Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Armchair GM: My 2015 San Francisco Giants

Someone requested in the comments after the last post that I do an Armchair GM post on building the 2015 Giants.   Of course, we have all been giving this a lot of thought, but in bits and pieces.  After giving it a little more thought, I decided that it really wasn't as daunting as it seemed when first proposed.  This is going to be be what I would do if I were the Giants GM as opposed to what I think Brian Sabean will do.  I will, however, constrain myself to the same basic parameters that Sabes has to take into account, so don't expect anything spectacular here.

I am going to assume that the luxury tax threshold of $189 M is the absolute maximum ownership will allow.  I also want to maintain a buffer below that to maintain payroll flexibility for possible midseason trades.  I will assume that the low end of acceptable payroll range is a 10% increase. The Giants payroll last year was $149 M.  That would put 2015 payroll at $165 M.  I will also assume there is a some reasonable leeway in the budget of an additional $10 M up to $175 M which would leave a $14 M buffer to the luxury tax.  So I will work with a payroll budget of $165-175 M.  According to Cot's Contracts website, the Giants are already committed to $127.28 in salary for 2015 with a projected additional $14.5 M in salary for arbitration eligible players for a total of $141.78 M.  We'll round it to $142 M just for convenience and because these numbers are not that precise. This leaves a range of available salary of $23-33 M.

If possible, I want to hang onto the 2015 first round draft pick so will avoid free agents who have received Qualifying Offers from their 2014 teams.  The one exception I might make would be to sign Max Scherzer who is an extraordinary talent, but signing him would use up most or all of the available payroll budet without a special dispensation from ownership.  I am going to assume this is not going to happen for all practical purposes.

I am willing to trade any of prospects currently in the farm system.  On the other hand, I don't have much in the way of what most teams are looking for in a trade, MLB ready starting pitching.  So trades are going to be difficult to fit into a realistic scenario.

I think we all know what areas could be upgraded.  3B is the most glaring hole to fill, but Starting Pitching is shaky with one member coming off elbow surgery, another coming off a season in which he was basically benched coming down the stretch and into the playoffs and another who is probably better suited to a swingman role.  A 4'th, Tim Hudson will be 40 yo and has already said 2015 will likely be his last season.  Relief pitching currently has 3 open slots.  The left field situation is not desperate, but an upgrade would be welcome if it an be found and better OF depth would also be desirable.

The top 3B available on the FA market is Chase Headley.  Headley did not receive a QO from the Yankees, so they must think he will get less than $15.3 M AAV.  The Yankees are also reportedly not willing to go beyond 3 years in a contract offer.  Headley is a switch-hitter and a superior defender.  He is entering his age 31 season.  His numbers at the plate the last 2 seasons have been disappointing in light of he 31 HR season of 2012 which he accomplished playing his home games in Petco Park.  His second half numbers last year were strong which may have been due to playing most of his game in Yankee Stadium, but it also may be due to changing the grip on his bat back to his 2012 grip(he had changed it due to an injury).  Even without a projected improvement in his offensive output he should be good for fWAR's of 3.5-4.0.  A good offensive season might boost that up into the 5.0-6.0 range.  I would offer Headley 4 years/$52 M.  Possibly sweeten the deal with an upfront bonus and add a 5'th option year, possibly a vesting option.  Of course, if it turns out the Yankees really want him and start jacking up their offers, then I would have to walk away and look elsewhere.  Fallback options would be to try to work a trade with Boston for Garin Cecchini or kick the tires on Gordon Beckham if he is non-tendered today by the Angels.  I would also look into signing Jed Lowrie and moving him to 3B.

So, I have spend $13 M of my available payroll on Headley.  I am going to turn to starting pitching next.  The Giants are making some noise on Jon Lester, although I am not sure how serious they are.  That meeting they reportedly had with him yesterday?  Turns out it was Bruce Bochy paying a visit to his home in Atlanta.  Unless Bruce Bochy has suddenly become the Assistant GM, I am going to assume this was nothing more than a tire kick and signing Jon Lester is a pipe dream.

IMO, the best FA pitcher on the market who is not named Jon Lester and who does not come with a QO attached, is Jason Hammel.  His ERA's have not been that exciting, but he has maintained a fairly consistent K/9 in the 8's and BB/9 below 3. He has good stuff.  Pitching in AT&T Park and working with Rags can only help him.  He is also entering his age 31 season which is much younger than most FA SP's.  MLBTR's projected cost for him is 3 years/$30 M.  To me, that looks like a very reasonable price and possibly a bargain.

Signing Hammel allows me to bump Yusmeiro Petit back to the swingman role and reduces the number of bullpen openings to 2.  I believe those can be filled either internally or out of a pool of spring training invitees on minor league deals.  That leaves just LF.

Gregor Blanco has average 2.4 fWAR over the last 3 seasons so I am not desperate here.  On the other hand, an upgrade that would allow Blanco to be the 4'th OF and insurance against another Angel Pagan injury would be desirable.  The OF pickings are very slim and I am down to less than $10 M to work with.  I am not going to go into every possible option here, but rest assured, the pickings in the price range are slim indeed.   After much consideration, it really came down to 2 options:  1.  Bring back Michael Morse on the same deal he got last year, $1 year/$7+ M.  2.  Alejandro De Aza is expected to be non-tendered by the Orioles today.  De Aza is a very similar players to Gregor Blanco in that he is left-handed, has some speed and occasional power.  He is an average defender in CF but could probably be a plus defender in LF.  His big plus over Morse is he is not a negative on defense and he adds versatility in that he can play any of the 3 OF positions.  On the other hand, he seems like a  bit of a redundancy to Blanco, not adding any other dimension.  It would be nice to have both, but I can probably only afford 1.  After some deliberation, I am going to go with the RH masher bat of Morse and again, try to find ways to mitigate the bad D in LF.  Very close call.

My offseason work is now done except for some dumpster dives to invite to spring training on minor league deals, mostly bullpen arms.  The 2015 payroll is up to $172 M which I think ownership can live with and I still have a little room for midseason upgrades via trade.  Here is the projected Opening Day Roster:

C  Buster Posey
1B Brandon Belt
2B  Joe Panik
3B  Chase Headley
SS  Brandon Crawford
RF  Hunter Pence
CF  Angel Pagan
LF  Michael Morse/Gregor Blanco
SP  Madison Bumgarner
SP  Matt Cain
SP  Jason Hammel
SP  Tim Hudson
SP  Tim Lincecum
Closer  Santiago Casilla
RP  Yusmeiro Petit
RP  Jeremy Affeldt
RP  Javier Lopez
RP  Jean Machi
2 RP  TBD  Strickland?  Kontos?  Cordier?  Okert?  Hall?  Dumpster Dive?
Bench:
Andrew Susac, C
Joaquin Arias, IF
Ehire Adrianza IF
TBD Travis Ishikawa?  Duffy?  Perez?  Dumpster Dive?

Hope a SP and OF or two will step up from the minors and be available midseason.  If not, I might have to depend on a midseason trade or two to fill holes that arise.

60 comments:

  1. Very well thought out Dr.B and I'm sure Sabean will do the same. One thing though is I'm kind of worried with Pagan in CF. To be healthy all season and coming off surgery do you think it's best if Pagan moved to LF? Either find a CF or move Blanco to CF. Whispers are Blanco is set to make 3.5 million in arb. and that is expensive for 4th OF. Sabean did get rid of Keppenger for same reason, but Blanco won't get non tendered. Under this reason I think Blanco starts. Seems like Giants don't have a lot of money. What the heck were they going to do if they signed Pablo!

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    1. It's very reasonable to be worried about Pagan, but what are you going to do about it? I don't think playing LF reduces his injury risk. If it turns out his range has been affected adversely, then he can be flip-flopped with Blanco after the season starts.

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  2. The Yankees couldn't give Headley a qualifying offer because he was traded during the season, so the lack thereof shouldn't be considered a clue to his market value.

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    1. Ah! Thanks for the reminder. On the other hand, MLBTR reported that the yanks are not willing to go more than 3 years. Fangraphs Crowdsourced contract has him at 4 years $56 M, so I think I'm still in the ballpark.

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    2. I read that Headley wants 5 years. So that's a factor.

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  3. I don't think Bochy talking to Lester means nothing or just kicking tires. Bochy was the one who got Morse to sign. Hudson has raved about playing for Bochy. I think Bobby Evans talking to free agents isn't working. It's not all about money. When you have offers that are all the same in terms of money...playing for Bochy might sway you to play for the Giants or pitch for the Giants in this case. Bochy was selling him on pitching for a hall of fame manager. Will it work. Probably not, but Pence took less money and I hope Lester will take less than market value because Bochy sold him on the idea of winning.

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    1. Yeah, it's a good thought. We'll see how it works out. After looking at the numbers it sure seems that a Lester signing would force dumpster dives at 3B and the OF.

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    2. The article on the Giants website said that Bochy was part of a larger delegation that payed a visit to Lester. Apparently Tim Hudson went along to put in a pitch about how great it is to play for the Giants. Maybe there is some fire in that smoke somewhere?

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  4. One thing you don't have which I believe may happen is the Giants trade a piece like a Crawford or even a Belt. Both could bring back some valuable pieces, save some payroll now and in the future and appear to have replacements in house if need be. While I don't think he will go "full Beane", I could see Sabean making a move like this to give him some payroll flexibility without hurting the team too much, if at all.

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    1. Belt for Belt-re, Susac becomes major player...

      Pagan/Blanco CF
      Panik 2B
      Posey 1B
      Beltre 3B
      Pence RF
      Markakis LF
      Susac C
      Crawford SS
      Bumgarner P

      (I know, I know, why would the Rangers trade Beltre... rationale, Joey Gallo, etc.)

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  5. The Headley and Hammel predictions are logical.

    Still, the weighing between an all-in offer on Lester, on one hand, and a Headley/Hammel combo, on the other, may be tipped by the team's confidence in a full recovery by Cain. High confidence would suggest Headley/Hammel. Low would suggest they can't afford to proceed without Lester and Cain's salary must be viewed as dead money. I'm a little concerned at the apparent enthusiasm to sign Lester.

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  6. Lester and Hudson both Atlanta natives and are said to be pretty close, so that could sway is decision a little.

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    1. Plus there is supposedly a package opportunity for a Lester/Peavy type of deal so you have to wonder if that would work in the Giants favor if the Giants decided to go that route.

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    2. Johnny,

      Jon Lester is a native of Tacoma, WA.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Lester

      DrB stated a while back that he has a house in ATL.

      Good point about Huddy. Hope it works.

      NWGiantsFan
      DtF!!!

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  7. Word to the wise, Doc, you made a mistake which I've made before and commenter "carmot" nailed me on it and he'll nail you. He's very informative. But, there's a problem with the payroll total you have and the luxury tax threshold. Basically the 25 man payroll with 2015 cot's figures is not the number that goes up against the limit. You have to take the AAV of all contracts and add in the salaries of players on 40 man with MLB service time and add player benefits and some other auxiliary expenses. Apparently, this adds up to about 15-20 million.

    Essentially, to avoid the luxury tax, the 25 man payroll should be between 165-170 tops.

    Also, the Yanks could not have offered Headley a QO as we was traded in season.

    But good job as an armchair GM.

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    1. I fully understand that. I don't have the time or inclination to sit down and work out all the AAV's so this is going to have to be close enough. Also, someone else already pointed out the QO issue on Headley. Based on other information, I still think I am in the ballpark on him.

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    2. Just lookin' out for you.

      As the only legit 3B on the open market, without a QO, Headley and his agent can probably make a push for 60 mil and above guaranteed.

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    3. I could be wrong here but I believe the AAV sum for the 2015 Giants is not much different than their actual payroll. If that is the case, you could push Headley up to $15 M/yr and still be OK on payroll, or Morse is probably not essential. You could just start Blanco in LF and dumpster dive the 4'th and 5'th OF jobs.

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  8. DocB, I assume you are letting Romo walk?

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    1. If Romo gets his predicted 3 year/$21 M then yeah, I'm letting him walk.

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  9. I like you as a GM! Personally, I don't think we sign Lester and not sure if we should. At a going rate of north of $130mm, that just seems too high. I prefer the route you've gone with Hammel and Headley, although I think given the Yankees are at three years, maybe you only do 4 (ie, three with player vesting). In OF, I am not as pessimistic as some about Blanco, Pagan and Pence. If we have a healthy Headley at 3B, I think that Belt's power plus Panik's BA more than make up for any down side slippage in offense as compared to last year. I don't seem to recall any time when both Morse and Panda were on fire, and i think the playoffs showed we will win more with defense than the occassional HR that Morse may produce.

    I think the pen is Casilla, Affeldt, Lopez, Petit, Machi, Cordier/Strickland and Okert. Need another lefty and I think Cordier v. Strickland gives us the needed power (I am totally fine with Strickland since I think he will benefit from Rags and come up with another pitch so he's not so predictable). Loser can be ready to go in the minors.

    Reserves are Susac, EA, Duffy and Brown. Arias gets traded to free up a spot. Brown can't be worse than Perez.

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  10. I still like Lowrie at 3B and think he can put up sneaky good stats not too different from Headley, at a lower price (plus we may get a local discount due to his Stanford and Oakland history). I just don't see us breaking the bank for Lester, who while being better than Zito, is still a pitcher on the wrong side of 30. I like Hammel's stuff and it should play well at AT&T, plus his contract would not be a blockbuster, which the Giants have learned to shy away from. Those two contracts would leave a good reserve. I think the Giants could start the season with Blanco and Perez manning LF, and trade for a premium OF after the season starts if it is obvious they need to.

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    1. The only positive indicators at the time of the Zito signing was his durability/IP and that he was UNDER 30. He turned 30 in May of his second year with the Giants. And except for 2011 and 2013, he made 32 or more starts (so in 5 of his 7 season with the Giants), and a couple of important starts in that 2012 post-season too.

      But I agree that Zito and Cain may well make Sabean and Co wary of a blockbuster. With or without Lester, if Cain, Lincecum, Petit and Hudson all blow, the Giants will fall to another odd-year cursed season of no playoffs.

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  11. I think making a run at Lester or another big name pitcher is not a smart move because it sucks up too much payroll and leaves the Giants incapable of filling other holes.

    I think Hammel is a good fit, but I personally prefer Masterson, but he obviously had health issues last year.

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  12. You are probably right. Hammel is probably the smartest move. It is just hard to settle when coming off of a World Series and going with a tier 2-3 pitcher. With Cain's status unknown you kind of want a top tier pitcher just in case especially with giving Timmy another shot at starting. With Hudson, Timmy, Arias and Scutaro coming off the books after 2015 that is approximately $38.12MM. Arias can be filled from within. We no longer have a need for Scutaro. Timmy can be replaced on the cheap because he was slated for #5 anyways. Maybe Petit comes in to his own in 2015 or a prospect makes the rotation. If we got a guy like Lester we would only need to replace Hudson with a #4 which can be fairly cheap. The rest of the core is in place for 2016 and then some. I know the answer is probably going to be a guy like Hammel but I think the future holds the funds for a top tier pitcher. Just my take.

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  13. The ideas put forth consign Adrianza to being a utility player, ditto Duffy. Crawford and Panik look like fixtures, except in case of injury or deep slump, and if we join Headley to them, neither EA nor Duffy will have a role in which he can really establish a valuable record, just filling in and pinch hitting. I would prefer some less final decision about 3B, and to try these guys. My notion would be to put Crawford at third and have Adrianza at short, where he would excel defensively. But there are other possibilities.

    Were we to adopt this provisional arrangement, we would free up more money for LF and SP. We would also have more young players, or we might, with actual trade value.

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    1. Why take a perfectly good shortstop and move him out of position for some guy who you think would be better but hasn't proved otherwise? Think about this: how many starting shortstops across the league would you take over Crawford? Let me know if you make it to 5.

      -Ball Dude

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    2. By all accounts Adrianza is as good or perhaps even better than Crawford in terms of his fielding. Also, while still good, Crawford is getting a little thick in the lower part of his body and I am not sure he stays at SS long term anyway. Plus, it is just not about the SS position, it is about using your overall resources wisely. As campanari points out, it frees up money for other needs. Worst case, we move Crawford back to shortstop. Honestly, this is a no brainer IMO.

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    3. This is exactly what I had in mind. I'd add that Crawford's arm is great, so that one could have every confidence that he'd play 3B wonderfully well. Maybe he would also be less liable to injury there, because at SS both injury and fatigue, I believe, have had bad effects on his offense.

      I'd also like to be sure that the Giants aren't squandering the promise of Adrianza, and down the line a little, Duffy. The team worried about losing Adrianza last year, by exposing him to waivers in order to option him back to AAA. It makes little sense to me, then, to lose him by making him sit on the bench while his skills get rusty and he loses his rhythm and pitch-adjustment by having no regular ABs.

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    4. It's cute, but you got the no-brainer part right.

      Has Crawford ever played third base in his entire life?

      Do you think you can just stick any infielder at third and think he'll do just fine without ill effects on the rest of his game?

      Why do you think there is a scarcity of good third basemen?

      It's a tough position to handle. Sure, if Crawford loses a couple steps and gets sloppy, and if Adrianza can hit enough, then you can consider such an experiment. But not right now. If you want to utilize the resources at hand, put a carousel of Adrianza, Duffy, Arias, and Duvall at third and find out who can cut the mustard.

      Besides, if Adrianza is set to be such a great shortstop, Sabean's phone would be ringing off the hook.

      -ball girl

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    5. Crawford is a decent hitter for a SS. Not nearly enough for 3B. If somebody knocks your door down for Adrianza, then you trade him. If not, you make him the utility guy ready to take over at least 2 positions in case of severe underperformance by the starter or injury.

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    6. Oh, in the context where Gordon Beckham, who has never proven he can hit, and the transplanted, dismally erratic Lowrie have their names mentioned as possible imports at third, Crawford can hit just fine.

      No one is going to beat a door down for Adrianza, not even a dollhouse door, if he is sitting on the bench, now and again popping up to pinch-hit or fill in. If he's genuinely talented, as there were hopes he might be, this is a waste. It may well be what the Giants do, and if the experiment I suggest fails, what the should do. But then there probably Isn't enough talent to worry about.

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    7. Oh, I would try Beckham or Lowrie at 3B long before Crawford. At least they both have some power upside. I just do not have much confidence in Crawford's bat. I like him fine at SS, not anywhere else. I you prefer Adrianza at SS, then you trade Crawford.

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    8. An impasse. Lowrie has more power upside than Crawford, if he shows it. In 2014 L's ISO was 106, C's was 143; L's wRC+ was 93, C's was 102. 2012-14, Beckham and Crawford had comparable ISO (B 137, 105, 121; C 101, 114, 143), and though they began with equal wRC+ (B 80, 88; C 81, 92), last year C was at 102, B at 70. Someone who has little faith in C's bat ought, by these figures, to have little faith in B's.

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    9. Good topics. Never would the Giants do something so radical as pushing Crawford over for Adrianza. Heck, they won't even consider putting Posey at third. I've always thought Beckham would eventually get things clicking again. Maybe with the Giants. Desperate times... I wasn't impressed watching Lowrie last year. But he did seem to have more life than Alberto Callaspo. Lowrie looked slow at SS, but that's a nice back up to have if you've traded Adrianza for somebody else.

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    10. This isn't just about moving Crawford to 3rd. It is also seeing what is up with Adrianza, saving money for possibly Lester and another offensive piece. I am very confident that Crawford can handle 3rd despite his never playing there and do not get the fascination with Beckham as an option. He's less of a fielder than Crawford, less of a hitter (and at ATT is going to get only worse) and has the Hicks/Uggla smell of desperation at a higher cost. Move Crawford to 3rd and see what happens. If it doesn't work out you move him back to SS but aren't saddled with Beckham or his contract.

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    11. Who's getting excited or fascinated with Beckham. I just threw that out there as a last ditch backup option. Look guy! We are trying to have some semblance of realism here. Crawford is not, I repeat, is NOT moving to 3B with the Giants. Just is not! If you go back and look at the roster I proposed in this post, you will not, NOT find Beckham's name on it anywhere. Geez!!

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  14. Oh... Arm Chair GM. I love that game. Ok...

    It's mostly like yours, but:

    C Andrew Susac,
    1B Buster Posey
    LF Brandon Belt

    RP Derek Law
    RP Hunter Strickland

    Bench:

    Hector Sanchez C
    Matt Duffy IF
    Ehire Adrianza IF
    Travis Ishikawa IF/OF
    Gregor Blanco OF





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    1. Well, I guess moving chess pieces around the board is what armchair GM's do, right? Posey does not want to move to first and what Buster wants, Buster gets. Belt has not played an inning of LF for at least a couple of years. Law is on the shelf until at least midseason coming off TJ.

      That stuff is fun to fantasize about but it just ain't gonna happen in real life.

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    2. That's why it's fun. :) If I screw up, there are no consequences.

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    3. Well, Billy Beane gets to do it with real players and real consequences for his job!

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  15. Giants tendered contracts to all of their arbitration eligible players including Travis Ishikawa.

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    1. Beckham did get non-tendered. That's an interesting look.

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    2. Interesting, but again, before people get their tails all tied in a knot, only if the price is low enough and better options fall through.

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  16. I see nothing out of line with trying Crawford at 3rd. The last "real" power 3rd basemen we had was Matty W. Bill M was a darn good hitter. No power to speak of. Pedro Feliz was just ok as a defender and hitter. I think the Giants could do worse then Craw at 3rd in my opinion. I would strongly recommend money spent on starting. I believe the Jason H signing more realistic then Lester or Max S.

    Richard in Winnipeg

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    1. Whoa there. It's been a long time since I have gotten to defend Pedro Feliz, so I relish the opportunity here. He was okay as a hitter, but he had power. Every year as starter for the Giants he hit 20+ HRs. And he was an excellent fielder - amongst the leaders in defense at 3rd every year. Under-appreciated Giant.

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  17. Love the logical approach to the exercise. Hate the signing of Headley. His #s at Petco and PacBell are horrible. He's on the wrong side of 30. He's a 700 OPS guy. You don't put out money for that unless its a CF/SS. I don't see the Giants being interested in a low ba/high obp guy, with not much pop.

    I do like the Hammel idea a lot, and the Giants have been interested a couple of different times. Where there's smoke!

    Giants need to do a big move. Its all fun to moneyball with the dumpster dives, but you have to go win the west, not go through the wild card. We need more pitching ammo. Make Lester a big offer, and land the big fish.

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    1. Get Lester! Then the Giants can wait for opportunities to develop. That is how Sabean has operated before. He likes to leave his options open once he deals with the main problem, which is starting pitching, I think. One large reason for his success is that he knows how to narrow the area where problems are likely to crop up, and then to stay flexible and opportunistic in addressing that area patiently.

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    2. For the record, Headley broke his thumb in 2013 and to protect it, changed his grip. In late June of 2014 (right after the All-Star break) he went back to his old grip. His BA, post-All-Star and prior to his trade, was actually over .300 (he had an incredible first week of July batting .426). Then, of course, he was traded to the Yankees where he batted .265ish for the rest of the season with ups-and-downs.

      So, I'm not so certain it was all PetCo or Yankee Stadium or any of the other causes assigned to the dramatic drop in productivity. Or the resurgence which started before he was traded to the Yankees.

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    3. My belief is that nagging injuries play a much bigger role in player performance than most of us realize.

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  18. Kris Medlen was just non-tendered by the Braves. That is one low cost/high reward I would recommend for the Giants. He is due to return in June from Tommy John. A small incentive laced contract sounds good. Nice insurance for when Timmy blows up.

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    1. Especially because Medlen can start or pitch from the pen. He could complement Petit.

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    2. Yeah, but wasn't that Medlen's second TJ?

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  19. I recall crawford moving to 3rd for ehire for a brief period in sj, so its happened before.
    The level of offense for 3rd base has fallen to the point where Crawford would be more than adequate splitting time there.

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    1. Come on, people! Brandon Crawford is not moving to 3B!

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    2. Doc, this whole thread is full of things that aren't probably going to happen, goes with the territory of being an armchair GM. However, it is not totally out of the realm as an option, it's not like moving Belt to 3rd or Pence to 1st.

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  20. Strange moves by the Dodgers. Friedman is acting like he's still running the Rays and dumpster diving like crazy. Trades Matt Magill for Chris Heisey who will cost $2.5 M in salary. He also avoids arbitration with Darwin Barney to the tune of another $2.5 M. Not at $5 M means anything at all to the Dodgers but what on Earth does he think he is going to do with those two players?

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  21. Well, well, well! Now there's a story reported in the Chronicle that the real reason Josh Donaldson got traded is that Billy Beane blew up at him for asking for a day off in mid-season. Bob Melvin had given him the day off, but when Beane found out he was not in the lineup he confronted both Donaldson and Melvin in Melvin's office and demanded that Donaldson play. Beane reportedly said that if Donaldson needed a couple of days off he should go on the DL. Donaldson took exception to that and called Beane "Billy Boy." I did think it was a bit strange when Donaldson was quoted right after the trade as expecting to be traded this offseason. Now we may know why. Ain't nobody looking good in this story!

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    1. i thought billy was done with micro managing after the 2012 season....guess not

      moves should never be personal

      as for friedman....who cares...let him tinker around with the bums to his heart's content....they still dont have a pen, which means, they may once again win the west, but will falter in the post

      as for morse....im sure he is headed to the al...his bat is too big to be out of a lineup, he cant play everyday lf or first without getting hurt....so primary dh with occasional stints at first and lf are in the cards for him....looks like the o's are interested and that would be a good fit

      bacci

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