Winter Meetings: Giants definitely looking for external help at third base

There were a few interesting notes from Wednesday's Bruce Bochy press conference. Bochy mentioned that he didn't know how Marco Scutaro was doing ("I need to call him"), but that he was supremely confident in Angel Pagan's ability to return 100 percent ("He was moving around quite well" during the World Series and said his goal was "to play 160 games"). He called Brian Sabean a genius, and said that he and Flannery were "like an old married couple."

The most important news, though, is that we can stop worrying about Joaquin Arias, starting third baseman. I mean, I figured as much. You figured as much. The specter of Arias was oppressive, though. Very, very oppressive.

No more. An incredibly handsome reporter with a silky, deep voice asked Bochy what he would do at third base if he had to fill out a lineup card tomorrow. Bochy wouldn't offer a name because ...

We feel like we're going to have to find someone there.

There you go. It could be a free agent like Chase Headley or Jed Lowrie, or it could be a trade. Recently the Royals mentioned that Omar Infante was available, which makes sense, considering he's old, unproductive, and expensive. Start getting used to some goofy rumors, because if it's not Headley, it's probably a sketchy solution. That could work, though, assuming the roster improves dramatically in other areas. And when I write "sketchy solution," note that it's almost impossible to get sketchier than Arias or Adam Duvall.

It's gonna be a long offseason. But at least we know that the starting third baseman in 2015 almost certainly isn't going to be someone who is currently on the 40-man roster. That's probably a good thing.