Drewing Up A Better Offense
by quincy0191 on Jan 23, 2012 2:09 AM PST
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PrintNo matter how you slice it, things don't look great for the Giants' offense next year. The most optimistic outlooks project for slightly above-average run production, counting on healthy years from guys like Freddy Sanchez as well as bouncebacks from Aubrey Huff, Buster Posey, and Angel Pagan. Brandon Crawford, Brandon Belt, and Nate Schierholtz will have to hit well in starting or platoon roles as well. If things go very wrong, it's possible we could have the same trouble scoring runs in 2012 as we did in 2011.
Outside of shortstop, which seems settled with Crawford, the biggest hole remains the outfield - outside of Melky Cabrera, there doesn't seem to be a consensus on who will be a consistent starter. Schierholtz hit well in somewhat limited playing time last year, and Belt could be given an expanded role in LF if he hits the ground running and Huff manages to hold down first. Pagan's a bit of a wild card, with obvious potential on both sides of the ball but an injury-plagued and generally ineffective 2011 campaign. And despite the essential guarantee that Cabrera will receive a starting role, it's not a given that he will actually hit.
Things brings me to the thesis: the Giants ought to take a run at J.D. Drew. According to agent Scott Boras, Drew has not retired, and will play in 2012 if it's the right fit. Looking at Drew-related rumors on MLBTR, one sees an almost complete lack of interest - a post from this Sunday is the first one to even mention him in over a month, and he's received a total of four minor notes since the end of July.
There's an obvious reason for this: Drew had a pretty bad 2011 (link to Fangraphs stats page). Injuries to his neck, fingers, and left shoulder, occasionally simultaneous, limited him to 81 games. He didn't do much in those 81 games either - a .275 wOBA is not a pretty sight for a right fielder. So that's the downside: basically Mark DeRosa, bad when he's not hurt.
But the upside here is pretty damned good. From 1999 through 2010, Drew produced two-plus wins a season, with a high of nine in 2004. So the consistency and potential for greatness is there. Over his career, he's averaged a BB/K of nearly 1, with a BB% of 14% and an ISO of .212; the power and patience have been there. He has one below-average defensive season, a -0.9 mark in 2002. He has a career .377 wOBA, Bill James predicts a .336 mark in 2012.
Ah, but things come back to the injuries, and Drew has had a few. Though he managed to play 135+ games in 2009-2010, 109 in 2008, 72 in 2005, 100 in 2003, 109 in 2001, and of course the 81 in 2011 do not paint the picture of someone who can stay healthy through a season. Entering his age-36 season, it's unlikely that will change.
Still, this guy looks like someone we should be throwing a couple million dollars at. We have a gaping hole in our outfield that we're not sure how to fix. Schierholtz is almost certainly better off the bench than starting, particularly if it pushes Justin Christian back to AAA. He seems to have no suitors, and certainly none who are willing to offer a starting role, nor does it seem his price will go down - if he doesn't get an offer he likes, he's made enough money to just retire. There is no way we can afford a Fielder-type bat, but we might be able to squeeze an extra $3M into the budget (of course, a lot of people would take that+Affeldt+Lopez and scream Beltran, again link to stats page, and they wouldn't be wrong).
I should make it clear: Drew is not a guy we ought to be counting on. We should not sign him and claim right field is fixed. This is an Aubrey Huff-type move - in fact, given position, defensive ability, and consistency and peak of play, Drew is a better bet than Huff was before 2010. We have no money, we need a hitter, and Drew is the type of player who could give you 2-4 wins for a very small commitment.
For the pro-Beltran people, I'll just leave this:
Games played (PAs) [WAR]
2009-2011:
Drew: 357 (1371) [7]
Beltran: 287 (1210) [8.5]
2010-2011
Drew: 220 (832) [2.1]
Beltran: 206 (853) [5.5]
simply to illustrate that the difference is not as large as one might imagine.
This FanPost is reader-generated, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of McCovey Chronicles. If the author uses filler to achieve the minimum word requirement, a moderator may edit the FanPost for his or her own amusement.
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The Scutaro thing is just awful. If you absolutely have to 0 balance the budget, send Sanchez to Boston for Scutaro or Sanchez to anywhere for a prospect and the equivalent of Colorado’s org filler to Boston for a prospect and install Belt as the defacto LF.
Then without spending a dollar more you have Belt/Scutaro in your starting lineup as opposed to Cabrera/Crawford. Does anybody really think the second pair would be better?
It makes sense from our perspective, but is there any reason to believe the Red Sox wanted Jonathan Sanchez?
A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way. - SLC
That’s why I included send Sanchez to anybody else for a prospect and then send the Red Sox what they got for Scutaro — which is just org filler. We’ve got org filler as well. Clearly all they wanted was salary relief.
At that point, I don’t see why you don’t keep the Sanchez/Cabrera deal and just throw some expendable prospect at the Sox for Scutaro. That way you have the best of both worlds. You make it sound has though Mortenson had no value as a player to the Sox, which is doubtful.
A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way. - SLC
Because it seems clear that our payroll restrictions prevented us from going after Scutaro. Scutaro and Cabrera are making the exact same $$$ in 2012. To get one it seems obvious you have to eliminate the other. It’s a zero sum game.
And no, Mortenson has no value as a player to the Sox. The negotiation was about getting Colorado to take the $6mil off Boston’s books.
+1
Boston could have gotten a real prospect if they had agreed to eat some of Scutaro’s salary, but it’s clear that they just wanted to clear up room so they can go after another starting pitcher via trade or free agency.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Of course, the secret, hidden Option C: get both Cabrera and Scutaro and lose Affeldt and Lopez, would be my preference, but its clear that the FO has payroll priorities that I don’t understand. The day they decided to pick up Affeldt’s option and pay Lopez to avoid the market was really the crucial point of the offseason. Everything that came after was affected by that, and the echoes of that decision will be sounding for the next 10 months.
Good point
Here’s what truly mystifies me. Why did the decision to pick up Affeldt’s option and extend Lopez tie Sabes’s hands? I mean, I see that he was handcuffed once he signed Affeldt and Lopez so early, but why did that keep him from improvising? Once he got Melky and Pagan, he still had the flexibility to pick up some bargains in December and January. Scutaro or “That Japanese SS” would both have been good, cheap insurance policies for Crawdaddy. Yes, it would have put him over his payroll limit, but he could have found a taker for Affeldt or Lopez before opening day. Yes, he would have had to pick up some of their salary to make a deal, but Boston showed how it could be done with how they dealt Scutaro (after picking up his option for the 2012 season).
After all, you don’t have to start paying the player’s salaries until the season actually starts, so even if he was over budget on paper, he wasn’t losing any money yet. Does Sabes actually think that we can’t come up with a cheap alternative to Affeldt in-house or on the FA market? Does he actually think that Affeldt is more valuable to the team’s 2012 record than a starter at SS? By what he’s done and said I have to say that the answer to both questions is yes.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
The Red Sox would kill for Jonathan Sanchez...
Have you seen their rotation situation?
Their big offseason acquisition
Was Lackey getting TJ surgery.
Seth Rosin can hit the side of a barn with a baseball. From space.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)
I think Drew’s a good low risk high reward player if you could bring him to camp as essentially a NRI. But if you have to guarantee him money, really I’d rather just make Belt a starting OF. His upside is almost certainly as good as Drew’s at this point in their relative careers, and he’s close to free which is apparently all the budget can bare at this point for whatever reason.
I'd rather do both
Belt/Cabrera/Drew to start the season with Pagan as the 4th OF and Schierholtz as the 5th. Much better depth considering zero of those players have met GP’s “two full above-average years” criteria.
Seth Rosin can hit the side of a barn with a baseball. From space.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)
Right but you know the Giants aren’t going to pay Pagan $5mil to be their UT OF. Especially while paying $12mil to Rowand to be their non-UT OF.
Probably not
Should have just kept Torres. Still don’t understand that trade.
Seth Rosin can hit the side of a barn with a baseball. From space.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)
You would really rather have Cabrera as your starting centerfielder than Pagan? Any reasons?
A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way. - SLC
Pagan's a better UT OF
And I think Cabrera’s a better bet to produce. I’m not buying 2011 is his true-talent level, but I think he’ll have a better year than Pagan, who was hurt and ineffective as well as older.
Seth Rosin can hit the side of a barn with a baseball. From space.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)
I agree with Roger, but I don’t see any way that Drew would accept a situation like that. If he can’t get a better major league deal then I think he’ll sit out and wait for a team to develop a need for him due to injuries and/or poor performances.
I think Cody Ross would be a much better option than Drew. Not only is he more versatile in the OF, but he mashes RHP – which the Giants seriously need. Having followed Drew since his days at Florida State Univ., I have to say that he is the exact type of player that is likely to get psyched out by hitting at AT&T and would end up being “injured” so often that he would be a clubhouse cancer.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
I'd like a Ross signing at a reasonable price too
Don't think he can cut it in the bigs? Brock Bond will be the bigger man and walk walk walk away.
Of course, I saw that exact same sort of quote (“not retired… if there’s a team that’s a right fit” etc) this weekend attributed to the agent for David Eckstein.
Search your feelings, Giants fans… you know it’s true (and, heavens preserve us, I think I’d actually be happy about an Eckstein acquisition at this point).
Have been thinking this would be a good idea for a while.
Well said, Quince.
The most delightful ecumenical contradiction in nomenclature.
Dursh nerf darsh narf. Poop.
ZiPS has Drew at .247/.340/.412 (98 OPS+) which looks useful, but combine the fact that he’s old and creaky and is he really an upgrade over Schierholtz? And I’m not really a big fan of Nate.
Ask me about my blog.
With you on this.
Nate’s defense puts him close to Drew’s level. Age and health tips the scales.
by Grant Brisbee on Jan 23, 2012 11:26 AM PST up reply actions
I like Nate
And I think he should have been a starter far earlier. My only problem is that Nate just hasn’t hit particularly well, though there have certainly been mitigating circumstances. Drew seems cheap enough that I think it’s reasonable we could have both, particularly if we give Timmy an extension that lessens his 2012 salary a bit. I’m just not too keen on entering the season assuming that two of Nate, Belt, and Pagan will hit, and Drew pushing Schierholtz to the bench or to a platoon role. And of course Schierholtz can provide Drew insurance.
I’d just like more contingency plans than what we have now. I’m also not keen on Christian being the 5th OF.
Seth Rosin can hit the side of a barn with a baseball. From space.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)
Mostly because there are no other bidders
He’s obviously not going to sign a minor league deal or the Burrell Special, but I think he wants to play and I think he wants to play for a potential contender. The Giants fit that bill and can give him a starting job, and they could probably offer him a non-embarrassing salary.
If the bidding gets high ($5M) they just back out. I just think Drew is in a situation where he’s not going to get a substantial commitment from anyone, so we might as well throw out an offer we can afford. Kind of like how I’m sure they offered Reyes some piddling 4/40 contract or something because why not.
Seth Rosin can hit the side of a barn with a baseball. From space.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)
Certainly possible
It’s not like we NEED Drew, or that he would absolutely fix our problems so we should go after him hard, just that he’s an interesting name no one else seems to be considering.
Seth Rosin can hit the side of a barn with a baseball. From space.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)
Yeah I can see that. I guess I’ve just given up hope that we’re acquiring anybody else. Plus Drew seems like the kind of guy Sabes would undervalue anyway (still can’t forget his buddy Tony Siegle crowing to the press right after the World Series ended that “we proved that Moneyball is a bunch of bullshit!”)
I guess Evan’s right. The Scutaro thing really has me disspirited.
I voted for no. He’s old, injury prone and has a very bad attitude. Very bad. And Boras expensive. Any improvement with the bat will be given right back on defense.
Who’s the whipping boy again? Schierholtz? Bochy for not playing Belt? Melky Cabrera and his inflated BABIP?
Nate the Great, despite Brain Trust proclamations, has little chance of starting if Belt hits in spring training. He’ll be the guy off the bench and Huffie substitute. Belt will get more chances to play this year. I’m sure it will be a bumpy road. But you don’t want JD Drew getting in the mix. We finally cleared out a little of the 3/4 OF guys the Giants like to collect. Also, JD Drew is yet another lefty bat when we already have Belt, Nate and Huff for that.
Drew's been an above-average defender nearly every year of his career
I’m not particularly worried about his defense. Nate’s is probably better, but I’m not convinced he’ll hit as well. Possible, but I like the insurance policy.
Presumably Belt, Nate, Huff, and Drew wouldn’t all start at the same time. Starting three of four gives you two righties, two switch hitters, and four lefties – slightly lefty-heavy, but not ridiculous. I’m also not convinced both Belt and Huff will hold down starting jobs – I’m betting on a ?/Pagan/Cabrera OF with the third spot being one of Belt, Huff, Schierholtz, and Drew. That’s three lefties, two righties, and three switch hitters. It does leave the bench pretty lefty-heavy with Fontenot as a primary INF backup and the UT OFs being left-handed. But I don’t see that as such a terrible situation.
I haven’t heard much about his attitude, but outside of Milton Bradley-type situations, I don’t put much stock in that kind of thing. A quick Google search didn’t turn up anything horrific, and I really don’t think it matters much.
Seth Rosin can hit the side of a barn with a baseball. From space.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)
I’m betting on a ?/Pagan/Cabrera OF with the third spot being one of Belt, Huff, Schierholtz, and Drew. That’s three lefties, two righties, and three switch hitters.
Huh? How did you count up to 8 different things there with only 6 players? And who are the righties? I count 4 lefties and 2 switch hitters.
Pagan and Cabrera have better splits hitting LH as well. If anything, the Giants could use a RH bat off the bench and to spot start against lefties. Oh yeah, Cody Ross!
Drew doesn’t get into scrapes like Bradley, he just doesn’t have a pulse. If people thought Don Carlos was standoffish…. His D ratings are coming from one of the easiest RFs in baseball to one of the toughest, and he’s 36. Nate’s defense will be considerably better.
The Giants have a big problem with all the lefties. If they don’t drop Freddy back to the 6 or 7 spot, or put Melky there, they’ll have nothing but lefties from 5-8. Not a good plan.
I'm not sure UZR cares about park
It’s just a range factor. He also plays enough games outside of Fenway that it’s unlikely Boston is solely responsible for his defensive ratings.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but batter handedness has never been a huge concern. Sure, if all else is equal, you’d rather have a balanced lineup. But if you have to lean one way (and you almost always do) I’d rather lean lefty given the prevalence of RHP. Adding Drew as another LHH would make the lineup more than a little lefty-heavy, but I don’t see that as an enormous problem in acquiring him.
Seth Rosin can hit the side of a barn with a baseball. From space.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)
Well to be fair, Schierholtz and Belt have pretty good splits (very small sample size for young Brandon) against lefties, so sure, it may be overblown. But 5-8 in a lineup is a bit much if you ask me.
Somebody brought up the point of JD getting hurt, and then being a whiny cancer after that. That was the MO I was thinking of as far as very bad attitude. Its natural to presume his defense, specifically his range, is in decline at this point. Coupled with an inability to stay healthy, I just like what we have better.
…the biggest hole remains the outfield – outside of Melky Cabrera, there doesn’t seem to be a consensus on who will be a consistent starter.
After watching Bochy submit his lineups over the last 3 seasons do you really believe this? I think that the OF lineup of Nate/Pagan/Melky is almost guaranteed, barring an early injury or one of those 3 guys hitting under .200 for the first 4 weeks of the season. Nate’s spot is the weakest of the 3, as Bochy is going to give Melky and Pagan a lot of rope seeing that they were the keys to the Giants entire offseason strategy. Bochy loves veterans and I just don’t see any way that Belt breaks into the starting lineup on opening day unless he hits over .400 with more than 8 HRs in spring training. Bochy will give lip service to Belt having a real shot to start at 1B or the OF, but the minute he goes hitless in 3 straight games he’ll be back on the bench and then be sent to Fresno a few weeks later.
The only opening day question marks that I see remaining on the current roster are:
1. Which backup catcher (Stewart or Whiteside) will be sent to Fresno?
2. Which 2 of the following 3 guys gets the last 2 spots on the bench: Belt, Pill, and Blanco?
3. Will Surkamp outpitch Zito for the 5th starter’s spot in the rotation (sending Zito to the pen and Runzler to Fresno)?
4. Will Runzler nail down the last spot in the bullpen or will some minor league reliever pitch well enough to make the team out of spring training?
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Bochy may love veterans, but I wouldn’t call Schierholtz that even though he’s been in MLB for a long time now. I agree that Melky/Pagan will get the most rope, so it looks like Belt V Schierholtz for the 3rd OF starting job to me.
If Hector Sanchez rakes in spring training he’ll make the 25. You can throw his Fresno numbers at me, I’ll counter the Giants brought him up for Bizarro callup because they love his bat. They still do, and they’ll need it next year. Stewie and Eli aren’t going to cut it for 50 games.
Who knows what’ll happen with the bench. They can still sign up The Riot if they want instead of this comedy with Burriss. Pill seems to have the inside track, and Blanco should be the first phone call from Fresno (when Schierholtz gets injured, something of a regular happening that thwarts his veteran status.)
Zito? Eh. Depends on his velocity. They should have signed up Paul Maholm. That’s where I would park that Affeldt money personally. Due to the lack of SPs high in the system I bet Runzler gets one more chance. Hembree?
If Schierholtz beats out Belt handily maybe Belt goes to Fresno to be the first guy called up for injury/suckiness, but I bet he makes the squad. It won’t be easy for him to stay in Bochy’s lineup unless he hits well, I agree on that. They’ll give him just as many and most likely more chances than last year though. Blanco would be the 4th OF. I’d take his On Base skill over Pill’s power personally, we need a speedster who can get on base, unlike say, Manny Burriss.
A couple of points:
1. Yes, Scheirholtz ain’t a vet in the true since of the term, but compared to Blet he’s a grizzled gamer in Bochy’s eyes.
2. I don’t see any way, short of another Buster injury or setback in his rehab, that Hector makes the opening day roster. The Giants aren’t going to keep him on the SF roster unless he’s starting 5 games a week at catcher. He needs too much seasoning on becoming a complete catcher for him to be sitting on the bench while Buster starts the vast majority of games at catcher. It’s not like there’s a spot at 1B for Hector to slip into while Buster’s catching. Now, if the offense if the Giants aren’t getting any offensive procuction out of 1B or a corner OF spot by the time the middle of June rolls around, and Hector is raking it in Fresno, then I could possibly see Sabes panicking and calling Hector up to catch and play some 1B.
3. I wasn’t predicting that Belt wouldn’t make the 25 man roster out of ST, just that he’ll have a very difficult time making the starting lineup on a consistent enough basis to keep him from being sent back to Fresno at some point in the first 8 weeks of the season.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
1. The Giants love Belt. Drafted him, developed him. They’ll give him the opportunity. Yes, he will have to hit to make the lineup and hit to stay in it. The Giants don’t do any favors on that front. It won’t be “You’ve got half a season no matter what you do young Brandon”.
2. I do see a way, without Buster injuries or setbacks for Hector to make the opening day. He rakes in spring training and forces the issue. 50 games starting, 50 games pinch hitting counts as development too. Sure, they can put him in Fresno and panic call him up also. You’re the detail guy, you might know more, but my understanding of that Whiteside contract is its 600K if he makes the 25 and 150K for the minor league part of it if he doesn’t. He is not a guarantee to have a major league deal. I think the Giants want Hector for the job, Whiteside is the backup plan.
3. I would predict if Belt doesn’t hit well in spring training he will get shuffled down for seasoning, whatever that is at this point. Bochy declaring Schierholtz the starter looks like the kiss of death for ol’ Nate to me.
I don’t put a lot of stock in what Sabean says ie he’ll say what’s convenient and change his mind, but it should be noted he has stated Huff and Belt might be playing 1B/LF depending on their defensive evaluations. I imagine it’ll work out that Huff is better suited for 1B, end of story, but Sabean did make that statement, and Bochy did say he will play some LF next year. On face value, that means there is competition for PT.
Whether that is just to motivate Huff or extends to Belt and Nate is murky at this point, but I’d expect Belt will have a longer rope. 3 weeks last year. 8 weeks this year is your prediction. I’d take the over. You seem predisposed to blame Bochy for lack of opportunities. I’m going to predict they give him more opportunities than last year, maybe not a full commitment but enough so if he gets his foot in the door he’ll have a shot.
I don't think they can look at Pagan's 2011 and think he's absolutely going to be the CF
He will certainly start the season there, and be given more leash than guys like Belt or Bowker. But if he’s not hitting after a month or two, I think he’ll be benched, Cabrera put in center, and someone else given a starting job. That’s part of the reason they acquired a guy like Cabrera – they want the positional flexibility to put him in center if they have to, even though he’s better suited as a corner OF from a defensive standpoint.
Cabrera/Pagan/Nate will almost certainly be the starting alignment to begin the season. I’m not convinced things will be the same by June, though, and I don’t think that’s unreasonable given the lack of consistency displayed by nearly every member of the offense – they’re not going to give a long leash to players who haven’t shown they deserve one.
As far as your questions go, I think the answers to 1 and 3 are fairly clear:
1. Stewart. Despite his initial complete lack of offense, he ended up getting quite a few starts despite being considered the backup to Whiteside when Posey went down. Bochy being a former catcher sees Stewart’s glove and Whiteside dropping balls, and with both of them being almost completely ineffective at the plate Stewart will get the backup job.
3. Zito will get the 5th spot. Surkamp needed to pitch exceptionally well to end the season if he wanted to oust Zito – with two years remaining on Zito’s contract, they need to be absolutely sure he can’t start before they move him to the pen, particularly given the issues that has raised in the past. Surkamp also provides some much-needed rotation depth.
Seth Rosin can hit the side of a barn with a baseball. From space.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)
I pretty much agree with all of this, and I did note in my OP that the Nate/Pagan/Melky OF wasn’t set in stone if one or more of the starters end up laying an egg at the plate after the first 4-6 weeks. One slight point of disagreement is that I also think that the competition between Eli and Stewart isn’t as clear-cut at this point as you assume. For some reason, Bochy and Sabes still like Eli well enough to give him a spot on the 40-man and sign him to a major league contract when his other options were almost certainly trying to get a minor contract and a non-roster invite to ST on some other team. I think that Sabes & Co. think that Eli’s performance lapse last year was mainly due to injury.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
I think Cabrera will get a long leash
A la Huff 2011. It’s just Pagan I don’t see as a definite candidate to start for even half the season – if he doesn’t hit, he’ll be benched. I think Cabrera can not hit for a few months before he loses starts.
Seth Rosin can hit the side of a barn with a baseball. From space.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)
That is perfectly logical. But it just doesn’t square with the way Sabean and Bochy seem to operate. “We didn’t get him to sit on the bench” or “we’re not paying him $xmil to sit on the bench” are things that Bochy says to the press. Who can forget his classic: “sure [OCab]‘s made some errors, but you’ve got an experienced guy out there.”
I think both Pagan and Cabera get the Tejada leash. And actually, I feel like I saw a tweet from either Schulman or Baggs when the Pagan agreement was announced, somebody tweeted “that’s a lot of money for a 4th OF” and whichever beat guy it was said “they didn’t trade for him to be a 4th OF.”
Torres didn't seem to get the same leash, though
That’s influencing my thinking – Torres and Pagan are very similar players, so if Torres didn’t get much benefit of the doubt after a six win season, why would Pagan?
Seth Rosin can hit the side of a barn with a baseball. From space.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)
But Torres wasn’t an “experienced guy”; he was a minor league vet. Wasn’t traded for. Also, wasn’t getting paid much. He was a garbage heap pickup who got re-garbaged can as soon as the luck ran dry it feels like to me.
Pagan's got a couple points like that in his favor
OTOH, Torres was simply more valuable at his peak and was already dug in a bit here. And it’s not like Pagan was a centerpiece – like Torres, he was a 4th round pick who got shuttled around a bit. The Cubs purchased him from the Mets before trading him back for a couple non-prospects. Not really the resume of a major acquisition.
Maybe the Giants do think more of Pagan, and there’s mostly strikeout-related reasons to think that’s not wrong, but they evidently think his additional value is a middle reliever out of a deep bullpen – that’s not really a vote of confidence if they didn’t believe in Torres.
Seth Rosin can hit the side of a barn with a baseball. From space.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)
Bargaining ploy? I don’t think so. I don’t see Drew having the fire in the belly to play for less than $5M in an attempt to prove himself to the baseball world again.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Only Bleacher Report would claim that a guy with nearly 50 WAR was a “perpetual disappointment” and ask a poll question like that.
Seth Rosin can hit the side of a barn with a baseball. From space.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)
Goddammit, I read halfway through this thinking of Stephen Drew and now I have to start over.
My son, so I'm told. And this stalwart young lad (Hi, free f.p. #14!).
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