Jeff Francis Signs With The Royals

Dave · January 14, 2011 at 3:30 pm · Filed Under Mariners 

We were pretty sure the M’s were out on Jeff Francis once David Aardsma became untradeable, but now it’s official, as Francis landed in Kansas City today for a whopping $2 million base with incentives that could push the total to $4 million. This is exactly the kind of deal I was hoping the Mariners could offer him, but it seems like they’re just out of money, so instead of getting a pretty decent left-handed strike-thrower for the back-end of the rotation, they had to watch him take a job with the Royals instead.

With the M’s failing to come up with marginal amounts of money for the likes of Francis and Capuano, it’s probably safe to assume they’re out on anyone who will get a seven figure deal. They may still add another pitcher or a right-handed bat who could handle some left field if they end up jettisoning Milton Bradley, but the guys they’ll be targeting will probably have to accept non-guaranteed minor league deals. Unless Jack Z has a trick up his sleeve, the M’s are probably done doing anything significant this winter.

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52 Responses to “Jeff Francis Signs With The Royals”

  1. TomC on January 18th, 2011 11:41 am

    My main point, in agreement with you, is that Bavasi did far more damage to the farm than anything else, and for this he should never be forgiven

    I think that sums up my disappointment this offseason. I know we cannot spend ourselves back into contention. The lack of sufficient help from the farm system is infuriating. Where is our internal DH replacement? Why can’t we produce a catcher worthy of big league time? Why do we have to use an aging, injury-prone, shortstop?

    Within three years of taking over, Z will be free from the last of Bavasi’s commitments,

    I would not completely give Zduriencik a pass, however. I believe the Chone Figgins signing was a mistake. We signed him after an atypical ‘career’ year. He will be paid $9 Million — approximately 10% of our total salary this year. He is 33 years old. He has demonstrated poor professionalism (fighting with the Manager) and a tendency to sulk – indicators for future problems. We are stuck with him through 2014. This is not Carlos Silva bad but overall it hurts rather than helps the team.

  2. stantak on January 20th, 2011 6:03 pm

    On the bright side, Ichiro becomes a 10 & 5 guy this year.

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