Talk about Overpaying: Mariners Grab Jose Vidro

If the Mariners didn't already have Jose Lopez, this still might not have been a very good deal. The plan is to play Vidro at DH, but he hasn't been productive offensively since 2002. He's one of the oldest 32 year old players in the majors. Knee problems have drastically limited him defensively and have kept him out of the batters box far too often for him to have a consistent offensive impact. Even if he was healthy, what are the Mariners getting? The answer, a player who has averaged 12 HR over the last three seasons. Last year, in Vidro's healthiest campaign in recent memory, the second baseman had the following stat line. 463 AB, 7 HR, .289 AVG, 47 RBI, 52 Runs. These numbers are passable for a 2B on a national league team, but they'll be far from impressive when compared to other AL DH's. While Chris Snelling has injury concerns of his own, he would have been no worse a bet to be as productive, if not more valuable in the DH role than Vid...