The Giants Baseball Blog

Last spring, while the Giants were searching for 3rd basemen and before they landed Jose Castillo, there was strong speculation that Joe Crede would get traded to the Giants at some point. It never transpired and Crede went on to have a big first half before getting hurt and missing most of the second half of the '08 season. Now, roughly nine months later, Crede is a free agent and could probably be had on the cheap as he's trying to prove that his back injuries are a thing of the past. Due to the thin market at third base, and that being one of the Giants biggest holes, I actually would take a long look at Crede . Again, he's coming off an injury (a back one at that), so he's not going to be able to command a multi-year deal and is likely going to have to settle for a mediocre base contract with incentives until he plays 140 games in a season. He is a Boras client, so negotiating won't be easy, but I don't see teams lining up to sign him so a 1 year deal is...

The Giants appear to have shifted all of their focus at this point to bringing a new shortstop aboard and it looks like it will be either Rafael Furcal or Edgar Renteria. Brian Sabean has apparently been exchanging contract proposals with Renteria's which I hope is not too serious. I have made clear the risks associated with Furcal here in previous posts, but even with those risks, I still think he is clearly a better option than Renteria at this point. Furcal is a few years younger, therefore will likely get another large contract if all goes well during this one, so he will have motivation to continue to be a top shortstop. Renteria is a decent player, but his game is a lot like Randy Winn's (minus the speed) and the Giants don't need another "Winn" type player on this team. Sure Renteria may hit .300, but his offense has been in decline and his defense is starting to slip a bit too. Furcal is an all-star caliber player when he's healthy and Renteria isn...

With rumors swirling around the league, and the Giants apparently in on everyone from the big names like C.C. Sabathia to relievers like Bob Howry , I figured now would be a good time to throw out a possible lineup projection for next year. Even with the recent reports that the Giants are serious on Sabathia , I would still give that about a %10 chance of transpiring. The Giants have greater needs than pitching and as good as Sabathia is, I would rather put that money into a guy like Mark Teixeira if they insist on spending. The Giants also have apparently stepped up their efforts in pursuing second basemen Orlando Hudson. Hudson is declining offensively and his defense slipped last year as well. I would rather sign Furcal who may bring more of a risk, but if healthy, would reap more reward. Here is a look at how I think the 2009 Giants could look heading into Spring Training in February: Jon Signings: Rafael Furcal (3 yr. - $40 million), Paul Byrd (1yr. - $3.5 million), Bob How...

The Giants made the first official signing of the MLB offseason which got underway Friday night. The team inked left-handed reliever Jeremy Affeldt to a 2-year deal, 8 million dollar deal on Monday. The 29 year-old went 1-1 with an impressive 3.33 era (1.77 away from Cincinnati) along with an impressive 80 strikeouts in 78 innings of work. Affeldt has really come into his own over the last 2 years, pitching his home games in 2 of the National Leagues toughest parks to pitch at (Colorado then Cincinnati), and is becoming one of the better left-handed set-up men in baseball. $4 million a year is a little steep for a reliever who isn't closing games but Affeldt has a rubber arm (former starter), is just entering his prime and in my opinion was the top lefty reliever available outside of only Brian Fuentes. The Giants also were in on Joe Beimel who has a combined 2.87 era over the last 3 seasons, but Affeldt is better at stranding runners than the former Dodger and can be used for more...

The kid certainly deserved it, and on Tuesday it became official. Tim Lincecum won the 2008 NL Cy Young award earlier today and won it in a landslide. He received 23 of the 32 first place votes and edged out Brandon Webb and Johan Santana to become the first Giant to win the award since Mike McCormick over 40 years ago in 1967. He had just received The Sporting News' NL Pitcher of the Year award as well as the NL's most outstanding pitcher award two weeks ago, so winning this award is no fluke. I had pushed for Lincecum to win this thing since August when he really separated himself from the rest of the pack. Lincecum's final line of the 2008 season looked like this: 227.1 IP, 18-5 record, 182 hits, 84 walks, 265 strikeouts, .221 BAA, 1.17 WHIP and a 2.62 era. Not bad at all for a kid who was pitching his first full big league season, what a way to start your career. Congratulations to Tim Lincecum as he made an otherwise boring season, watchable.

Free agents still cannot officially discuss business with potential new suitors for another week, but there is already plenty of speculation going on in the bay area about what the Giants will do once the floodgates open. We've seen Mark Teixeira and Adam Dunn's name already thrown out there. Here are a few notes over the past week that have gained some headlines on the Giants front: Giants showing interest in Rafael Furcal : I did mention Furcal here a while back towards the end of the season discussing him as the type of player Brian Sabean seems to covet in free agency (see Ray Durham, Edgardo Alfonzo, Dave Roberts ect .) as a player who can be dominant at times, but he's on the wrong side of 30 and injuries are starting to take their toll. Accroding to the Los Angeles Time, the Giants have already had discussions with Furcal's agent . Furcal would be a nice addition to any lineup and he's likely seeking a 3+ year contract worth 13 million dollars annually. W...

With the dead time between the end of the world series and the beginning of the off season among us, rumors of all kinds are starting to be thrown out. The Giants did make an actual move Monday, signing Travis Phelps to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. They also officially parted ways with Omar Vizquel as the the veteran shortstop filed for free agency and is not expected to resign with the team. The Vizquel move is not surprising as nobody expected him to be back with the club next year, now it should be interesting to see if he can find a starting job somewhere. The Phelps signing is a low-risk move that could end up giving the Giants a back-up first basemen, or just another player to be dumped during the spring. Phelps hasn't really done much since his early seasons in Toronto, but he just turned 30 years old so he is not completely washed up yet. The Giants already have Pablo Sandoval, Travis Ishikawa and Jon Bowker all ahead of Phelps on the depth cha...