Pedro Feliz
Aramis Ramirez, A. Ramirez, A-Ram, and Ram Ram Z are all on the market, though they'd cost a pretty penny. Maybe Aubrey Huff and Rich Aurilia.
In-house Replacements
Nothing. Every third base prospect drafted in the past twenty years seems to have been moved off third base to another position. And, yet again, the farm system is totally useless in filling a hole. The farm is like a 35-year-old brother-in-law that's been sleeping on your couch for the past few decades. Get up! Get up and do something with your life! And, please, put on some damn pants and find us a position player prospect! If you come back with anything less than a Bill Mueller, you're out on the street.
Would bring him back at...
...the risk of cracking the fragile shell surrounding my baseball-related sanity.
...the end of his career for a couple of photo opportunities.
...the demands of an RBI fetishist pointing a .44 at my junk.
...oh, I don't know. Two years, $5M total? There is value in his defense, he does have some pop, and the market for third-basemen is thin, thin, thin. If the Giants are able to fill other holes, then Feliz wouldn't be the absolute end of the franchise.
Guess at actual salary, destination
Three years, $6M per, Giants. And in a shelter in your hometown, a puppy was just euthanized because no one wanted to adopt it. I'm sure the two are unrelated.
First choice to replace them?
I'm sold on any of Aramis Ramirez, A. Ramirez, A-Ram, and Ram Ram Z. If the Giants were able to sign any of them, it would be a successful offseason. If Shea Hillenbrand would sign a one-year deal to get his value back up, I could live with the shoddy defense. I don't know if Aubrey Huff has any interest in signing with a team to play only third base, but he'd probably be a bargain if he would.
Trade options
Is Mark Teahan really as good as he showed last season? Maybe, maybe not. But any team trading for him will have to be convinced that he is, because he's going to be expensive. Jonathan Sanchez, just to start, mixed in with whatever other prospects could be found. Schierholtz, Ishikawa, Lewis...anyone and everyone. Teahan is a pre-arbitration, 25-year-old player coming off a great season. Alex Gordon or no, the Royals aren't just going to give him away. There will be about 20 teams asking for him, with 40 better offers than what the Giants could duct tape together. The Royals would rather start him at second than give him away for Brad Hennessey.
Conclusion
It's the Cold War again, and there's a third baseman gap. The other teams are flashing David Wright, Ryan Zimmerman, Miguel Cabrera, Garrett Atkins, Chad Tracy, Freddy Sanchez..... the Giants have one chance to catch up with the rest of the league. Aramis Ramirez is the equivalent of a country's top nuclear scientist wanting to defect. The cost will be prohibitive. Many lives could be lost. But the free agents in 2007 aren't going to be much better. Adam Dunn, Michael Young, and Andruw Jones are going to be the only players 30-and-under worth building around, and it isn't as if an Aramis signing would prohibit any other free agent inquiries for the next five years.
If it isn't Aramis, I would rather sign Wes Helms for millions less than Feliz. There is no way that Feliz deserves whatever contract he will eventually get, and the Giants shouldn't be any part of it. You just know they will, though.
