There's a link to an interview Brian Sabean did with Mychal Urban over on sfgiants.com Message Board. Sabes had a few interesting things to say:
1. He sees Theriot as taking pressure off Crawford against certain LHP's.
2. I sounds like he really, really wants Brandon Belt to be the starting 1B.
3. He talked about Huff playing LF, but you get the feeling that they don't quite know what to do with Huff.
4. Sounds like if Huff is still on the team at the start of the season, Nate is the 4'th OF
Nick Cafardo who writes a baseball column for the Boston Globe ranked the teams by the the success of their offseasons. I was pleasantly surprised to see him rank the Giants #15. He had some good things to say about the two trades for Cabrera and Pagan and about Brian Sabean. The link is on MLBTR.
In a sad and surprising development, somebody hacked the MLB Draft Guide site and destroyed all the files. I absolutely love what Matt Grabusky is doing on that site and here's a shout out to Matt to keep his chin up and keep going.
....and a shout out to Calvin n Hobbs over on MCC for a link to mlbreport.com and a great interview with Giants prospect Mike Murray. Not sure off the top of my head if he made honorable mention on my top prospect list. If not, maybe I will have to add him.
Showing posts with label San Francisco Giants; MLB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label San Francisco Giants; MLB. Show all posts
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Hot Stove Update: Scouting the Second Basemen
There hasn't been too much talk about the Giants second base situation, but they have some uncertainty to deal with there too. The incumbent is Freddy Sanchez who played a big part in the WS championship season. He underwent surgery to repair damage from a dislocated right shoulder. The hope is he will be ready to start the season as the starting second baseman. In reality, shoulder surgeries can take much longer to come back from and can be career ending. Remember Marcus Sanders and Eddie Martinez-Esteve? The Giants need a backup plan. That's where the drama comes in for the Hot Stove season.
Jeff Keppinger has one year of arbitration left and make $2.3 M last year. He started off hot after the Giants acquired him in a trade mid-season, but faded down the stretch. He is a decent defender at 2B with limited range. He's a similar hitter to Freddy Sanchez in that he'll hit for average with doubles power, won't take many walks and will hit into his share of DPs. The other in-house option is Mike Fontenot who is more versatile than Kepp, but not as good a hitter. Fonty is also arbitration eligible and made $1.05 M last year. Lastly, there is Emmanuel Burriss who has been hanging around the fringes of the team seemingly forever. Burriss is an excellent fielder at 2B, can play SS in a pinch and is a difference maker on the basepaths. His big problem is he can't steal first base! So far, he has shown no sign of ever becoming a MLB caliber hitter.
With that background, let's scout the FA and trade market and see what's heating up on the Hot Stove:
Clint Barmes and Jamey Carroll have already been discussed in the SS segment. The Giants like versatility and these guys fit the profile. They both are more versatile than Kepp and either might be an upgrade on Fonty, but would likely cost more $$ than Fonty.
Robinson Cano and Brandon Phillips both have club options that will almost certainly be picked up so mark them off the list.
Rest of the pack: Pretty much the usual suspects here. Orlando Cabrera, Alex Cora, Craig Counsell, Mark Ellis, Jerry Hairston, Jr., Bill Hall, Aaron Hill, Kelly Johnson, Adam Kennedy, Felipe Lopez, Jose Lopez, Aaron Miles, Drew Sutton. If anyone on that list excites you, please discuss.
I think the Giants should re-sign Fonty and offer arbitration if necessary. I don't think they need Kepp, but should try to get something for him. They can either trade him before the arbitration deadline or go ahead and get him signed, offer arbitration if necessary, and then trade him after he is under contract. They can always make another mid-season trade if they have to. There is no need to delve into the FA market at 2B unless it's to sign a Barmes or Carroll to play SS and they'll double as backup options at 2B.
Jeff Keppinger has one year of arbitration left and make $2.3 M last year. He started off hot after the Giants acquired him in a trade mid-season, but faded down the stretch. He is a decent defender at 2B with limited range. He's a similar hitter to Freddy Sanchez in that he'll hit for average with doubles power, won't take many walks and will hit into his share of DPs. The other in-house option is Mike Fontenot who is more versatile than Kepp, but not as good a hitter. Fonty is also arbitration eligible and made $1.05 M last year. Lastly, there is Emmanuel Burriss who has been hanging around the fringes of the team seemingly forever. Burriss is an excellent fielder at 2B, can play SS in a pinch and is a difference maker on the basepaths. His big problem is he can't steal first base! So far, he has shown no sign of ever becoming a MLB caliber hitter.
With that background, let's scout the FA and trade market and see what's heating up on the Hot Stove:
Clint Barmes and Jamey Carroll have already been discussed in the SS segment. The Giants like versatility and these guys fit the profile. They both are more versatile than Kepp and either might be an upgrade on Fonty, but would likely cost more $$ than Fonty.
Robinson Cano and Brandon Phillips both have club options that will almost certainly be picked up so mark them off the list.
Rest of the pack: Pretty much the usual suspects here. Orlando Cabrera, Alex Cora, Craig Counsell, Mark Ellis, Jerry Hairston, Jr., Bill Hall, Aaron Hill, Kelly Johnson, Adam Kennedy, Felipe Lopez, Jose Lopez, Aaron Miles, Drew Sutton. If anyone on that list excites you, please discuss.
I think the Giants should re-sign Fonty and offer arbitration if necessary. I don't think they need Kepp, but should try to get something for him. They can either trade him before the arbitration deadline or go ahead and get him signed, offer arbitration if necessary, and then trade him after he is under contract. They can always make another mid-season trade if they have to. There is no need to delve into the FA market at 2B unless it's to sign a Barmes or Carroll to play SS and they'll double as backup options at 2B.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Hot Stove Update: Scouting the Corner Outfielders
Before we get started, I'll just mention that Shankbone has some interesting ideas in the most recent Fanpost, Fighting the Middle Market over on McCovey Chronicles. Check it out!
Although Brian Sabean specifically identified CF as the position of need where the Giants lack in-house options, they aren't exactly flush with corner outfielders either. With Cody Ross, Pat Burrell, Mark DeRosa and Carlos Beltran hitting the free agent market and Gamer released before the season was over, the Giants are left with just one established MLB corner Oufielder on the roster, Nate Schierholtz. Sabes has proclaimed that Nate will be the starting RF next year, which is probably the Kiss of Death for poor Nate. Anyway, LF could be manned by either Huff or Belt, but Huff was terrible in the OF in 2011 and the Giants appear to be considering sending Belt to the minors to start the season. Let's scout the options.
RE-SIGN FREE AGENTS
Carlos Beltran- Beltran did exactly what the Giants wanted him to do when they traded Zack Wheeler for him at the trade deadline. It's just that the timing was all off. Beltran went into a slump and then was injured right after he was acquired and right in the middle of the toughest part of the Giants schedule. Now, anyone who knows anything about baseball statistics knows anything can happen in a small sample size, but a lot of fans blame Beltran for the tailspin that knocked the Giants out of the NL West Division race. On top of that, Beltran's cool demeaner was taken, rightly or wrongly, as a lack of caring and hustle. Some fans also objected to him taking the starting RF job away from Nate even though Nate's injury made it a non-factor for the most part. Now that he's a free agent, Beltran possesses the best OF bat on the market. If the Giants can afford to sign him for not more than 3 years and still keep their staring pitching intact, by all means, they should sign him. An alignment of Beltran in LF with Nate in RF would seem to be preferable to the other way around, but when you're talking about a bat like Betran's and an offense as pathetic as the Giants without him, I don't think it's worth quibbling over. Nate is a better RF, but it's not like Beltran is terrible.
Cody Ross- Ross is clearly hoping for a long term deal. I doubt he's going to find one on the open market. I hope the Giants haven't burned their bridges with him. He can play CF and with the sorry state of the CF market, he might be a good value on no more than a 2 year deal. The Giants are clearly hoping next year's CF is a leadoff hitter, and Ross does not steal many bases, but he does get on base and sees a lot of pitches. I'm not sure a single leadoff hitter who steals bases really adds that much to an offense anyway.
Pat Burrell- Pat the Bat could come back on another 1 year low $$$ deal if he and the Giants are convinced his heel is OK. Otherwise, he'll retire. Maybe $500K with incentives? I doubt he'll be brought back as the starter in LF though.
Mark DeRosa- In a similar situation as Burrell. The talk is that he'll sign a minor league deal with ATL or Houston to be closer to his home. I could see a $500 K deal with incentives working for the Giants. He'd be coming back strictly as a utility/bat off the bench , not the starting LF.
FREE AGENTS
Josh Willingham 33 yo- Hard to believe a guy who hit 29 HR's with an OPS Of .810 in Oakland had a WAR of just 2.1, but Willingham is a terrible fielder, even for LF, which is a double negative. Willingham has been believed to be undervalued for so long, he'll likely be overvalued this offseason due to the dingers. I'm with Shankbone on this one. The Giants should stay away. He'll cost a first round draft pick to boot.
Juan Rivera 33 yo- Rivera has had 2 good seasons in his career and ha never played more than 138 games in a season, averaging less than 100. He seemed to help the Dodgers offense gel after his mid-season acquisition. It's hard to imagine Ned Colletti not grossly overpaying to keep him. the Giants should show just enough interest to drive the price up!
Juan Pierre 34 yo- Here's a guy who's been believed to be overvalued for so long, he may well be undervalued now. He's coming off a down season. Was it just a down season or is he starting on a steep decline in his career trajectory? If the Giants are looking to get seriously faster on the basepaths, they might consider bringing in Pierre to play LF on a 1 year discount to see if he can rebuild his value, while also bringing in a Coco Crisp to play CF, or even bringing back a Torres/Christian platoon. Another possibility would be to bring in DeJesus to play CF with Pierre in LF to handle the leadoff duties.
Laynce Nix 31 yo- Had a nice season for the Nats and could probably be had for not too much. Do you really want this guy to be your starting LF though? I would think Belt is at least as good an option right now to day nothing of the future.
Ryan Ludwick 33 yo- Here's a guy who was undervalued for so long he became overvalued, and now has been overvalued for so long he might be undervalued again. Would probably hit a bit better in SF than SD. One year deal to rebuild his value?
Raul Ibanez 40 yo- A Brian Sabean Special if there ever was one! I could so see Sabes signing him to a 2 year deal. It might be worth it just to see MCC melt down to a puddle of orange and black goo if it were to happen!
Conor Jackson 30 yo- Conor Jackson had an OPS of .822 for the D'Backs in 2008, and appeared to be a budding star. He contracted Valley Fever and has never fully recovered. Still, gotta be intrigued by the upside here. He could be a Sabean "lightning in a bottle" special in a cheap 1 year deal or even a minor league ST invite.
Jonny Gomes 31 yo- Gomes has been the darling of the Saber crowd for a long time due to his relatively high OBP's and SLG% compared to his BA's. He's been a terrible fielder most of his career, but actually had a + UZR in 2011. That is likely a sample size fluke though. Another potential bargain bin pickup.
Johnny Damon 37 yo- Damon hit 16 HR's and had 19 SB's for the Rays last year. Knows how to get on base. Might want to finish his career in the AL and on teh east coast though.
Michael Cuddyer 33 yo- Solid hitter who can play multiple positions if necessary. Sabes was rumored to be pursuing him at the trade deadline. The only problem with signing him as a FA is it will likely take an overpay and he will cost a first round pick.
David DeJesus 32 yo- Yikes! 32 yo? How time flies! Another player Sabes has pursued at the trade deadline, but in 2010. Coming off a weak season with Oakland. He can play all 3 OF positons and might sign a 1 year deal to try to rebuild his value. He'd probably prefer a more hitter friendly environment to do it in though. Doesn't hit HR's or steal bases. His value is dependent on BA/OBP and doubles power.
JD Drew 36 yo- If the fans didn't dig Beltran's style, they would hate Drew's. He will probably either re-up with Boston or retire anyway. Just don't see him coming to SF, although he is getting into Sabean Special territory age-wise.
Kosuke Fukudome 35 yo- Almost all his value is tied to his OBP, which is actually quite good. Sabean has seemed to be allergic to Japanese players since the Shinjo debacle. Still, there might be enough veteran savvy here to interest him and there is still serious marketing potential for Asian ballplayers in SF.
Brad Hawpe 33 yo- Terrible fielder who was a terror at the plate in Colorado, but his offense tanked in San Diego. Seems to be more of a first baseman now. Hard to see how he fits in SF. Has a $6 M option with a $1 M buyout that likely won't be picked up.
Jason Kubel 29 yo- Once a highly rated prospect, Kubel has never quite lived up to he perceived ceiling in Minnesota. He's a solid hitter coming off a down year with a career OPS of close to .800. Terrible fielding probably limits him to AL.
Nick Swisher 31 yo- Swish has been a fairly reliable 3.5-4 WAR player and is coming off a 3.8 WAR season for the Yankees, so his $10.25 M option should be picked up. The Yankees are almost desperate for LHP's. Would they have any interest in trading him for Jonathan Sanchez, or perish the though, part of a bigger package for Matt Cain?
POTENTIAL TRADES
Carlos Quentin 29 yo- Could be part of a housecleaning in ChiTown. Has hit 20+ HR's in 4 straight seasons, but has had trouble staying on the field due to injuries. Has never played more than 131 games in a season. Interesting option as long as the price isn't too high.
Logan Morrison 24 yo- This guy is in the doghouse with Marlins ownership big time due to his big mouth and indiscriminate use of Twitter. Not sure what the status of his grievance with the Marlins is, but that can't be helping to rebuild his relationship with his employers. He's certainly not popular with Giants fans either for some of the things he said in the wake of Buster's injury. I'm sure he would have some rough introductions in certain corners of the Giants clubhouse too. Still, baseball is a business and LoMo is a serious hitter who is cost controlled for years to come. Gotta think about it for the right price.
Andre Ethier 30 yo- Yikes! 30 yo? Time flies again! Ethier has made noises about not being thrilled with the Dodgers' situation and the feelings may be mutual. His power numbers were way off this year and he has battled nagging injuries the last 2 years. Ethier is a good player, but he seems to be more interested in building his GQ portfolio than his baseball career. He tends to start off every season red hot and progressively cools off as the season progresses which makes me think he doesn't spend a lot of time on conditioning. Still, he'd probably be an upgrade for the Giants. Doubt Agent Ned would trade him within the division even if he is Agent Ned.
Ryan Spilborghs/ Seth Smith- Colorado probably would not trade within the division and you have to be wary of anyone moving away from Coors Field as their home park anyway.
I'm sure there are a lot of other possibilities out there I'm not thinking of. Any other ideas from readers? Send in your comments!
Personally, I'd be OK with sticking Belt out there for a full season and seeing what he would put up. As much as he struggled and as much as he got jerked around last year, he still hit enough HR's to project to the high 20's over the course of a full season's worth of PA's. I think he is just a sliver away from being a monster at the plate.
Although Brian Sabean specifically identified CF as the position of need where the Giants lack in-house options, they aren't exactly flush with corner outfielders either. With Cody Ross, Pat Burrell, Mark DeRosa and Carlos Beltran hitting the free agent market and Gamer released before the season was over, the Giants are left with just one established MLB corner Oufielder on the roster, Nate Schierholtz. Sabes has proclaimed that Nate will be the starting RF next year, which is probably the Kiss of Death for poor Nate. Anyway, LF could be manned by either Huff or Belt, but Huff was terrible in the OF in 2011 and the Giants appear to be considering sending Belt to the minors to start the season. Let's scout the options.
RE-SIGN FREE AGENTS
Carlos Beltran- Beltran did exactly what the Giants wanted him to do when they traded Zack Wheeler for him at the trade deadline. It's just that the timing was all off. Beltran went into a slump and then was injured right after he was acquired and right in the middle of the toughest part of the Giants schedule. Now, anyone who knows anything about baseball statistics knows anything can happen in a small sample size, but a lot of fans blame Beltran for the tailspin that knocked the Giants out of the NL West Division race. On top of that, Beltran's cool demeaner was taken, rightly or wrongly, as a lack of caring and hustle. Some fans also objected to him taking the starting RF job away from Nate even though Nate's injury made it a non-factor for the most part. Now that he's a free agent, Beltran possesses the best OF bat on the market. If the Giants can afford to sign him for not more than 3 years and still keep their staring pitching intact, by all means, they should sign him. An alignment of Beltran in LF with Nate in RF would seem to be preferable to the other way around, but when you're talking about a bat like Betran's and an offense as pathetic as the Giants without him, I don't think it's worth quibbling over. Nate is a better RF, but it's not like Beltran is terrible.
Cody Ross- Ross is clearly hoping for a long term deal. I doubt he's going to find one on the open market. I hope the Giants haven't burned their bridges with him. He can play CF and with the sorry state of the CF market, he might be a good value on no more than a 2 year deal. The Giants are clearly hoping next year's CF is a leadoff hitter, and Ross does not steal many bases, but he does get on base and sees a lot of pitches. I'm not sure a single leadoff hitter who steals bases really adds that much to an offense anyway.
Pat Burrell- Pat the Bat could come back on another 1 year low $$$ deal if he and the Giants are convinced his heel is OK. Otherwise, he'll retire. Maybe $500K with incentives? I doubt he'll be brought back as the starter in LF though.
Mark DeRosa- In a similar situation as Burrell. The talk is that he'll sign a minor league deal with ATL or Houston to be closer to his home. I could see a $500 K deal with incentives working for the Giants. He'd be coming back strictly as a utility/bat off the bench , not the starting LF.
FREE AGENTS
Josh Willingham 33 yo- Hard to believe a guy who hit 29 HR's with an OPS Of .810 in Oakland had a WAR of just 2.1, but Willingham is a terrible fielder, even for LF, which is a double negative. Willingham has been believed to be undervalued for so long, he'll likely be overvalued this offseason due to the dingers. I'm with Shankbone on this one. The Giants should stay away. He'll cost a first round draft pick to boot.
Juan Rivera 33 yo- Rivera has had 2 good seasons in his career and ha never played more than 138 games in a season, averaging less than 100. He seemed to help the Dodgers offense gel after his mid-season acquisition. It's hard to imagine Ned Colletti not grossly overpaying to keep him. the Giants should show just enough interest to drive the price up!
Juan Pierre 34 yo- Here's a guy who's been believed to be overvalued for so long, he may well be undervalued now. He's coming off a down season. Was it just a down season or is he starting on a steep decline in his career trajectory? If the Giants are looking to get seriously faster on the basepaths, they might consider bringing in Pierre to play LF on a 1 year discount to see if he can rebuild his value, while also bringing in a Coco Crisp to play CF, or even bringing back a Torres/Christian platoon. Another possibility would be to bring in DeJesus to play CF with Pierre in LF to handle the leadoff duties.
Laynce Nix 31 yo- Had a nice season for the Nats and could probably be had for not too much. Do you really want this guy to be your starting LF though? I would think Belt is at least as good an option right now to day nothing of the future.
Ryan Ludwick 33 yo- Here's a guy who was undervalued for so long he became overvalued, and now has been overvalued for so long he might be undervalued again. Would probably hit a bit better in SF than SD. One year deal to rebuild his value?
Raul Ibanez 40 yo- A Brian Sabean Special if there ever was one! I could so see Sabes signing him to a 2 year deal. It might be worth it just to see MCC melt down to a puddle of orange and black goo if it were to happen!
Conor Jackson 30 yo- Conor Jackson had an OPS of .822 for the D'Backs in 2008, and appeared to be a budding star. He contracted Valley Fever and has never fully recovered. Still, gotta be intrigued by the upside here. He could be a Sabean "lightning in a bottle" special in a cheap 1 year deal or even a minor league ST invite.
Jonny Gomes 31 yo- Gomes has been the darling of the Saber crowd for a long time due to his relatively high OBP's and SLG% compared to his BA's. He's been a terrible fielder most of his career, but actually had a + UZR in 2011. That is likely a sample size fluke though. Another potential bargain bin pickup.
Johnny Damon 37 yo- Damon hit 16 HR's and had 19 SB's for the Rays last year. Knows how to get on base. Might want to finish his career in the AL and on teh east coast though.
Michael Cuddyer 33 yo- Solid hitter who can play multiple positions if necessary. Sabes was rumored to be pursuing him at the trade deadline. The only problem with signing him as a FA is it will likely take an overpay and he will cost a first round pick.
David DeJesus 32 yo- Yikes! 32 yo? How time flies! Another player Sabes has pursued at the trade deadline, but in 2010. Coming off a weak season with Oakland. He can play all 3 OF positons and might sign a 1 year deal to try to rebuild his value. He'd probably prefer a more hitter friendly environment to do it in though. Doesn't hit HR's or steal bases. His value is dependent on BA/OBP and doubles power.
JD Drew 36 yo- If the fans didn't dig Beltran's style, they would hate Drew's. He will probably either re-up with Boston or retire anyway. Just don't see him coming to SF, although he is getting into Sabean Special territory age-wise.
Kosuke Fukudome 35 yo- Almost all his value is tied to his OBP, which is actually quite good. Sabean has seemed to be allergic to Japanese players since the Shinjo debacle. Still, there might be enough veteran savvy here to interest him and there is still serious marketing potential for Asian ballplayers in SF.
Brad Hawpe 33 yo- Terrible fielder who was a terror at the plate in Colorado, but his offense tanked in San Diego. Seems to be more of a first baseman now. Hard to see how he fits in SF. Has a $6 M option with a $1 M buyout that likely won't be picked up.
Jason Kubel 29 yo- Once a highly rated prospect, Kubel has never quite lived up to he perceived ceiling in Minnesota. He's a solid hitter coming off a down year with a career OPS of close to .800. Terrible fielding probably limits him to AL.
Nick Swisher 31 yo- Swish has been a fairly reliable 3.5-4 WAR player and is coming off a 3.8 WAR season for the Yankees, so his $10.25 M option should be picked up. The Yankees are almost desperate for LHP's. Would they have any interest in trading him for Jonathan Sanchez, or perish the though, part of a bigger package for Matt Cain?
POTENTIAL TRADES
Carlos Quentin 29 yo- Could be part of a housecleaning in ChiTown. Has hit 20+ HR's in 4 straight seasons, but has had trouble staying on the field due to injuries. Has never played more than 131 games in a season. Interesting option as long as the price isn't too high.
Logan Morrison 24 yo- This guy is in the doghouse with Marlins ownership big time due to his big mouth and indiscriminate use of Twitter. Not sure what the status of his grievance with the Marlins is, but that can't be helping to rebuild his relationship with his employers. He's certainly not popular with Giants fans either for some of the things he said in the wake of Buster's injury. I'm sure he would have some rough introductions in certain corners of the Giants clubhouse too. Still, baseball is a business and LoMo is a serious hitter who is cost controlled for years to come. Gotta think about it for the right price.
Andre Ethier 30 yo- Yikes! 30 yo? Time flies again! Ethier has made noises about not being thrilled with the Dodgers' situation and the feelings may be mutual. His power numbers were way off this year and he has battled nagging injuries the last 2 years. Ethier is a good player, but he seems to be more interested in building his GQ portfolio than his baseball career. He tends to start off every season red hot and progressively cools off as the season progresses which makes me think he doesn't spend a lot of time on conditioning. Still, he'd probably be an upgrade for the Giants. Doubt Agent Ned would trade him within the division even if he is Agent Ned.
Ryan Spilborghs/ Seth Smith- Colorado probably would not trade within the division and you have to be wary of anyone moving away from Coors Field as their home park anyway.
I'm sure there are a lot of other possibilities out there I'm not thinking of. Any other ideas from readers? Send in your comments!
Personally, I'd be OK with sticking Belt out there for a full season and seeing what he would put up. As much as he struggled and as much as he got jerked around last year, he still hit enough HR's to project to the high 20's over the course of a full season's worth of PA's. I think he is just a sliver away from being a monster at the plate.
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