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For the second time in three years, the San Francisco Giants will enter spring training with the feeling of being World Series champions. 

However, there are still some questions that need to be answered and some concerns about the defending champions.

Tim Lincecum and Hunter Pence were among the players who struggled last year, and while they both stepped up in the playoffs to help the Giants win the World Series, both have a lot to prove in 2013. While the Giants didn’t make any major offseason moves, they gave out a lot of minor-league deals.

What does that mean? Every player who received one of those miniature contracts has a lot to prove in spring training.

Here are four battles within the team to watch for in 2013.

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The San Francisco Giants‘ offseason tour down memory lane continued on Tuesday when the team reportedly re-acquired free agent reliever Ramon Ramirez on a minor league contract (h/t Andrew Baggarly).

Ramirez was a key contributor on the 2010 Giants team that brought the organization its first championship since moving west to San Francisco in 1958. General manager Brian Sabean swung a deal for Ramirez at the deadline that year, and he delivered with a 0.67 ERA over the final two months of the season.

In 2011, he remained an outstanding contributor as part of manager Bruce Bochy’s setup corpse. He put a 2.62 ERA with 66 strikeouts over 68.2 innings that year. Sabean then dealt Ramirez and Andres Torres to the Mets for Angel Pagan last winter in a deal that helped propel the Giants to a second World Series title in three years.

This offseason Sabean has brought back all three of the pieces in that trade by re-signing Pagan, Torres and now Ramirez. Given Pagan’s success last season and the struggles of Ramirez and Torres with the Mets, it’s safe to declare that trade a total victory for Sabean—especially now that he has all three components of the deal back under his employ.

Ramirez had a tough go of it in his lone season with the Mets last year—putting up a 4.24 ERA while also going on the disabled list due to a hamstring injury suffered during the celebration of Johan Santana’s no-hitter.

Sabean has spent the offseason bringing back free agents who contributed to past championship teams. In addition to bringing back Pagan, Torres and Ramirez, he re-signed Marco Scutaro and Jeremy Affeldt—who was with the Giants for both title runs.

Unlike Pagan, Torres, Scutaro and Affeldt—who all have guaranteed big league deals—Ramirez is going to have to battle to make the team out of spring training. He’ll likely compete with waiver claim Sandy Rosario and minor league free agents Chad Gaudin and Scott Proctor for the final spot in the bullpen.

The Giants could conceivably decide to re-sign another blast from the past in free agent reliever Brian Wilson. However, he likely won’t be ready for opening day given that he’s recovering from a second Tommy John surgery. Thus, even if Wilson does come back, Ramirez will have a solid chance to reclaim his former spot with the Giants. Also, the latest reports on Wilson indicated that he likely wouldn’t be returning to San Francisco.

Ramirez has a solid 3.32 career ERA and a 3.67 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching). He throws a fastball in the low 90s, a sharp slider and a change-up.

The biggest difference between his success with the Giants in 2010-2011 and his struggles with the Mets last year was his results against left-handed hitters. He held lefties to a .161/.231/.250 batting line with the Giants in 2010 and they hit just .250/.346/.265 off of him in 2011.  Last year lefties blasted him, slashing .273/.380/.409 over 111 at-bats.

The Giants’ nostalgic offseason of re-signing players who contributed to past glories continued with the signing of Ramirez, who should have an excellent chance of making the team this spring if he can get back to his old ways against lefties.

Time will tell if the Giants cap off the winter by bringing back their former bearded closer.

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The Boston Red Sox have acquired minor league pitcher and 2007 8th-round draft pick Daniel Turpen from San Francisco to complete a trade deadline deal that sent reliever Ramon Ramirez to the Giants, according to WEEI’s Rob Bradford.

The 6-3, 230-pound Turpen turns twenty-four this August and has posted a 2.69 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP in over 220 composite minor-league innings. While Turpen has naturally been most dominant at the Single-A level, his 2010 numbers at Double-A Richmond haven’t been quite as impressive.

This year, Turpen has put up a 4.09 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP for the Flying Squirrels. Although his H/9 ratio is an unfortunate 9.8, the former Oregon State righty has a 7.5 K/9 ratio and a 0.7 HR/9 ratio this year.

For breaking-news Red Sox updates, follow Peter on Twitter at  BoSoxUpdate.

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The Boston Red Sox have traded struggling righty reliever Ramon Ramirez to the San Francisco Giants at the 2010 MLB trade deadline.

While Ramirez has been less than effective in the American League this season, the Red Sox have been actively shopping him to National League clubs with whom he might experience a resurgence, including the New York Mets.

A Rule-5 pick from the Kansas City Royals, Ramirez has put up relatively horrible numbers this season after experiencing a dominant 2009 in Boston. A year ago, Ramirez posted a 2.84 ERA and a 6.72 K/9 ratio. While Ramirez continues to fan batters at a similar rate, he has produced an inflated 4.46 ERA in 2010.

The details of the deal remain unknown, but it is unlikely the Red Sox acquired a Major League player in the trade.

For breaking-news Red Sox updates, follow Peter on Twitter at  BoSoxUpdate.

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Milwaukee Brewer Trevor Hoffman isn’t available at this year’s trade deadline, but that didn’t stop Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein from asking after the closer he first met while working for the San Diego Padres, according to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal.

Not remotely effective this season, Hoffman owns a 6.82 ERA over 33 innings and joins a nearly all-inclusive group of relievers that the Red Sox are pursuing in the final days leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline this Saturday.

Today, the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo reviewed all the relievers the Red Sox have reportedly sought over the past month. The list includes Matt Capps, Scott Downs, Kyle Farnsworth, Mike Gonzalez, Sean Marshall, Will Ohman, Rafael Perez, Kerry Wood, Michael Wuertz, and former Red Sox David Aardsma and Craig Breslow.

True to his word, Epstein has been scouring rosters for available bullpen help. Despite injuries to outfielders, catchers, infielders and starters alike, the Red Sox might would be closer than seven games back in the American League East if they had an effective bullpen.

The 2010 Red Sox pen’s weaker components have blown 14 saves and allowed a Major League-worst 43 homers en route to a 4.42 ERA. This is frighteningly close to the Orioles’ 4.47 mark. Journeyman Scott Atchison (4.05 ERA), trade-candidate Ramon Ramirez (4.57 ERA), flame-thrower Manny Delcarmen (4.86 ERA), and southpaw Hideki Okajima (5.81 ERA) are the primary underperformers.

The Red Sox must make at least one move for a reliever before the deadline if they are to compete through August and into September. The next 48 hours could decide Boston’s 2010 fate.

If you’d like to kno w as soon as Peter’s Red Sox articles have posted, you can follow him on Twitter at BoSoxUpdate.

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The Boston Red Sox tendered a trade offer to the New York Mets that would have sent Boston reliever Ramon Ramirez to the Big Apple in exchange for veteran catcher Rod Barajas. The deal, however, was at least temporarily tabled when Barajas landed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left oblique, according to FOX’s Ken Rosenthal and WEEI’s Alex Speier.

While the deal may not be entirely dead, the Red Sox aren’t likely to pursue another injured catcher with Jason Varitek nursing a broken foot and Victor Martinez having just returned from the disabled list.

As Ben Nicholson-Smith of MLB Trade Rumors points out, the Red Sox are clearly seeking Major League catching depth beyond the services of Kevin Cash and Dusty Brown, and the attempt to deal Ramirez certainly emphasizes Boston’s lack of confidence in the formerly dominant righty.

Perhaps all’s well that ends well, since this deal would certainly represent no more than a swap of under-performing talent.

Barajas has hit just .228 with 12 homeruns for New York this year, and Ramirez has seemed a shadow of his old self posting a 4.69 ERA in his second year with Boston.

If you’d like to know as soon as Peter’s Red Sox articles have posted, you can follow him on Twitter at BoSoxUpdate.

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