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Even if you don't love the player, you've got to love the price. Jon Heyman tweets that John Buck's deal with the Mariners is complete, and it's a serious bargain.
#mariners agree to deal with john buck. he gets $1M. @jonmorosi said MLB deal was close.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) January 14, 2014
Buck's struggles at the plate over the past few years have knocked his price tag all the way down to a singular million, right on the heels of a 3 year, $18 million contract. If Buck even provides a fraction of a win over replacement value, it will be worth it. Given that Buck was worth 1.6 fWAR in 2013, 0.9 in 2012, and 1.6 in 2011, that seems like a pretty likely certainty. For a million bucks. Jose Molina (0.2 fWAR) got 2/$4.5. Dioner Navarro (1.7 fWAR) got 2/$8.
Steamer projects Buck for 0.4 WAR, but it also thinks Buck is only going to play in 24 games. Oliver has Buck's production scaled out to 600 PA, for 2.2 WAR. These are both hilariously inaccurate projections on playing time, but the truth will be sit in the middle, and that's enough for him to earn his salary. Expect Buck to play once or twice a week and amass somewhere between 0.5 and 1 win of value as the Mariners primary backup to Zunino.
For the quick reaction on Buck's signing last night, check out the original post. Now, with the 40-man roster full, we wait to see who will be removed for Buck. Good signing, better price. Kudos to the M's front office for identifying an affordable backup and snatching him up at an under market value cost.
