Chone Figgins, Ichiro Will Be 'Special' Atop Mariners' Batting Order

INDIANAPOLIS - Tuesday afternoon, Seattle Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik mockingly announced that he was revealing the "best kept secret of the Winter Meetings," when he informed the press that they had inked Chone Figgins to a four-year deal with a fifth-year option. If the Mariners can add any kind of punch to their batting order between now and Spring Training, there won't be much laughter from opposing pitchers.

Ichrio Suzuki sported a .386 on-base percentage in 2009, but his rate of runs scored and stolen bases fell, likely due to the lack of consistency and power behind him in the lineup. The Mariners finished dead last in the American League in runs scored last season. They didn't get on base well and lacked power. They were just collectively anemic. The Mariners are still looking for power, but Figgins will team with Ichiro to create one of the best table-setting duos atop the order in baseball. Figgins, who had a .395 on-base percentage last year with 42 stolen bases and 101 walks figures to slot behind Ichiro in the everyday lineup and will give a huge boost to the offense.

"When you look at what he's going to bring to our club, with Ichiro Suzuki batting at the top of the order, I think that's pretty special in and of itself," Zduriencik said after making the deal official.

Now, the Mariners will shift their focus to a different part of the offense and it's pretty obvious to anyone what the focus will be.

"Getting somebody with power," Zduriencik said firmly. "Certainly we would like to have somebody with power."

They do have Jose Lopez (25 home runs in '09), Franklin Gutierrez (18) and Ken Griffey (19) who can provide some punch, but none of those guys (in Griffey's case it would be not anymore) is a big-time power threat who can hit cleanup on a playoff team.

Bringing back Russell Branyan, who led the team with 31 home runs last season, would be a start, but he's battling back from a herniated disk and had a career year at age 33.

The versatility of Figgins makes things easier as the M's seek another bat, because he can slot in at third base or in the outfield -- meaning the Mariners can pursue a left-fielder or a third baseman with power and shift Figgins accordingly. Zduriencik stated that Figgins prefers to stay in the infield and they'll make every effort to keep him there, but it's still got to be nice for Seattle to know they have options with him.

Regardless, throwing a big bat into the mix would make Seattle a major player in the American League next year. They already have great defense and solid pitching. Figgins and Ichiro atop the order would give opposing teams serious headaches. If they add, say, Jason Bay -- who some say the Mariners are after and some don't -- to the mix, guys like Branyan, Lopez and Gutierrez would become an excellent supporting cast of hitters to what would essentially be a "Big Three" in the lineup.

After shedding a significant amount of payroll this offseason, the Mariners have plenty of money to spend. They are very serious about contending in 2010 (and beyond) and the Figgins signing is not the end of their activity.