"Rebuilding" has a nice ring to it. The Giants need to rebuild. Boy, does this organization need to get younger and rebuild. Rebuilding process, ahoy!
The implicit definition of "rebuilding": To acquire young stars at every position without giving up anything of value. At least that's how I've been interpreting it. We don't need to trade for David Wright, Jose Reyes, and Joe Mauer - c'mon, don't be ridiculous. We just need to trade for the next David Wright, Jose Reyes, and Joe Mauer. Have at it, Sabes.
The problem is, of course, that we aren't going to get the next Joe Mauer by trading Steve Kline. No way. That would take at least Steve Kline and Mark Sweeney.
Maybe that's a touch unrealistic. Dang. It's likely that only Matt Morris is going to bring back anything close to a "rebuilding"-type player, unless you think Ray Durham is going to get super-hot in July. So if we had our choice of positions to fill with youth via a Morris trade, what would be the preferred plan? My list, in order:
- Shortstop - With Omar Vizquel looking abysmal at the plate in his age-40 season, there can't be a ton of confidence in him for a contract extension. Kevin Frandsen is a shortstop like Pedro Feliz is a catcher; just because you stick them there out of necessity doesn't make it a good fit. The minors have some options in the lower levels, but even the most interesting of the prospects are several years away. If the Giants don't trade for a young shortstop or resign Vizquel, they'll have to overpay a veteran or go with a Tomas De La Rosa-type. Ick.
- Third base - I don't want to seem rash and impatient, but I'm beginning to wonder if Pedro Feliz is the right fit for this franchise.
- First base - In theory, this should be the easiest position to find. I've always hated that theory because the Giants haven't had a power-hitting first basemen since Will Clark.
- Outfielder - It's a pretty big drop from the first three needs to here. I'm not convinced that Nate Schierholtz and Fred Lewis are going to be anything more than fifth outfielders, but they have a chance to be. And a chance is more than what the Giants can plug into short, third, or first. Not to mention, the team has a couple of centerfielders signed for the next few years, for better or for much, much worse.
- Catcher - I'm digging Bengie Molina right now, but it wouldn't be the worst idea to get a young catcher to groom as his replacement. Even better, if the Giants could get a majors-ready catcher like Saltalatalatamacchia, there's a decent chance Molina could bring back an interesting prospect.
- Second base - This is similar to the Lewis/Schierholtz comment when considering Frandsen waiting in the wings, but I have a bit more faith in Frandsen becoming an average player at his position.
- Starting pitching - If the best offer the Giants get includes some hotshot pitching prospect, the Giants shouldn't ignore it. There's always a need for pitching. But it's definitely not the biggest immediate need.
- Relief pitching - If the Giants trade their only marketable player for a relief prospect, I will take people with me when I go. Interpret that however you'd like.