As mentioned over the weekend, Mariner shortstop Jack Wilson broke the fifth metacarpal in his right hand in an off the field incident. The team said that he slipped and fell in his bathroom, but given that the fifth metacarpal is commonly broken in punches that don’t connect quite as planned, it’s easy to think that Wilson, in a season full frustration, might have gotten upset and tried to take that frustration out on something. When it rains it pours.
Last night we learned that Wilson would require surgery on his hand and figures to miss about six weeks, meaning he could return with just a couple weeks left in the season, and will not be able to go on a normal minor league rehab assignment. This appears to be the cherry on top of a season that saw just about everything go wrong for Wilson. After missing so much time with the hamstring injury and struggling at the plate, Wilson had something to prove through the end of the season but will no longer have that chance.
As mentioned time and time again, Wilson wasn’t expected to be an offensive cornerstone at the time of the trade, but he certainly need to do better than he has. Since joining the Mariners Wilson has produced a .585 OPS, which is 102 points lower than he did in his many years with Pittsburgh and 139 points lower than what he did between 2004 and 2008. Jeff at Lookout Landing recently noted that Wilson’s offense has taken a dive along side his contact rates. Wilson’s previous offensive value was in simply making contact and hoping some fell in, but he has been swinging and missing and striking out far too often since changing teams for the first time after nine big league seasons with the Pirates.
Wilson is under contract with the Mariners for $5M next season. So what happens next?
For some teams, $5M for Wilson wouldn’t be that bad. But the Mariners will owe about $48M to just four players next season in Ichiro, Milton Bradley, Felix Hernandez and Chone Figgins, which figures to be over half of the overall payroll unless GM Jack Zduriencik’s allowance dramatically increases next season (which could happen, I suppose). With all that money going to those four players, especially with $12M of that going to Bradley who may but probably won’t carry his weight, the rest of the money needs to be spent wisely. $5M to a guy who has shown no ability to hit since being acquired and has lived up to his “made of glass” reputation may not be the best way to go.
Finding a taker for Wilson could be tough without eating money, which complicates things. Having to send money with Wilson in a trade makes it harder to determine whether or not it’s worth moving him. But if they can move him without having to eat money they may decide that they’re better off with a bargain scrub like Josh Wilson, Chris Woodward or someone else, or may want to pursue one of the few free agents at the position.
While I am beginning to lean the way of the “dump Wilson” crowd, I still wouldn’t mind seeing him back next year if no obvious deals come Seattle’s way. He’s still a premium defender and I can still hold out hope that his contact rates will revert to career norms at some point.
Original Story:
http://www.proballnw.com/08-2010/ja-w...
