I 've been thinking about Adam Kennedy the entire off-season. Knowing he was a free agent, getting a little long in the tooth, and believing he could still be a good infielder and be a useful bat on the bench made me think he was a great fit for the M's as they re-shape their fragile infield.
Yes, he'll have to compete with Tuisasosopo, Josh Wilson, and any other numbers of lame hitting, mediocre glove-men for a spot during Spring Training. I watched Kennedy play for the A's a couple of years ago when Marc Ellis was injured and filled in at 3B for the always (sadly) injured Eric Chavez. He played creditably in the field and hit for an OPS 200 points higher than any of the stiffs currently vying for a back up spot.
Figgins will move to 3B, which leaves shortstop to Jack Wilson, and 2B to Brendan Ryan. If Wilson should require his regular trek to the IR, it means Kennedy could fill in at second while Ryan moves over to short. That's enough depth to give me just a little more confidence. If Dustin Ackley makes his way north to Safeco, of course, all bets are off, and things just get more interesting, but it would take the pressure off to do so sooner than Ackley is ready.
Not a game changer, but definitely a great call Jack Z. Welcome Mr. Kennedy.
1 comment:
I like the Kennedy signing. It won't make the M's a World Series team, but it is good to have solid back-up players in the system in case bad things happen (and that seems to be the Mariner way the last few years).
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