Giants 2011 Offseason

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Per MLBTR.com

- Tim Lincecum's agent, Rick Thurman of Beverly Hills Sports Council, said he's not seeking more than a one- or two-year deal for the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner, tweets Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News, although Thurman added that "there are never any absolutes."
- Lincecum is eligible for two more rounds of arbitration -- and could see an historic raise if it gets that far -- before free agency after 2013. Suffice it to say Lincecum, still only 27, has some bargaining leverage, so it could take something as substantial as an eight-year deal to lock him up, as suggested by Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com.
- VP of baseball operations Bobby Evans said the Giants could add an outfield bat, but he doesn't envision drastic changes, tweets Morosi. Evans also mentioned Buster Posey and Freddy Sanchez are on track to be healthy for Spring Training as they recover from their respective season-ending injuries in 2011.
- The owners today approved Larry Baer's appointment as Giants CEO, according to Baggarly. Baer replaces for Bill Neukom, who was asked to step down in September. Baggarly expects business as usual under Baer, who has been a long-tenured executive with the organization.

I miss Nuekom already!! Both Lincecum and Cain should give an ultimatem to the owners. Either they get a big bat or they walk! Melky Cabrera simply isn't going to get it done.

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With the Pirates signing Barmes, that leaves one less SS for the Giants to grab. I have no problem with Crawford being the everyday SS in 2012 if they go out and get a Beltran. If not, it's a big problem!!

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Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that the Dodgers, Brewers and Giants are among the teams showing interest in free agent utility man Jerry Hairston, Jr.
Hairston, 35, batted .270/.344/.383 with five home runs, 31 RBI and a .727 OPS over 376 plate appearances with Washington and Milwaukee this season. The veteran utility man is capable of playing second base, third, shortstop and all three outfield positons. The Brewers have already made him a one-year offer, but may prefer to allocate funds in a full-time free agent shortstop like Jose Reyes, Jimmy Rollins or Rafael Furcal.

Goddamnit!! How many more utility guys does this team need?

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It's being reported that Ramon Ramirez and Affeldt are being shopped. Ramirez is the most likely to be traded as he's more affordable and younger than Affeldt. I don't see why the Giants picked up the outrageous $5 million option on Affeldt only to trade him. I can see a lot of teams being in on both so hopefully the Giants can land something useful for one of them. Giants can afford to trade a bullpen arm and need some more payroll to sign a Beltran.

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Giants are reportedly talking to Alex Gonzalez. I wouldn't mind him on a one year deal but that's it. Crawford needs time to develop in AAA and Gonzalez provides more power and still plays good defense.

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Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that Tim Lincecum's representatives rejected a four-year extension offer from the Giants a few months ago and told the team they wanted eight years.
Heyman says Lincecum is also OK with a one- or two-year deal. In other words, he either wants to cash in big now with a really lengthy deal or go ahead and play out his final two arbitration years before seeking a monster deal in the free agent market. The 27-year-old right-hander is likely to net $18-20 million in arbitration.

Lincecum comes out and says he doesn't want a long term deal so his response to a four year offer is to double it? I want what Timmy's smoking!

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MLB.com's Chris Haft reports that the Giants have interest in free agent outfielder Ryan Ludwick.
San Francisco's decision-makers are expected to meet with Ludwick's agent Monday at the Winter Meetings in Dallas, Texas. The 33-year-old batted just .237 with a .674 OPS in 139 games this year between the Padres and Pirates. His numbers have been on a steep decline since he was traded away from St. Louis in the summer of 2010.

God-fucking-damnit!

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The Giants are trying to trade infielder Jeff Keppinger, outfielder Andres Torres, and reliever Ramon Ramirez, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. They're planning to keep lefty Jeremy Affeldt. ESPN's Buster Olney says there's a strong feeling by other teams Torres will be non-tendered. If so, the Giants may not be able to get much for him. Torres was the second-most valuable center fielder in baseball in 2010, based on FanGraphs' wins above replacement.

Keppinger, Torres, and Ramirez are all arbitration eligible, and MLBTR projects salaries in the $2.3-2.7MM range for each.

With the way the team stands now, I don't want Torres to be non-tendered. Melky Cabrera is not a good CFer. The Giants do not have a good 4th OFer right now. I see no reason to non-tender him. Ramon Ramirez is a good trade piece coming off a great year and very affordable. Keppinger could help a team or two, including us. I'd keep him over Mike Fontenot.

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Sabean came and said the Giants are basically done this offseason. He says they are maxed out. That's right, Melky Cabrera, Angel Pagan and overpaying for a bullpen maxed the Giants out. Back to back horrendous offseasons from Sabean after winning a World Series.

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Brewers signed Ishikawa. Who needs Fielder?

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Giants chose Fontenot over Keppinger as far as tendering a contract. Fontenot will get $1.05 million. It's a shame the Giants didn't trade Keppinger while they had him but that also doesn't mean Keppinger can't come back on a lesser deal. Fontenot was cheaper and is a better SS so that's why he was chosen. Why Manny Burriss was tendered a contrat is anyone's guess. My guess is that Sabean is not a very good GM.

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Mota re-signs for $1 million. Now the offseason is complete!

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The Yankees won the bidding for Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be wearing pinstripes in 2012. Agent Greg Genske has approached the Yankees about the possibility of a sign-and-trade, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Giants and Cubs like Nakajima, according to Rosenthal.

The Yankees won the rights to Nakajima with a bid in the $2MM range last week. They now have 30 days to reach an agreement with the 29-year-old, who will return to the Seibu Lions for another year if he doesn’t sign. Nakajima would like to play every day, but he’s not ruling anything out -- even a backup role with the Yankees.

I wouldn't mind this one bit. Giants need someone to compete with Crawford to get the starting SS role instead of just handing him the job. He hasn't earned it. If the move works out, Giants would bring in more revenue from overseas which is always a good thing and will help pay for the deal itself. If the deal doesn't work out, the Giants wouldn't be out a lot of money.

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Giants signed Brian Burres to a minor league contract. Giants drafted Burres way back in 2000. He's pretty terrible but the Giants are weak at AAA in the starting pitching department. The Giants need to make a lot more of these signings to make something stick.

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With Beltran signing with the Cards, my fears have become a reality. The Giants are done for the offseason and content with Pagan and Cabrera. I know I wanted the Giants to get younger and faster but these aren't the players I wanted the Giants to get. Pagan finally got exposed last year in his second year of getting full-time play. Pagan looked lost at times in CF and his OPS fell under .700. I do like the fact he has averaged 34 SB over the past two years. The Giants have needed that SB threat for a while now. Cabrera can steal a base too but he really has to work on his success rate. Cabrera is coming off a career year but he, like most of our lineup, cannot draw walks. Cabrera is better suited to play LF which is where he'll be playing. I like his arm but I'm just afraid he won't come close to his 2011 totals playing in a pitching heavy division. The bitch of trading for these two players is that they are free agents after this season. The Giants did nothing to better themselves for the future. Meanwhile, the NL West champion Diamondbacks did the opposite. The Giants will now settle for minor league contracts from here on out. Seems like a waste of an offseason to me.

As of now, here's what our lineup would look like:

1. Pagan-CF
2. Sanchez-2B
3. Posey-C
4. Sandoval-3B
5. Cabrera-LF
6. Schierholtz-RF
7. Huff-1B
8. Crawford-SS

Bench- Eli Whiteside, Manny Burriss, Mike Fontenot, Brandon Belt, Brett Pill

SP-Lincecum
SP-Cain
SP-Bumgarner
SP-Vogelsong
SP-Zito

RP-Lopez
RP-Affeldt
RP-Romo
RP-Casilla
RP-Mota
RP-Runzler

CL-Wilson