Orioles sign Garrett Atkins to one-year deal

Posted on December 17, 2009

Garrett Atkins of the Colorado Rockies waits in the on deck circle during a game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park in San Francisco, CA on September 14, 2006. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

 

The Baltimore Orioles plucked third baseman Garrett Atkins off the free agent market Thursday when they signed the former Rockie to a one-year contract worth $4.5 million with a club option for 2011. Atkins has had declining offensive numbers the past few seasons in Colorado. Is it the humidor or is he just done at an early age?

When Atkins broke in with the Rockies and started getting regular playing time at third base he was part of a young dynamic duo of right-handed sluggers, who along with teammate Matt Holliday terrorized opposing pitchers. In 2006 he had his break out year hitting .329 with 29 homers and 120 runs batted in. He was a monster at the plate and looked to be one of the great young sluggers in the game.

Atkins fell off drastically in 2009 when he hit a paltry .226 to go along with only 9 homers and 48 runs batted in. Many of the times when I saw him play he looked lost at the plate and did not look like the hitter he once was. It was kinda sad to watch the Rockies make their miraculous run to the NL wild card last year without him making many meaningful contributions as he lost his starting job and had to watch much of the fun at Coors Field from the bench..

2010 will be a big year for Atkins as he will need to put up some big numbers in order to grab a bigger free agent contract in 2011. If he puts up numbers like he did last year Orioles fans everywhere, including D. Ross Cameron will be booing him by August.