Tadahito Iguchi, Padres Make 1 Year Deal
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Remember Tad Iguchi? Remember the guy acquired in the end of July trade with the Chicago White Sox who hit .304 with three homers and 12 RBI in 45 games with the Phillies, including holding down the 2nd base fort during the month that All Star regular 2nd baseman Chase Utley was down.
Well, now we can remember that the guy who stepped in so capably to spell Utley and who thus enabled the Phillies’ late season run to overtake the Mets for the NL East title was acquired Tuesday by the San Diego Padres in a 1 year, $4 million deal. We had him and now we lost him due to a contract snafu in the front office which MLB’s Jim Molony reported in mid-November;
“His contract contains a clause that gives him the right to reject a waiver claim, so even though he has to clear waivers, teams understand he can’t be claimed,” said [Rocky ]Hall [Iguchi’s agent]… “He’s technically on waivers, but… he is a free agent.”
The Phillies approached Iguchi about playing third base, but the player told the Phillies he’d prefer to stay at second.
Iguchi, who signed a two-year, $4.95 million contract before the 2005 season that also included a $3.25 million option for 2007…. also batted .320 as a pinch-hitter with Philadelphia.
In other words, there was a November 15th deadline clause in Iguchi’s contract with the White Sox which the Phils took over upon his acquisition by trade. The Phillies, it seems, could have acted before November 15th to retain him, but instead waived him enabling his free agency.
Iguchi, as noted in this blog’s earlier post, later expressed through his agent the desire to play 3rd base and that the Phillies were frontrunners to re-sign him. However, the clause in his previous contract prevented him from signing with the Phillies before May 15 unless they could obtain a waiver from the commissioners office to override the clause. The waiver was not forthcoming and Iguchi was grabbed up by the Padres.
Therefore, all that we Phillies fans can do is appreciate what Iguchi did for the team last season and hope that we won’t later regret the front office snafu with the division or league pennant hanging in the balance.
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