The Giants made it a 1,2,3 on their stated top 3 priorities for the offseason when they reached an agreement with LHP Javier Lopez on a 3 year/$13 M contract. Lopez came to the Giants during the 2010 season in a trade for John Bowker and Joe Martinez which many internet oriented Giants fans criticized strongly. He has pitched very well for the Giants, playing a key role in two World Series championship runs. Manager Bruce Bochy has used him primarily as a lefty specialist aka LOOGY.
Lefty specialists are essential to any team with aspirations of making the playoffs and advancing in them. Approximately 50 of the top 100 batters in MLB either bat lefthanded or switch-hit while just 25% of the top 100 ERA's were compiled by LHP's. Contending teams must have at least one lefty specialist to face those LH batters in high leverage, late-inning situations, preferably two. With Jeremy Affeldt coming off a down year, it was essential for the Giants to either re-sign Lopez or find a replacement on the FA market, which might not have been so easy.
The only concern I have about the deal is Lopez' age. I did not realize he is 36 years old going on 37, so this contract will cover his age 37, 38 and 39 yo seasons. Sidearmers have a more natural delivery that puts less stress on the arm and are generally not known for their velocity anyway. They tend to age well, so the age factor is not a major concern.
As for the money, I've learned to stop worrying about that, and leave it to the people over at Fangraphs to spend their time on. Both Sabes and Baer say the Giants have the resources to get the players they need, I believe them. That's all that matters to this Giants fan. If you are concerned that lefty relief specialists are not that important and any money spent on them would go to better use elsewhere, I would point you to Adrian Gonzalez, Andre Ethier, and Carlos Gonzalez. The Giants need a reliever who can get those batters out in the 7'th and 8'th innings. I mean, Just ask Prince Fielder what he thinks about facing Javier Lopez late in a WS game in a high leverage situation. He might still be a Tiger were it not for Jeremy Affeldt and Javier Lopez! Ask Ruben Amaro Jr. if he thinks the Giants ability to bring in lefty specialists in the 2010 NLCS made a difference in that series.
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Tigers fans would gladly give up pretty much anything to have Javier Lopez pitch to just two batters this postseason: David Ortiz and David Ortiz.
ReplyDeleteLefties rule. Especially Lopez. Best LOOGY in the game. You pay for quality, happily.
Chris Young to the Mets for 1yr-$7.25M... Am I the only one who thinks that's a weak signing for them? For a team looking to get back in the game and make a statement, that doesn't seem like wise spending. Maybe I'm wrong. Anyway, a swap for an outfielder is looking more and more likely for the Gigantes.
ReplyDeleteI think that's the price for getting him now. A little steep, and yes, the Mets are a big market team, they've had their cut-backs, and they need to get to spending. But its hard to spend when the quality ain't there!
DeleteThe Mets seem lost right now.
DeleteI know this is off topic but what do you think it would take to get a guy like Jose Bautista in SF. If the Blue Jays are realistic, they have about a zero chance in the next few years to make the playoffs. With Boston turning back into a powerhouse, Baltimore playing really well, Tampa Bay always scrapping and you always have the Yankees right there. The Blue Jays have almost no shot. So why wouldn't they trade him if the deal was good. He has a really team friendly contract for the type of production he puts up. Would we trade Crick and a few mid-level prospects for him? Being a right handed hitter he could really take advantage of AT&T. How do you guys feel about this?
ReplyDeleteI think you want the next Jose Bautista, not the one who's getting paid now. 33 years young now, coming off of 2 injury seasons where his stats regressed to "good" from "unworldly". 14MM is a nice contract, 2/28MM and an option for 1/14MM. I would not give up Kyle Crick for that though.
DeleteI agree. If the Jays want to give Bautista away for next to nothing to dump salary, then yeah, I'd say take him, but definitely not Kyle Crick. No!
DeleteOK, as good as place as any,..I was taking a look at the statistics for FALL/Winter ball performance by Giants ( http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/org.jsp?id=sf ) and was amazed at the way one of my dark horses from last year, MITCH LIVELY, was performing in the VWL
ReplyDelete5-0 1.25 ERA 7 starts 43.1 IP 26H 6ER 20BB 31K 1.06WHIP .179 BAA
Gotta remember this was a guy who a few years ago scouts said had the stuff for the ML, but still struggled...And then the Giants converted him to a starter last year in Fresno...I think he had 1-2 bad early starts but after that was lights out and is continuing it in VWL....
Obviously, with the Giants looking for another starter (Vogey/Haren/Arroyo) he will not be in SF, but could be a decent injury replacement (battling Petit)...
OTOH, he's probably available in the Rule V draft and if I was another team, I might take a shot....
SteveVA
Lively would be a good target for another team in Rule 5.
DeleteJust read the Bourjos/Freese trade. This seems to be the kind of trade I wished the Giants would make, although I didn't have Bourjos in mind. He'd be perfect running in CF at AT&T, would move Pagan to left, provide some more youth on the base paths, etc. Would have loved to have seen Bourjous + a prospect or two for Panda, but let's see what happens next!
ReplyDeleteI am not wildly enthusiastic about Bourjos' bat.
DeleteI agree Doc, I think the Angels got a steal and they also got a former 1st round pitcher. I do respect the Cards though so maybe they had their reasons but on paper, I'd give this one to the Angels.
DeleteHow about Daniel Nava as a trade target? I don't know if Boston would let him go though. He hit .303 .385 .445 over a nice sample size.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Nava is available.
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