The Curious Case of Jose Lopez

This baseball offseason has been one of excitement for Mariners fans, and it's not even Christmas yet. Already the team looks better, and will be one to contend for the American League West Title and possibly the American League Championship. This leads us to a position that this winter has been rumor filled, second base.

Jose Lopez, the highly talked about 26 year old has been in Seattle now for five years, and is beginning to show what he is capable of when he puts the bat on the ball. Last season Lopez hit 25 home runs, had 96 RBIs and hit a modest .276 in 153 games. Not bad stats for a player that needed a breakout season to keep his job in Seattle.

Predictions show that Lopez should increase though in 2010 with 27 Home runs, 100 RBIs and hit around .268, again not bad numbers. The number though that is bad is his On-Base Percentage and Walks. Lopez had a OBP of .303 and only walked 24 times last season. Those are good enough for nearly last among second basemen in all of baseball. But also remember, Lopez spent most of the Season in the three hole in the Batting order, and anyone could get 96 RBIs if they have Ichiro getting on over 250 times a season.

Another flaw with Lopez is his Defense. He was an error machine last season with 15, and spotty on defense according to his .975 fielding percentage, both which are in the bottom half of the major leagues. His 235 Put outs and 351 assists gave him a Range Factor of 4.27, which ESPN rates as the lowest total among everyday second basemen. So leading back to what the M's can do with there young second baseman.

Option one is move him to first baseman, sign a new second baseman. This is not a bad idea since you have a few opinions out there in free agency. Felipe Lopez, (Little quicker in the field, better average hitter, less power, switch hitting), Orlando Hudson (Better Fielder, Less Power and same on average, but takes walks), and Juan Uribe (similar in style batting and fielding).

Option two, trade Lopez away in a trade to pick up a first baseman. This works because the Mariners are still in talks with Beltre for a third baseman. You have Figgins who can play at second. This requires money to sign Beltre back to Seattle, and that is something the Mariners have.

Option three, leave him at Second and see if he get better. The Mariners have Matt Tuiasosopo waiting in the wings, and he is a more natural second baseman then third baseman. This works well for the Mariners because you can see if Lopez will mess with Jack Wilson finally.

Option four, the final idea for Lopez is to move him to third and see if he can play the hot corner. He isn't built right for second base and could be a better corner infielder then double play teammate for the quick Jack Wilson.

Lopez is destined to stay in Seattle right now, its just a matter of which position he will be playing. He is a more natural corner infielder, and hopefully he see that before Spring Training. Jack Wilson needs a quick footed partner to work with like he had in Pittsburgh with Freddy Sanchez, so maybe moving Figgins is the best idea for the Mariners right now.