Skip to main content

ST Preview: Battle For Last 2 Bullpen Spots

As it stands now, if Armondo Benitez is healthy and on the team, the Giants have 5 arms that look like they will be guaranteed spots in the bullpen. Benitez, Steve Kline, Kevin Corriea, Brad Hennessey and Jonathon Sanchez look like they have spots reserved for them. If Sanchez beats out Ortiz for the 5th spot in the rotation and Ortiz is released by the end of spring, it would open up another spot. Right now it looks like there are 2 spots to be had and there are going to be a handfuls of People battling it out for those final roster spots. There has been a lot of talk about Brian Wilson this winter, some are even labeling him as the next closer of the San Francisco Giants, while some say they will be surprised if he makes the team. I am right in the middle on him. I haven't seen anything to make me believe he is anywhere close to being a major league closer, but I do like his arm and I do see some upside there. It looks like he will likely be on the staff unless he blows it during spring training, which is entirely possible. Another guy who will be invited to spring training who has a lesser chance of making the team is Tim Lincecum. The Giants still haven't committed to whether they want Lincecum in the pen or in the rotation. Because of the teams needs in the bullpen, it may pursued the Giants to use Lincecum there this summer. I hope they keep him in the rotation and get him ready for a 2008. It scares me a little when the Giants bounce their farmhands between the bullpen and rotation. I just think of how bad it has worked for Merkin Valdez. The Giants' had high hopes for him, but couldn't figure out if they want him to close or start, and he's never really gotten a grip on his role. I hope they keep Lincecum in the rotation and not mess with him.

A couple of the other arms battling who will be battling it out for the final bullpen slots are Vinny Chulk, Jack Taschner, Damian Moss, Tyler Walker and David Cortes. Billy Sadler, who closed in AA and dominated last year will also be there battling it out and he has an outside chance to start the year in San Francisco. Chulk looks to have the upper hand within this group. He did pitch pretty well in spurts for the Giants' after he was acquired as part of the Shea Hillenbrand deal. Plus I have a hard time seeing Sabean cut loose the only player he has left to show for the Jeremy Accardo trade of last summer. Taschner has been up and down between Fresno and San Francisco a lot over the past 2 years, but he'll likely be left off because the Giants appear to already have 2 lefties already in the pen. Damian Moss and David Cortes where brought in as long shots, but you never know where an outstanding spring could land you. Walker could be a darkhourse here. He was inconsistent in his time as Giants "fill-in" closer for Benitez in '05, but he did show that when he's on, he's tough to hit. Although he probably won't be healthy early due to recovery from surgery. I still have the memory of him striking out the side in Detroit with the bases loaded and nobody out, getting out of the jam and winning the game. Walker has the most experience closing, outside of Benitez, then anyone else going to spring training. If Benitez is dealt, he'll probably find his way onto the team at some point in the season.

Comments

Anonymous said…
They need to make a trade for more bullpen help.
7:26 PM
Anonymous said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
6:13 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WORLD SERIES: Giants Move Up 2-0 on Texas

PreGame After taking game one in a surprising slug-fest , the Giants look to go up 2-0 on the Rangers in the World Series on Thursday night. The Giants are sending out Matt Cain, a guy who I'm sure every Giants' fan is pretty confident in. He'll be a opposed by C.J. Wilson, who's in his first year as a full-time starter, but has been brilliant in the role. He did struggle his last time out though, so hopefully the Giants can get to him early and get into his head a bit. I'm going to do something I've never done here on this unique occasion, and sort of do an in-game post. updating this post every time I feel I have something to add. So go Giants, and be sure to check back throughout the game, and after, to vent or whatever! As long as Matt Cain keeps rolling, and the Giants keep coming up with those clutch 2-out hits, we should be OK. Texas has that high-powered offense that can score in a hurry, as we saw last night, so the Giants cannot let down and have to t
86 comments
Read more

Giants Still Need Infield Help

On Saturday, the Giants finalized a 2 year contract extension with Freddy Sanchez, who they acquired in July for Tim Alderson. The new deal for Sanchez will pay him 12 million over the next 2 seasons instead of 8.5 million for just 2010, which was his option for 2010. I've voiced my disappointment in Sanchez a few times here since the Giants dealt for him over the summer. He wasn't able to stay on the field full time to help this club with their run at the NL Wild Card, and even when he was in there, he didn't seem to make much of an impact in th e lineup. Now, I wasn't necessarily hoping the Giants would cut ties with Sanchez (they probably would have had to pay 4 million or so to buy him out), just didn't think he was worth upwards of 10 million dollars, and would have liked to see the Giants pursue someone like Orlando Hudson with that money. The Giants already have an infielder who's being paid about 3-4 times what his play over the last 2 seasons would indi
200 comments
Read more

Giants Notes: Lincecum Signs, Ross to Boston

Well, even though I touched on it a little bit in our last post, I haven't really had a chance to get my thoughts out on the new Lincecum deal since he and the Giants agreed earlier in the week. Also, on the other end of things, the Giants missed out on shoring up their outfield by letting Cody Ross sign in Boston for only $3 million in 2012. First off, obviously, wanted to talk a bit about Lincecum. I've already said here that I didn't expect him to sign a long-term deal that takes him through free agency, but it doesn't mean he wants to leave San Francisco like everyone is suspecting. I mean, if I were Lincecum, I'd probably do the same thing, even if I planned on eventually signing with the Giants long-term. Why take a chance at mitigating your value to just sign a deal? Granted, a 5 year, $100 million deal isn't anything to sneeze at, in this market, if he were a free agent, Lincecum could probably easily command a 8 year, $200 million deal. If he could get
119 comments
Read more