How the Mariners ended up with him:
Guillen was included as a throw-in in the Randy Johnson deal, which also sent Freddy Garcia and John Halama to the M's.
Why we miss him:
Guillen, after being essentially given to the Detroit Tigers immediately upon Bavasi's arrival, ended up being the infielder the Mariners have searched for ever since. While nobody could realistically expected it, Guillen suddenly bulked up and started hitting better, for both average and power. Since joining the Tigers, Guillen has been essentially a 3-4 win player, with a couple legitimate all star seasons thrown in. He was a capable shortstop until last year, and is still an average first baseman. Despite his offensive collapse this year, his performance in the last few years is why he belongs on this list.
Where is he now?
Guillen signed an extension in 2007 with Detroit worth $48 million that runs until 2012. Whoops. Now, while making above $10 million for the first time in his career at the age of 33, he is experiencing the worst offensive stretch he's ever had. Whoops. While the ZiPS projections say that he should hit much, much better for the rest of the year, this season should still prove his worst since 2002 and provides another excellent example of why teams shouldn't give long term contracts to non-superstars in their 30's.
Previous: No. 10 Randy Winn
photo source
Original Story:
http://www.seatownsports.net/2009/06/...
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