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Phillies Grab Feliz

The Giants and Pedro Feliz have officially seperated after the 3rd basemen signed a 2 year, 8.5 million dollar deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. Obviously, if you've read my posts over the last 3 months, you know how satisfied I am that the Giants will finally have someone other than Pedro Feliz manning 3rd base for them in 2008. With that said, and through all his struggles with the bat (career .288 OBP), Feliz still did some good things for the San Francisco Giants. He played very solid defense at a position that isn't easy, and I still think he has one of the best arms of any 3rd basemen in baseball. However, his bat is one that is better suited for a balanced lineup, one in which he could hit 7th or 8th and isn't counted on being a high average or on-base percentage guy. With the 2008 Giants who are rebuilding and could use 3rd base as a spot to put a young, power hitter, he made absolutely no sense, and I'm glad Sabean realized it. With the Phills, who have Jimmy Rolens, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Geoff Jenkins and Patt Burrell to fill out their lineup, Feliz can sit nicely at the bottom of the order hack away. He should go onto have a decent year with the Phillies and will be more productive and better defensively than what they had there last season. Not a horrible move for Philly, but I'm still surprised Feliz got a multi-year deal from anyone.

Now the question is, who replaces Feliz? I still think the Giants will go outside of the organization to fill the hole. As much as I like Kevin Frandsen and wouldn't mind getting him at-bats at 3rd base, his future is at 2nd and thats where he could be as early as the second half of 2008. The other option, Rich Aurilia, cannot be counted on being anything more than a part time player at this point in his career. He also has the least range of any Giant infielder on their roster. There have been some rumblings about Joe Crede possibly rejoining his buddy Aaron Rowand in SF, but if that is going to happen the Giants are going to wait and see how Crede's back responds this spring before making any kind of deal. It could explain why Sabean hasn't signed anyone to play 3rd yet. Crede is going to be a free agent after the year, so the Giants should not need to part with too much in order to obtain him. The White Sox need a leadoff hitter and the Giants have a few guys who could do that ( Dave Roberts). If a Crede trade is made, the Giants shouldn't have to include any prominent pitching. If the White Sox are demanding an arm like Lowry, Sanchez or Corriea, I'd just as soon see the Giants sign Dallas McPherson or Morgan Ensberg who are both looking for a home 2 weeks prior to spring reporting dates.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Wes Helms?
Trevor Cole said…
As many holes as there are in Feliz's game, I'd still rather have him than Helms. Plus I don't think they gave Feliz a 2 year deal to sit him behind Helms.
Anonymous said…
feliz is the starter at 3rd...I listened to Charlie Manuel talk about it...his suggestion (and for all his faults, Cholly knows hitting) was that Feliz was asked to do a lot in San Fran, and the phils won't ask him to do much beyond hitting 6 or lower...

As far as Helms, my point was that the Phils are probably going to trade him and San Fran is listed as a potential landing spot...

Feliz got a 2 yr deal + a team option....8.5 for the first 2 and potential 15 total for 3 years...
Anonymous said…
If Boston hadn't raised their offer in the last ten minutes of negotiation with Mike Lowell, the Phillies wouldn't have had to fall back to this
Anonymous said…
Pedro Feliz actually did better than I thought last year. You can be sure that he'll hit 20 homers and 80 RBIs this season, especially since he's in Philadelphia. He batted .310 last season with RISP. With 2 outs and RISP, he was .324. I know, he isn't that great in the 8th and 9th innings, but hey... he can still produce some runs.
Anonymous said…
average hitter + Citizen's Bank Park = very good hitter
Anonymous said…
He's awful. Don't let the #s fool you -- he's a mistake hitter with terrible strike zone judgment. When he makes contact, he can hit it a mile, but he doesn't make contact often enough to outweigh all the walks he forgoes. What's worse is that CBBP won't help him, because it will make his moonshot homers into ridiculously moonshotty homers, and may convert a few long drives into homers, but that's it.
Anonymous said…
Ensberg signs with Yankees, McPherson deal with Marlins.
Anonymous said…
There was word earlier in the offseason that the Tigers might trade Brandon Inge to SF
Anonymous said…
His long fly balls will be helped... plus he is not a horrible defender... he will still struggle, but will probably be the best #7 hitter in the National League this year
Anonymous said…
What makes me curious is that offense is obviously not the problem in Philly... it's pitching... so why are they not doing more to fill that hole... I know there isn't much, but a a guy who can rack up some innings is still on the market and would be a really good sign
Anonymous said…
the move was mostly for defense...feliz means manuel doesn't have to sub in nunez every 7th inning...
Trevor Cole said…
Yeah, $425,000 for McPherson is definitely a bargain for Florida. Seems like the Giants missed out. He could have been an option at both 1st and 3rd for almost the minimum. Wouldn't surprise me at all if he goes on to hit 20+ home runs this year if healthy. He's got that kid of bat.
Anonymous said…
Baseball is just a few weeks away from starting. I can't wait until spring training begins and they start tossing the baseball around. Great Blog! If you want a link exchange to my baseball page (check link above), simply email me at markgerardcat@aol.com.
Who We Are said…
What's your take on Frandzen?
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said…
Ahh yes, I can just picture "Pete Happy" right now wearing a big ol' grin, and thinking to himself… “Well how do ya like me now Giants fans? Scoreboard!Bling!”

Just fine Pedro, just fine...
Thank you for sharing :-)

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