nov 13, 2009 1:50 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Too expensive? I'm not sure what the FO's budget will be this year...

but it seems like a lot of teams are looking to reduce payroll, it’s not unlikely the Mariners will join them.

by lailaihei on Nov 13, 2009 1:52 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I guess I'm just not a huge fan of Wilson.

And I think patient teams will get better deals again this season.
Does anyone know what the average $/win was for free agents in 2009?

by lailaihei on Nov 13, 2009 1:55 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

It's not like the market is flooded with better options.

FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS!

by Goose on Nov 13, 2009 2:02 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

He's pretty much a two win a year player though.

I don’t see how you expect him to be worth one a piece the next two years.

by BrettJMiller on Nov 13, 2009 2:20 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I don't, he's probably +10 with the glove, -10 with the stick...

Maybe a 1.75 win player. His bat doesn’t have the potential to bust out but he could lose a step or become even worse with the bat, rendering him 1-win-ish. There’s also decent injury potential.
Let me put it another way, if he posts 5-6 wins over the next 2 years, I will be quite surprised because it’s hard to see where those wins would come from. If he posts 2 wins, not so surprising, many things could go wrong.

by lailaihei on Nov 13, 2009 2:23 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Right, the most likely thing is he's a 1.75 win player or so.

But it’s more likely for something to go the wrong way than the right way with Jack.

by lailaihei on Nov 13, 2009 2:25 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I'd say with Scutaro it's about even risk.

Scutaro could replicate last year, that’s unlikely but not out of the question. He could easily be a 3-4 win player over the next two seasons.
Wilson, on the other hand, hasn’t shown the ability to hit well enough to do that in his recent history.

I’m not saying it’s a bad deal, just there’s not much upside. I’m decently happy with it for $10 million.

by lailaihei on Nov 13, 2009 2:29 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

But Scutaro is a Type A

That means you have to wait to see if he’s offered arbitration. And if he is, you don’t want to lose your pick. Plus, he could command more money. And if either of those two things happen, Jack Wilson might not be there to fall back on.

by arbeck77 on Nov 13, 2009 2:31 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

He's Type A, which will lower his cost.

It also will make it hurt less to sign other Type A’s like O-Hud.

by lailaihei on Nov 13, 2009 2:32 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

If he does get offered arbitration, the price you pay is no longer just in $$.

The cost would include the lost draft pick.

Saying giving up a first so you can sign other type A’s and only give up a second isn’t a good argument for your case.

by edddgar on Nov 13, 2009 2:43 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah, ok, but it costs a draft pick for every team.

And thus lowers the value of the player to every team meaning the contract will be favorable on the financial end.

by lailaihei on Nov 13, 2009 2:44 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

So Marco Scutaro > Wilson + 1st round draft pick?

My point was, your including your first round pick with the cost to sign Scutaro. The Mariners just missed their pick being protected, their pick is far more valuable than that of, say, the Yankees.

by edddgar on Nov 13, 2009 2:49 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

That's ludicrous to think that Scutaro's risk is even.

He’s a 34-year-old SS coming off his best season by far which was fueled almost entirely by him swinging a ton less and likely by a bit of BABIP inflation.

by Matthew on Nov 13, 2009 2:32 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

This is cool:
Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jack Zduriencik today announced that the club has signed shortstop Jack Wilson to a two-year contract.

Wilson earned the Fielding Bible Award as the best fielding shortstop in the Majors in 2009 and ranked 3rd in the Majors for most “Web Gem” points on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight. He led all ML shortstops with 27 runs saved (The Fielding Bible statistic) in 2009 and leads his position with 51 runs saved over the last three seasons. FULL STORY "

The Mariners have just emailed this to all of their subscribers through mlb.com. Great to see some love for FB and also justifying that with the runs saved statistic.

I was at Shea for the Felix-Slam!
Personal M's record: 5-4.

by EnglishMariner on Nov 13, 2009 1:47 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Just about to post the same thing...

It makes me happy to see the new regime using things like ‘runs saved’ in an official email.

by clb on Nov 13, 2009 1:50 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Jim Street recently pleaded for Jason Bay via his mailbag

I facepalmed myself, partially because it’s not at all a move worth making, and partially because I had to exercise some form of physical punishment on myself for reading a Jim Street mailbag and not expecting a dosage of stupid.

by cwel87 on Nov 13, 2009 2:27 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

That is awesome.

Good job mariners for pointing out an advanced defensive statistic to people.

I also love it when I hear the mariners broadcasters mention UZR (usually in the context of someone like Gutierrez having an awesome UZR).

by ARock on Nov 13, 2009 2:36 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

That's awesome.

These guys really know how to run a modern baseball franchise. They can guide their fans along into the new world with them and explain how they’re doing awesome stuff.

Fans are typically idiots.

by The Typical Idiot Fan on Nov 13, 2009 6:46 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Per Dejan Kovacevic out of Pittsburgh

Wilson’s deal believed to have total worth of $10 million.

by ManifestDestiny on Nov 13, 2009 1:54 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Wow

Woo-hoo’

I can’t believe he accepted that. Maybe its the base salary?

by Poochie on Nov 13, 2009 2:23 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Ok, my main beef with Wilson is this:

As a team that is kind-of-but-not-really a playoff contender in 2010, deals with risk and upside have more value to us than deals that are steady and more predictable.
If we are projected to be a 91 win team without Wilson, then it makes perfect sense to shore up the roster with some really predictable talent.
But since we’re somewhere like an 85 win team or so if we get all of our wins from free agency at $4 mil value, then it makes more sense to go with someone like Scutaro who just posted a ridiculous season and is more likely to give you the kind of breakout performance that will put us at 90 wins or something that is really good for a playoff run.

If it’s for $10 million and 2 years, though, then I won’t complain. There’s some real value in that deal and as long as we get some higher risk players then we may be able to fill out our roster in a way that makes us playoff contenders if things break right anyway.

by lailaihei on Nov 13, 2009 2:05 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

It'll be interesting to see what Scutaro gets...

…and if he’s offered arbitration. There are other places to upgrade on the roster and a $5 million league average SS isn’t a bad thing. What if Scutaro gets the same deal as Chone Figgins? Would you rather have Tui and Scutaro or Figgins and Wilson?

by coreyjro on Nov 13, 2009 2:09 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Apparently Dave beat me to saying this by quite a few words and 4 minutes.
It’s not a move with much upside, so the M’s will have to compensate by taking some risks at other positions, but it’s a decent stop-loss move.

by lailaihei on Nov 13, 2009 2:12 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

But that's really the point

We weren’t going to get much upside out of the shortstop position this winter anyway, so it feels like the best ‘win now and keep the position warm’ move for two years.

by cwel87 on Nov 13, 2009 2:22 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

There were a couple places to look for it, but yeah I guess the options are pretty limited...

Scutaro and Bartlett were decent options for upside guys. And I kind of like the “maybe he’ll repeat a freakout year again” upside over “maybe his body wont break down” upside.

by lailaihei on Nov 13, 2009 2:25 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

But he hit last year and hitting is value highly

Plus Wilson is probably likely to be better anyway

by Poochie on Nov 13, 2009 2:30 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Want to have like a $5 bet at who will post a better WAR in 2010?

Anyway, I like the risk/upside of Scutaro for a middling-maybe-playoffs team like the Mariners.

by lailaihei on Nov 13, 2009 2:32 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

In order to win, you must take some risks

But don’t make unnecessary, insane risks.

by cwel87 on Nov 13, 2009 2:33 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Is Marco Scutaro an insane risk?

Mark Prior is an insane risk, Dick Harden is an insane risk… Scutaro is just unlikely to repeat last year.

by lailaihei on Nov 13, 2009 2:34 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

For us, in our situation

We are staring a perennial 2-win player in the face for $5 million per – and to wait until free agency to go after a player whose BABIP is severely inflated and might cost us a first-round pick isn’t an insane risk?

Perspective.

by cwel87 on Nov 13, 2009 2:35 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Harden and Prior aren't insane risks

Unless you are counting on them to throw 150+ innings or throwing high dollar multi year deals at them. But taking a flier on one of them for reasonable money isn’t a risk at all.

by arbeck77 on Nov 13, 2009 2:36 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

And, frankly, in our situation

A Rich Harden/Bedard/Sheets type is the kind of risk we need to make in order to compete, not this shortstop shuffleboard nonsense.

by cwel87 on Nov 13, 2009 2:36 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

If you're a proponent of going after him for that kind of money

How much do you think we have in available financial resources this offseason?

by cwel87 on Nov 13, 2009 2:39 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I'm not Z, but

I bet the main reasoning behind the decision was purely defense. And Wilson is far better than Scutaro. I like it. And really at the end of the day is the minimal offensive upgrade worth the risk? There are better positions to upgrade our offense.

Racer X. You have to love those amarillo hops.

p.s. fuck you angels

by InSpokane on Nov 13, 2009 2:48 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Just he has an ability to repeat a 4-ish win season.

It’s not likely, but there’s decent potential. He could become 5 with the glove again and still be a 4 win player if his BABIP goes back to normal levels.

by lailaihei on Nov 13, 2009 2:34 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Shouldn't this be part of the "Faces" series?

“Suprise Face man looks like he just found out that his girlfriend has room for two cucumbers.”

I will smash your face into a jelly.

by Phildopip on Nov 13, 2009 2:06 PM PST reply actions   1 recs

Oh right on! I had completely forgotten that happened.

What a fantastic experience. The M’s injury updates list Bedard as coming out a sling soon, I’m not sure how often they update that. The last dated injury report on any player was the middle of Oct.

by Kermit. on Nov 13, 2009 2:22 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

The team needed more ugly.

Therefore I approve this move

by arbeck77 on Nov 13, 2009 2:17 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

$10 million for 2 years of Wilson is great.

He is about 2 WAR, and if his wOBA improves slightly to around .300, which is pretty reasonable imo (given Dave Cameron’s post about his offense on USSMariner), then he might even be 2.5 WAR.

2 WAR on the free agent market is like 8-9 million, so we are getting a good deal.

If he manages to be worth more than 2 WAR, then thats even better.

by ARock on Nov 13, 2009 2:39 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Neat

FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS!

by Goose on Nov 13, 2009 2:40 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Quick math projections

Wilson: ~.295 – .300 park-neutral wOBA, +10 defense
Scutaro: ~.330 park-neutral wOBA, 0 defense

Congratulations, you have yourself a difference of about five runs.

by Jeff Sullivan on Nov 13, 2009 2:48 PM PST reply actions   1 recs

That's what I was tring to say earlier, but not as well.

Racer X. You have to love those amarillo hops.

p.s. fuck you angels

by InSpokane on Nov 13, 2009 2:54 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Interesting

Calabro brings up the moving from leagues to face a new set of pitchers, and Wilson’s first thought is how lost he felt not knowing how to defense a new set of batters ….

by msb on Nov 13, 2009 2:50 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

oh, and

Josh Wilson is leading Langerhans in the FF League.

by msb on Nov 13, 2009 2:52 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I was not a big fan of re-signing Jack Wilson around the time he was acquired.

Since the landscape has shifted and the odds of getting a youngish shortstop with enough upside to be worth using resources on, I’m pretty satisfied.

Hopefully he can ugly his way to a .320 wOBA.

by abender20 on Nov 13, 2009 3:56 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

A .320 wOBA would be so nice.

Like legitimately beautiful with his fielding skills.

by Kirkharbaugh on Nov 13, 2009 4:10 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Good. I don't have a pic of Jack Wilson yet.

I guess I have at least 2 years to get a good pix now.

by mark sobba on Nov 13, 2009 4:24 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Love it.

With Hardy off the market, I’d have to think Wilson is certainly the next best thing. Not too expensive, either.

My Mariners blog - SodoMojo Twitter Feed, Fuck the fucking Angels!

by gregrabble on Nov 13, 2009 5:56 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Well this is good news

Finally nice to have a league average SS with above-average upside. And only 2 million more than what Pittsburgh was rumored to be offering Jack Wilson before he was traded (rumored to have offered 2 years/8 million).

by JLC on Nov 13, 2009 6:11 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Oh, well now I know it has to be a good thing

after reading the Times’ comments:

“And there’s your Bill Bavasi move. 2 years guaranteed $10 million even if the guy plays 12 games for you in those two years. ‘m sure the Zduriencik apologists will make up some excuse to justify $10 million guaranteed for a player that rivals Chris Snelling in injuries and can’t hit. "

by msb on Nov 14, 2009 4:37 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

I once read a Times commenter suggesting Buhner should be the pitching coach.

I went to junior high with the guy too :(

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Nov 15, 2009 1:16 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

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