It feels like the Giants are at a crossroads at 2B as their starter since 2014, Joe Panik, had a very rough year marred once again by injuries. Alen Hanson filled in during 2 DL stints and added an element of enthusiasm and speed to the lineup. Panik is arbitration eligible and made $3.4 M last year and figures to make more in 2019. 2018 was the first season he has brought back less than $10 M in value, so do the Giants want to see if he can bounce back or do they cut bait and go in a different direction? Here's the current Depth Chart:
MLB: 1. Joe Panik- Hit dingers in the first two games which resulted in 1-0 wins over the Dodgers. A sprained thumb required surgery. After spending May on the DL, he struggled to find his groove again. He had another DL stint for a groin strain in July. His BA rebounded over the last 2 months but with zero power. He had just 7 XBH's, all doubles, over the last 3 months of the season. 2. Alen Hanson- Hanson was terrific in May, June and July, but slumped badly over the last 2 months. Do the Giants give up on Panik and turn 2B over to Hanson after that? 3. Chase d'Arnaud- Much travelled AAAA player who put up good numbers for Sacramento. He got off to a nice start after his callup to the Giants, then slumped badly. 4. Abiatal Avelino- acquired in the Andrew McCutchen trade. Has an arm that can play at SS and has some speed. The bat is iffy and likely not MLB ready. 5. Kelby Tomlinson- a rough season for Kelby who may be nearing the end of his Giants tenure.
AAA: Empty(I believe Orlando Calixte is a minor league FA).
AA: Ryan Howard- has played mostly SS but many scouts project him as a 2B at the MLB level. CJ Hinojosa- Similar player to Howard and both have played both MI positions. Both should probably move up to AAA in 2019.
A+: Jalen Miller- Solid 2'nd season in San Jose for Miller at age 21. Should move up to AA in 2019.
Low A: Orlando Garcia- Augusta is a tough place to hit even for college draftees. Garcia did show some pop with 8 dingers and some speed with 9 SB's. Shane Matheny- Very disappointing season at the plate for Matheny. I thought his bat was better than that.
Short Season: Kyle McPherson- .312 BA with 7 HR's for McPherson for S-K. Most likely moves up to Augusta next season where life is much tougher for hitters.
Rookie AZL: Jose Rivero- 4'th pro season. No pop. Hit .271 but SLG% was .289. 2 XBH's out of 31 H. Anyesber Sivira- 18 yo DSL graduate. Has shown nice OBP skills at both levels with some gap power.
DSL: Andrew Caraballo and Martin Doria were holdovers from 2017. 17 yo Jose Peralta hit just .211 in 38 AB's.
Potential Free Agent Signees(Age): Brian Dozier(32), Marwin Gonzalez(30), DJ LeMahieu(30), Daniel Murphy(34), Jed Lowrie(35). Dozier will be expensive and is probably already on the downside of his career. LeMahieu has brutal home/road splits out of Coors Field. Gonzalez is versatile and is probably more of a utility player. Murphy is probably not a good fit for the community. If the Giants want to replace Panik, they'll probably have to do it by trade.
It sure feels like Joe Panik is on the hot seat, but the Giants best bet is probably to hold him and hope for a bouncback which is not unreasonable to hope for given how important thumbs are to hitting. The Giants have to hope for a full season of health, which has been a challenge for Panik who has suffered a variety of injuries ranging from a stress reaction in his spine to a concussion to the thumb injury.
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Hansen has a skillet for a glove. He can fly and hit a little. But if you want to be strong up the middle, he's not your guy. Panik is. Posey, Crawford, Panik, and Duggar. Fully healthy. That's the key to returning to winning. Hansen is a nice super utility player. Nothing more. Maybe jettison Tomlinson this offseason.
ReplyDeleteTime to cut bait with Panik, trade him for a Prospect to rebuild the Farm.
ReplyDeleteThe kind of prospect you would get for Panik would not "rebuild the farm" in any way shape or form.
DeleteIt sure appeared to me like Panik lost all of his athleticism. His range on defense was almost non-existent in 2018.
ReplyDeleteDoes just showing up, which Panik did exceed last year some, always get a raise?
ReplyDeleteMLBTR makes pretty good estimates on arbitration settlements.
If nothing else, he would be $3-4M in hand for the Machado piggy bank if he just isn't signed.
In a similar position, Sam Dyson was traded for in 2017, sending Hunter Cole to Texas, who had some promise but didn't do well in his AAA debut this past year and isn't on the Rangers Top 30.
Panik has 2 more years of control, has shown more than nothing, he should be worth something, no?