On this date in 2009, Chone Figgins became a Mariner.
On this date in 2009, Chone Figgins became a Mariner. (USATSI)

The 2014 Winter Meetings are in full swing -- here's our Winter Meetings page, by the way -- so this week is sure to be full of rumors and signings and trades. Happens every year. This is the most exciting week of the offseason, hands down.

Of course, not every deal will turn out as hoped. Don't believe me? On this date five years ago, the Mariners signed infielder Chone Figgins to a four-year contract that was nothing short of a disaster. The contract paid him $36 million.

Figgins was 31 at the time and he was coming off a season in which he hit .298/.395/.393 (110 OPS+) with 30 doubles, 42 stolen bases and an AL leading 101 walks for the Angels. Throw in strong defense at third base and you had a 4.1 WAR player. It appeared to be a nice little pickup for Seattle.

Instead, Figgins did this during the life of the contract:

YearAgeTmGPARH2B3BHRRBISBCSBBSOBAOBPSLGOPSOPS+Pos
2010 32 SEA 161 702 62 156 21 2 1 35 42 15 74 114 .259 .340 .306 .646 84 *4
2011 33 SEA 81 313 24 54 11 1 1 15 11 6 21 42 .188 .241 .243 .484 40 5/7
2012 34 SEA 66 194 18 30 5 2 2 11 4 1 19 48 .181 .262 .271 .533 53 75/8D9
SEA (3 yrs) 308 1209 104 240 37 5 4 61 57 22 114 204 .227 .302 .283 .585 68  
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/8/2014.

The Mariners released Figgins in February 2013 and he did not play at all that season. But he was active in 2014 though, appearing in 38 games for the Dodgers.

All told, Figgins hit an unfathomably bad .227/.302/.283 (68 OPS+) in 308 games with the Mariners, who also moved him to second base and saw his defense take a big hit. Figgins was done as an everyday player by the second year of his four-year contract.

So let this be a reminder: giving a huge contract to the guy who just had a career year at age 31 probably isn't the best investment. And don't overrate versatility.