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The San Francisco Giants‘ biggest offseason addition might turn out to be a guy who was there all along.

No, not Matt Cain, though if the right-hander can return to ace-level status after surgeries on his elbow and ankle it’d go a long way toward solidifying San Francisco’s rotation.

Today, though, we’re talking Angel Pagan—center fielder, leadoff hitter and, for the final lap of the Giants’ most recent title run, forgotten man.

Pagan has been a consistent producer since arriving in San Francisco, with the obligatory “when he’s healthy” caveat.

The speedy switch-hitter enjoyed his best season by the bay in 2012, when he posted a .288/.338/.440 slash line with 29 stolen bases and an MLB-leading 15 triples—and got a ring for his troubles.

In 2013, Pagan missed 84 games to injury, and the Giants were, quite literally, a different team without him. With Pagan on the active roster that season, San Francisco went 44-34. Without him, it went 32-54.

Last season, Pagan played in 96 games while battling back problems but was finally forced by pain and medical advice to throw in the towel.

Pagan had surgery on Sept. 25 to repair a herniated disc and wound up watching the Giants’ dramatic Game 7 World Series win from his couch in Puerto Rico, per Carl Steward of the San Jose Mercury News. 

“I wish I had a video of myself,” Pagan said, per Steward. “I was going crazy.”

The Giants will jump for joy if Pagan can turn in a full season of productivity. The orange and black managed to hoist a Commissioner’s Trophy without him, but the road back will be much easier with their saluting center fielder in the lineup.

So far, so good. Here’s more from Steward:

Pagan said he feels ‘like never before’ and confirmed manager Bruce Bochy’s communique earlier this week that the outfielder hopes to play 160 games this year after two straight injury plagued seasons that limited to 167 total games.

‘Why not? I’d like to play them all,’ Pagan said before the Giants had their first full-squad workout on Tuesday. 

If that sounds suspiciously like a snip from yet another “best shape of his life” spring training puff piece…well, your skepticism isn’t entirely unwarranted.

Pagan will turn 34 in July. He’s failed to ascend the 100-game plateau two years running due to a faulty hamstring and balky back. And he goes hard—diving, crashing into walls, sprinting for the extra base.

“I just know how to play one speed,” he told Steward, “and that’s the way I will keep playing.”

It’s what makes him such a spark plug, but it could also be his undoing. Yes, he’s saying the right things as the Cactus League kicks off; will his body hold up for a 162-game slog?

Those are legitimate questions, and only time and the Giants training staff will tell. For now, though, if we take a swig of the spring-flavored Kool-Aid, it’s possible to imagine Pagan as the impact free agent San Francisco didn’t sign.

Yes, the defending champs inked outfielder Nori Aoki to a one-year pact and acquired third baseman Casey McGehee from the Miami Marlins. 

But those aren’t the sexy, splashy names fans still drunk on confetti and championship champagne were hoping for, especially after the departure of Pablo Sandoval, the beloved Kung Fu Panda.

Quite simply, a fully functional Pagan would ease the sting of an uneventful offseason.

More practically, having Pagan strengthens the Giants’ bench by allowing Gregor Blanco (or Aoki) to slide into a fourth outfielder role. Add ball-of-energy right fielder Hunter Pence, and suddenly San Francisco has one of the more dynamic outfields in the National League.

Again, until we see Pagan go full throttle in game action, all of this is hypothetical. But for now, at least, there’s reason for hope—an Angel in the outfield. 

All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

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San Francisco Giants pitcher and living American myth Madison Bumgarner continued adding to the tall tale that is his life by channeling Paul Bunyan for a photo shoot at spring training Monday.

The Giants tweeted an image of Bumgarner dressed up lumberjack style and standing next to an ox. According to the tweet, the shoot was for the Giants’ first issue of G-Mag for the 2015 season. I presume photographers asked him wear “whatever feels comfy.”

That is a large man standing next to a monstrous animal. I’m not sure what breed of ox this is, but if you look closely, Bumgarner’s face appears to be asking, “May I keep the beast?” I hope he hitches it up and rides it through town whistling the tune to “Big Rock Candy Mountain.”

The best part is, this isn’t even close to the coolest thing MadBum has done involving wildlife.

Dan is on Twitter. He is unashamedly Googling ox breeds.

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The San Francisco Giants are basking in the glow of their third world championship in five years. In today’s era of free agency and player movement, this is indeed a dynasty.

However, the Giants did not make a major splash in the free-agent market this winter, and one must wonder if general manager Brian Sabean has done enough to keep the Giants in contention in 2015.

Somehow, the acquisitions of Casey McGehee and Nori Aoki do not carry the same flair as the San Diego Padres getting Matt Kemp, James Shields, Justin Upton, Wil Myers and Derek Norris.

Nor do the Giants’ acquisitions measure up with the Los Angeles Dodgers picking up Jimmy Rollins, Howie Kendrick, Yasmani Grandal, Brett Anderson and Brandon McCarthy.

Nevertheless, Sabean deserves the benefit of the doubt based on his proven track record. However, it is tough to see the Dodgers and Padres acquiring a ton of new talent and the Giants not.

The Giants lost Pablo Sandoval and Michael Morse to free agency. They also missed out on some of the other key players they were after. The two biggest players the Giants could not sign were Jon Lester and Yasmany Tomas.

According to John Shea of SFGate.com, Lester had the Giants on his short list of teams that he was considering. Ultimately, Lester signed with the Chicago Cubs on a six-year, $155 million deal. 

In 2014, Lester split the season between the Boston Red Sox and the Oakland A’s. In 219.2 total innings, he allowed only 194 hits and 48 walks while striking out 220. Lester fashioned an ERA of 2.46 and a WHIP of 1.102. At the age of 31, Lester looks like he still has a lot of mileage left.

Although these kinds of long-term deals for pitchers often do not work out, one can only imagine if the Giants could’ve paired Lester with Madison Bumgarner. That would’ve made up a formidable one-two punch on par with any pair in baseball.

The second player who would have looked great in a Giants uniform is Yasmany Tomas. The Cuban national signed a six-year, $68.5 million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks, although he can opt out after four years.

On FoxSports.com, Jeff Sullivan provides a detailed scouting report on Tomas.

Tomas will probably have some growing pains as he adjusts to the major leagues. Even fellow Cuban and Dodgers’ star outfielder Yasiel Puig has had his ups and downs making the adjustment.

The overall talent and athleticism that Tomas possesses makes him an excellent bet for stardom. In addition, his contract is relatively inexpensive, and Tomas will be a bargain if he indeed becomes a star player.

Had the Giants been able to land Tomas, he would likely have been their left fielder for years to come.

Although the Giants missed on both Lester and Tomas, the team is still strong, and it has the wherewithal to add pieces prior to the trade deadline, if necessary. The outlook is positive, and if the Giants can stay healthy, they will be in the thick of the playoff race again.

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While the San Francisco Giants’ system is top-heavy with pitching prospects, many of the organization’s top young arms profile as either back-end-starter types or guys who might not throw enough strikes to even stick in the rotation.

Right-hander Kyle Crick, 22, might have the highest ceiling in the system, but both his control and command were a mess last season in the Eastern League. Clayton Blackburn, another right-hander, has the highest probability to reach his projected ceiling in the big leagues, as he has good command of a four-pitch mix to go along with a feel for sequencing. 

Ty Blach, 23, is basically a left-handed version of Blackburn, as he lacks overpowering stuff but features advanced command of three pitches. And don’t sleep on hard-throwing right-hander Keury Mella, who’s right there with Crick in the conversation for most upside.

The Giants went after Vanderbilt righty Tyler Beede in the first round (No. 14 overall) of the draft, and, unfortunately, his lack of control/command puts him in the same boat as Crick. However, based on what Crick hasn’t accomplished over the past two seasons, I’d give Beede better odds of reaching his potential.

As for the Giants’ notable position prospects—well, there aren’t many. Catcher Andrew Susac will likely serve as Buster Posey’s backup again in 2015 after thriving in the role late last season, while middle infielder Christian Arroyo, the team’s first-round pick in 2013, is a natural hitter with good bat speed, but he’s still several years away from the major leagues.

Here are the San Francisco Giants’ top 10 prospects for 2015.

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Ryan Vogelsong‘s performance regressed in his past two years with the San Francisco Giants, but that didn’t stop the reigning World Series champions from bringing the veteran starting pitcher back on a one-year deal.

Alex Pavlovic of the San Jose Mercury News reported the deal is official:

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports first confirmed the news Friday, Jan. 23, after the initial reports from the San Francisco Chronicle‘s Henry Schulman:

Schulman also added financial details:

Vogelsong, 37, will likely see his velocity decrease as the end of his career approaches, but he relies heavily on getting movement on his fastball. That should still allow him to remain effective as a back-end contributor to San Francisco’s staff.

A rocky 2013 campaign saw Vogelsong post a 5.73 ERA and go 4-6 after he’d won 27 games in the prior two seasons combined. Last season saw Vogelsong improve his WAR from minus-2.0 to 1.2, per ESPN.com, though he posted a meager 8-13 record.

San Francisco gets a seasoned veteran who also happens to have an outstanding postseason run on his resume. In the 2012 playoffs, Vogelsong went 3-0 with a stupendous 1.09 ERA, proving he could get the job done in the biggest moments.

While the Fall Classic may not be a realistic possibility for the Giants at the moment, it is the eventual goal and one that Vogelsong can help eventually achieve as a mentor for now to establish more of a winning culture.

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The San Francisco Giants have won three world championships in the past five seasons, and the cornerstone of their success has been strong pitching.

Whether it is the starting rotation or the bullpen, general manager Brian Sabean has consistently built a solid pitching staff. Manager Bruce Bochy and pitching coach Dave Righetti know how to get the most out of their pitchers.

Looking ahead to the 2015 season, once again, pitching will be essential to the Giants’ success. 

James Shields and Max Scherzer are the last two remaining front-of-the-rotation starters on the free-agent market. 

A couple of weeks ago, The Boston Globe‘s Nick Cafardo (h/t Bryan Rose of FanSided.com) reported about the Giants’ interest in Shields. However, after the signing of Jake Peavy, it’s a long shot that the Giants will sign Shields. In addition, they would lose their top pick, 19th overall, in the upcoming amateur draft.

When it comes to the Giants, the case of Scherzer is much clearer. Sabean has been clear that the Giants have no interest, as reported by Alex Pavlovic of the San Jose Mercury News (h/t Rose).

According to Jon Morosi of Fox Sports (h/t Bryan Kilpatrick of SB Nation), Scherzer is seeking a huge deal that would be on par with the megadeal the Dodgers gave to Clayton Kershaw. This past January, Kershaw signed a seven-year, $215 million deal.

Scherzer’s agent is Scott Boras, who is notorious for trying to squeeze the last dollar out of teams. Based on comments he made to then-Mercury News reporter Andrew Baggarly and repeated during a televised interview in December 2009, Sabean seems to dislike working with Boras and coupled with the huge price tag, it’s easy to understand why the Giants will not enter into the fray.

The Giants have also been rumored to be interested in acquiring Cole Hamels via trade from the Phillies, as Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reported on Twitter.

In order to acquire Hamels, the Giants would have to give up several of their top prospects and young players. Players like Kyle Crick, Joe Panik and Andrew Susac might all have to be included in a deal of this magnitude, and even that may not be enough.

With Sabean also looking for help in the outfield, the odds are long on the Giants making a trade for Hamels. 

Look for the Giants to head into the 2015 season with the pitchers on the roster. If they need to make some additions to their pitching staff, Sabean will likely try to do something by the July trade deadline.

Let’s take a closer look at how the pitching staff is likely to look when the Giants open the season.

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The 2014 Major League Baseball season has been over for two months, but San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner is still reaping the rewards for his postseason heroics. On Tuesday, he was named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year.     

Per a release from Janie McCauley of The Associated Press, Bumgarner captured the honor ahead of two MLB players and the world’s best golfer:

Bumgarner finished first in a vote by U.S. editors and news directors. He beat out Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw—who won the National League Cy Young and MVP but lost to Bumgarner’s Giants in the playoffs. Retiring New York Yankees star Derek Jeter and golfer Rory McIlroy tied for third place.

Even though baseball is a team sport, Bumgarner was the single biggest difference-maker in the playoffs. The 25-year-old appeared in seven games, including a five-inning relief stint in Game 7 of the World Series against the Kansas City Royals on just two days of rest, throwing 52.2 innings with 45 strikeouts and six earned runs allowed, via Baseball-Reference.com. 

Bumgarner was also named the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year earlier this month. He told SI‘s Tom Verducci in a profile that a strong bout of homesickness after he was drafted in 2007 almost forced him out of baseball:

I was out of high school and had just turned 18 years old. I had been away from home a couple of times, but never more than a couple of days at a time, and I always had someone with me—family or friends, someone. I was out there by myself. I had no idea what to expect. Honestly, I contemplated just going home and choosing not to have this lifestyle because it was so different from what I was used to.

Even though Kansas City fans may not agree based on what happened in the World Series, there’s little doubt that Bumgarner made the right choice. All of these accolades, in addition to what happened on the field, show just how revered the young left-hander’s 2014 season was.  

Now, the only question is what Bumgarner does for an encore. Considering how much better he seems to be getting, there may not be a ceiling for him in 2015. 

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The San Francisco Giants have won three World Series titles in the past five years. Manager Bruce Bochy guided his team through several peaks and valleys in 2014.

His calm demeanor was a soothing influence when the Giants struggled in the middle of the season. Bochy then pushed all the right buttons, and the Giants produced, enabling them to win it all.

The Giants held a parade throughout the streets of San Francisco. Dignitaries, players and management all spoke, and they lauded both the team and the fans of San Francisco. It was a good time had by all.

The business of baseball has now taken center stage, and the Giants are retooling their roster in the hopes of defending their world championship.

General manager Brian Sabean has not landed any of the high-priced, marquee names on the market. Instead, he and the Giants resigned some of their own free agents, like Sergio Romo and Jake Peavy.

In addition, the Giants made a small but significant trade with the Miami Marlins. They acquired third baseman Casey McGehee in exchange for two minor league pitchers.

We could still see one or two more moves from Sabean, but don’t count on it. The roster is fairly set, and although the Giants would like to add another top quality starting pitcher and a left fielder, getting those players is definitely not a sure thing.

Let’s take a look at the lineup as it stands now. 

All stats are courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

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Plenty involved, plenty underwhelming.

That has been the synopsis of the San Francisco Giants’ post-World Series offseason to this point. The team has been heavy in the rumor mill and has handed out lucrative offers to the likes of Pablo Sandoval and Jon Lester only to see them rejected.

The failed attempts have left the franchise without a blockbuster acquisition as Christmas approaches while three other teams in their division—the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks—have made significant moves to make themselves better now and in the future, and none seem to be content with where they stand.

The Giants responded by throwing a couple of pebbles into the Pacific Ocean on Friday afternoon, trading for 32-year-old third baseman Casey McGehee, per Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, to replace the departed Sandoval and re-signing starter Jake Peavy. They are small moves and do not necessarily make the Giants a better team or the favorite to win the National League West.

As Grant Brisbee of McCovey Chronicles wrote about the trade:

“…McGehee will probably not hit poorly enough to get released.”

The Peavy signing is logical. He performed well once moving to the National League last year after a disastrous first 20 starts with the Boston Red Sox. Peavy ended the regular season with a 2.17 ERA with the Giants, and considering their needs in the rotation, he is a nice fit at two years and $24 million. Even if he will be 34 in May.

McGehee was the NL’s Comeback Player of the Year after hitting .287/.355/.357 with a .712 OPS. He hit 29 doubles but only four home runs, while hitting into a league-leading 31 double plays. Overall, he was an average hitter (99 OPS-plus) with slightly below-average defense at third base a year after playing in Japan.

That makes McGehee a downgrade for the Giants. When compared to Sandoval, McGehee is a weaker defender with less power and a higher propensity to strike out but a higher on-base percentage.

McGehee had breakout seasons in 2009 and 2010 with the Milwaukee Brewers, hitting 39 home runs and driving in 170 to go with an .823 OPS.

At that time, he was a wonderful complement to Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Rickie Weeks and Corey Hart. In his two major league seasons after that, McGehee was so bad offensively that the New York Yankees eventually sent him to Class A for a short time before he made his way to Japan for the 2013 season.

What can be scary is that so much of McGehee’s offensive value is tied to his batting average, which was 18th-best in the league. As Brisbee also notes, any regression in that category, added to his inabilities to hit the ball out of the park and stay out of double plays, significantly hinders his overall value.

ZiPS projects Giants fans won’t spend a ton of time hating this deal, though (via ESPN’s Dan Szymborski):

McGehee ZiPS in SF – 258/322/357, 96 OPS+, 1.7 WAR. It’s a suitable fill-in, not some kind of major disaster.

— Dan Szymborski (@DSzymborski) December 19, 2014

There is another side to this McGehee trade that could make it a fantastic move by the time April rolls around. He is projected to earn about $3.5 million next season, per Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors, which is somewhere around $15.5 million less than what the Giants would have paid Sandoval in 2015 had he re-upped. That leaves the door wide open for the Giants to add a front-line starting pitcher.

With questions surrounding Matt Cain after his elbow surgery, Jake Peavy’s effectiveness at age 34 and how Madison Bumgarner will bounce back from pitching 270 innings last season—his highest total ever by more than 45 innings—the Giants could certainly stand to keep playing in the free-agent market.

If we assume the Giants are not willing to go beyond the $150 million or so they offered Lester, that fact takes them out of play for Max Scherzer but leaves them major players for James Shields.

While older and with more innings on his arm than Scherzer or Lester, Shields is not likely to cost nearly as much as either and is an effective innings-eater. Shields could also benefit from the National League lineups and the big, pitcher-friendly NL West ballparks, although they aren’t much different than the ones in the American League Central.

Since the Giants don’t have the personnel resources to make a trade for guys such as Cole Hamels or Johnny Cueto, Shields makes the most sense. Plus, he also is affordable enough that the Giants can still find a left fielder, although that well is drying up quickly.

The spare cash could also land the Giants Cuban pitching prospect Yoan Lopez. Lopez is 21 with a high-90s fastball and plenty of upside. The team’s interest makes sense since the Giants were also in on Cuban defectors Jose Abreu, Rusney Castillo and Yasmany Tomas.

Whatever the Giants decide to do, they have options that are not necessarily limited by a lack of funds. The money is there, and this McGehee trade is partly the reason. If the journeyman third baseman can help the club add a big-ticket pitcher, this trade will be a win.

If the Giants cannot land another impact starting pitcher, the McGehee trade will not only be a downgrade at third base, it could also anger a fanbase that has sold out AT&T Park for the last four years.

Here’s to Giants fans hoping general manager Brian Sabean hasn’t finished maneuvering.

Anthony Witrado covers Major League Baseball for Bleacher Report. He spent the previous three seasons as the national baseball columnist at Sporting News, and four years before that as the Brewers beat writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

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Since the day AT&T Park was officially open for business, the San Francisco Giants have been an attractive destination for pitchers because the stadium plays as one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in all of baseball.

That undoubtedly played at least a part in right-hander Jake Peavy deciding to re-sign with the team this offseason, as he reached an agreement early Friday morning, per Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com.

The new contract is for two years and $24 million with a full no-trade clause, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN. He will earn $7 million in 2015 and $10 million in 2016 and receive a $4 million signing bonus.

That is right in line with the two-year, $23 million deal Tim Hudson signed with the team last season, and Peavy will now join Hudson and ace Madison Bumgarner atop a Giants rotation that still has some questions to answer at the back end.

Matt Cain is returning from offseason elbow surgery, Tim Lincecum has been far from reliable the past few seasons and Yusmeiro Petit has never been a member of the starting rotation for a full season.

Based on his performance after being traded to San Francisco from Boston in July, the decision to re-sign Peavy was an easy one for the Giants, as he proved to be as good of a pickup as higher-profile trade chips David Price and Jon Lester, if not better. 

The big difference there is, while Price and Lester are fully expected to put up similar numbers over an entire season in 2015, asking Peavy to duplicate that performance would be wishful thinking at best.

At this point in his career, the 33-year-old is simply not the same dominant pitcher he was during his prime with the San Diego Padres, but he still has his moments.

At the same time, it’s probably fair to say that he’s a better pitcher than the guy who went 1-9 with a 4.72 ERA (4.80 FIP) in 20 starts with the Red Sox prior to being traded last year.

That’s where the AT&T Park part of all of this comes into play.

Sure, there were other reasons for Peavy to re-sign with the Giants, chief among them a chance to continue playing for manager Bruce Bochy.

“Bochy is like a father figure to me too,” Peavy told Darren Hartwell of NESN.com following last year’s trade. “Bochy had me at 20 years old; now 13 years later at 33, here we go again. I hope we have a lot of the same mojo that we had together in San Diego.”

At the end of the day, though, an extreme fly-ball pitcher like Peavy was never in the best position to succeed pitching in U.S. Cellular Field or Fenway Park.

For those of you not familiar with Park Factors, essentially a 1.000 rating means that a park is league-average in that area. Anything above 1.000 favors hitters, while anything below favors pitchers.

It’s also worth nothing that the Fenway Park home run rating was a bit skewed this past season by an anemic Red Sox offense. The 0.845 mark in 2013 and 1.088 mark in 2012 are more indicative of how that ballpark actually plays.

So just how extreme of a fly-ball pitcher is Peavy? Glad you asked.

The average home run-to-fly ball rate generally hovers right around 10 percent, and that’s the area where Peavy is in for perhaps the most regression this coming season.

His 10.6 percent HR/FB rate during his 20 starts with the Red Sox was right around where you would expect it to be, but his 2.4 percent HR/FB mark during his time with the Giants simply is not sustainable.

That being said, if Peavy is going to continue to succeed through that regression, AT&T Park gives him the best chance to do it.

In 20 career starts there, Peavy has gone 11-7 with a 3.21 ERA and a 1.230 WHIP and has allowed just eight home runs in 126 innings of work.

For the record, AT&T Park has ranked 30th, 28th, 30th and 30th in home run rate the past four seasons, according to ESPN Park Factors.

A fierce competitor and a terrific clubhouse presence, Peavy is a ballplayer in every sense of the word and a good fit for a Giants team that always seems to play with a chip on its shoulder.

Chances are he won’t come close to matching the numbers he put up post-trade in 2014, but there is no reason to think he can’t win double-digit games with an ERA well under 4.00, and AT&T Park should help him do just that.

All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference, unless otherwise noted.

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