The San Francisco Giants, for the first time in a long time, are going to make splashy moves in the offseason.
San Francisco already dished out lofty amounts of money to retain Hunter Pence and Tim Lincecum, but there is still more to do. Left field needs to be upgraded, the pitching staff needs to be filled out and the bench needs improvement.
What should the Giants do this offseason?
The San Francisco Giants finished the 2013 season with a disappointing record of 76-86, 16 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.
The work to rebuild the roster has already begun for the Giants and GM Brian Sabean.
First, the Giants signed outfielder Hunter Pence to a five-year, $90 million contract. Pence played in every game for the Giants and was their top overall offensive weapon this past season.
Pence led the Giants with 27 home runs, 99 RBI and 22 steals. He also hit .283, with an OBP of .339 and OPS of .822. Pence’s all-out hustle made him a fan favorite, and he made no secret about his desire to remain a Giant.
Following the Pence signing, Sabean locked in starting pitcher Tim Lincecum with a two-year deal for $35 million. Although the Giants may have overpaid Lincecum somewhat, the value he brings to the team is more than just on the field.
Lincecum finished his second consecutive down year, although 2013 was definitely an improvement over 2012, when he finished with an ERA of 5.18 and WHIP of 1.468.
This past season, Lincecum tossed 197.2 innings, allowing 184 hits and 76 walks, while striking out 193. He is learning how to get outs without the same velocity he had earlier in his career.
At the age of 29, Sabean and the Giants are counting on Lincecum having at least two more solid years in a Giants uniform.
With Pence and Lincecum in the fold, there are five critical areas that remain for the Giants. How the Giants address these needs will be a major factor in their success in 2014.
Let’s take a definitive look at the five remaining moves the Giants need to make to give them the best chance of recapturing the glory they found in their world championship seasons of 2010 and 2012.
All stats are courtesy of baseball-reference.com.
All contract information is courtesy of baseballprospectus.com.
Hunter Pence is locked in. Tim Lincecum will wear orange and black for the next two seasons.
The San Francisco Giants have successfully inked one corner outfielder and have retained another starting pitcher. However, there are still holes to fill in both areas: The team still needs a left fielder and another starting pitcher in order to compete for a playoff spot in 2014.
General manager Brian Sabean is known for his under-the-radar signings. It’s rare for the thrifty and fiercely loyal GM to go shopping for glitzy free agents in the offseason. Despite the Giants being one of the richest franchises in baseball, Sabean seldom throws his hat into the ring for these big-name signings.
And why not maintain this strategy? Sabean experienced more success signing second baseman Marco Scutaro in 2012 than he did penning pitcher Barry Zito to an exorbitant contract in 2007.
So which under-the-radar players could provide the necessary impact in areas of need for the San Francisco Giants in 2014?
One such player is catcher Brian McCann. Jon Heyman via CBSSports.com:
He has a career .823 OPS, so if the Giants become serious, they could have by some measures the two best hitting catchers in baseball. To this point, though, it remains curious where enough playing time could possibly come from since they have Brandon Belt at first base.
However, the Giants could move Belt to left field, helping to fill that hole in the corner outfield position, and give Buster Posey increased playing time at first base. Both are moves that, if the Giants are willing to make them, could give them a left-handed power hitter with McCann.
On the pitching front, the Giants could still use another starting pitcher to bolster their rotation. One of those options: Chad Gaudin, who stepped in for the Giants in 2013 and served his role well.
Such a move would be straight out of the Sabean playbook. Sabean has a pattern of loyalty to former contributors, such as Lincecum, Scutaro and center fielder Angel Pagan. Gaudin deserves consideration: In 2013, he posted a 3.06 ERA and proved flexible, pitching both out of the bullpen and as a starter over the course of the season.
Re-signing Gaudin would be anything but flashy. In fact, it would be the definition of under the radar.
There are more high-profile options and moves Sabean could and possibly should make. Lincecum’s two-year contract with the Giants made the price skyrocket on pitchers such as Ubaldo Jimenez of the Cleveland Indians.
Once Jimenez voids his option for 2014 (valued at $8 million), as expected, the Indians will almost certainly give him a one-year, $14.1-million qualifying offer for next season. Cleveland has interest in bringing the starter back on that kind of contract, but Lincecum’s deal, which includes $17 million in 2014, makes it clear that a better multi-year pact will likely be offered elsewhere.
Because the Giants signed Lincecum to such a generous contract, they have (unintentionally or not) lured pitchers such as Jimenez closer to the free-agent market.
Last year, Sabean rested on his laurels and made a number of under-the-radar moves that simply didn’t pan out. The Giants need to make a splash this offseason, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they need to make headlines with big moves for big-name players. Sabean needs to stay savvy and continue on the path that brought the organization two World Series titles in three years.
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The San Francisco Giants have overpaid once again. This time, Tim Lincecum is the benefactor of the Giants’ generosity.
The Giants signed Lincecum to a two-year, $35 million contract Tuesday, according to Alex Pavlovic of the San Jose Mercury News. It’s a move that is being questioned by ESPN’s Buster Olney:
For a player that has a 4.76 ERA over the last two years and only 28 quality starts out of 65, $17.5 million per year seems like too much, especially considering the qualifying offer would have been around $14 million.
Keeping that in mind, what made the Giants give that much to Lincecum? Was it the fact that they have a history of overpaying guys (see Marco Scutaro)? Was it the lack of depth on the free-agent market or do they genuinely believe he will regain the form of a Cy Young winner?
Let’s dig into this further.
Giants’ Generosity with Marco Scutaro
We could bring up Barry Zito’s seven-year, $126 million deal the Giants gave him in 2007, but that would be too easy. For that money, the Giants got 63 wins and a 4.62 ERA. And not once did he have an ERA below 4.00.
Jeremy Affeldt would be another easy target, considering he was given closer-type pay with a three-year, $18 million deal. This season, Affeldt was good for 39 appearances and a 3.74 ERA.
Instead, let’s look at Scutaro’s circumstances.
Scutaro was a playoff hero in 2012, batting .500 in the NLCS (earning MVP honors) and lining a single that broke a tie in the do-or-die Game 4 against the Tigers. He also excelled in 62 games with the Giants after being traded from the Rockies, batting .362 with three home runs and 44 RBI.
For that, the Giants rewarded him with a three-year, $20 million deal.
However, Scutaro was in the midst of his best statistical season, having never hit above .300 in his career before. He had shown bits of power with 23 home runs between 2009-10, but none of his stats jump off the page.
So, what did the Giants get in return for $6.67 million this year? A .297 average with two home runs and 31 RBI.
Instead, they could have signed someone like Ryan Raburn, who hit .272 with 16 home runs and 55 RBI, and was on a minor-league contract with the Indians. Granted, Rayburn had an injury-plagued 2012, but he historically had produced at the play (45 home runs, 156 RBI) between 2009-11.
Now, it’s hard to predict what a player will do in a given season, but isn’t that what a scouting department is for? Somebody had to think Scutaro might not have been the best option, despite having a career year in 2012.
Bad Free-Agent Pitching Market
Another argument could be that there isn’t much value on the free-agent pitching market. With only a few big names out there this offseason, did the Giants figure it there was no alternative but to go ahead and keep Lincecum?
Matt Garza is the only true ace-caliber pitcher on the market this offseason, although an argument can be made for Tim Hudson because he has averaged almost 14 wins a season over a 15-year career.
Here’s how Lincecum’s numbers compare to other top free-agent pitchers over the last three years:
When you look at those numbers, there’s nothing to get overly excited about. It’s not like last year, when Zack Greinke and Anibal Sanchez headlined the class.
Whether it’s the injuries over the last few years to Garza and Hudson, or Ricky Nolasco and Ervin Santana having never shown the ability to be consistent in back-to-back seasons, each pitcher has question marks.
Return to Cy Young Form
It’s also possible that the Giants believe Lincecum will return to his old Cy Young self, giving the team a real bargain with this contract.
Here’s what Lincecum has done year-by-year over the last six years:
With only Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and (possibly) Ryan Vogelsong ($6.5 million team option) guaranteed to come back in 2014, the Giants have some obvious needs in the starting-pitching department.
Maybe they’re hoping to catch lightning in a bottle. After all, it’s not like any other pitcher on the market is guaranteed to make a difference in 2014.
Verdict
So, did the Giants overpay? Absolutely.
They could have just made him a qualifying offer and dealt with him for one more year (if he signed the offer). If he performed well, then they could have worked out another deal covering 2015 and beyond. But there’s no guarantee Lincecum would have accepted that qualifying offer, either.
However, the fact remains that this market is one of the weakest in recent memory and the available players stand to benefit. With such a weak market, subpar pitchers are going to get more money from the teams that are desperate to fill a void.
The Giants signed a familiar face at a price they were comfortable with.
At least they have a fairly good idea what they’re getting in Lincecum, whereas they wouldn’t know exactly what to expect if they were to go after someone like Nolasco.
In the end, it’s all about what suits the franchise best, and Lincecum is a known commodity whom the Giants believe will offer a return on investment through 2015.
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There’s been a lot of buzz going around that the San Francisco Giants overpaid when they extended Hunter Pence via a five-year, $90 million deal.
Dave Cameron of FanGraphs sums up that argument by writing:
But, if both sides are willing to stipulate that the Giants could have spent $90 million on other baseball players this winter if they hadn’t signed Hunter Pence, then I think there’s a pretty strong case to be made that they could have done better going in another direction…Pence’s new deal won’t stop the Giants from winning, so long as they surround him with quality players on undervalue deals…That’s not the easiest thing in the world to do, though, and now that they’re committed to paying Pence $18 million per year for the next five years, their margin of error just got a little smaller. This isn’t the Ryan Howard contract, or even the Barry Zito contract, but for a team without unlimited resources, spending too many of them on a good-not-great player on the wrong side of 30 could end up looking like a mistake.
While Cameron makes some interesting points, the reality is that the San Francisco Giants had to keep Pence, regardless of the cost.
The cost was going to be somewhere in the range of Nick Swisher’s four-year, $56 million deal and Andre Ethier‘s five-year, $85 million deal. Swisher, Ethier and Pence are comparable players. Thus, Pence’s market price was going to be somewhere on that spectrum.
The Swisher contract would have been a better deal for the Giants, but they could not afford to let Pence get away. He wasn’t willing to settle for that contract, so San Francisco had to up their offer to keep him.
They went into the winter already needing to drastically upgrade in left field. If they had let Pence hit the open market, they would have potentially needed a new right fielder as well.
There just isn’t enough talent on the free-agent market to realistically expect the Giants to be able to replace Pence and find a left fielder in the same winter.
Carlos Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury, Shin-Soo Choo, Curtis Granderson and Nelson Cruz are the only impact bats on the free-agent outfield market.
The Giants could have let Pence walk and tried to sign two of those players to play right and left field. However, there’s no guarantee that they could have signed any of those guys. By re-signing Pence before he could hit the market, the Giants have avoided creating another hole on a roster that already has plenty.
The starting rotation finished with the game’s seventh-worst ERA despite the spaciousness of AT&T Park. The offense finished 21st in runs scored. The club finished just 20th in defensive efficiency. This team clearly needs to improve in every facet of the game.
The Giants could have held firm and told Pence to take the Swisher deal or leave it. However, the deal they gave Pence amounts to one extra year and four extra million dollars per season over what Swisher received last winter. For a big-market team like the Giants who sell out every game, holding the line for that amount of money just isn’t necessary.
In 2013, Pence led the Giants in home runs, RBI, slugging percentage, extra-base hits and stolen bases. If the Giants had lost Pence, a bad offensive team would have been without one of its best hitters going forward. They could have tried to replace him, but there’s no guarantee they would have been able to do so.
The other point against Cameron’s argument is that Pence was worth 5.4 wins above replacement in 2013. According to FanGraphs, that means he was worth $27.2 million to the Giants.
This was the best season of Pence’s career, so he isn’t like to be a five-win player going forward. However, he has been a three-to-four win player throughout his career, and that makes him worth close to the $18 million San Francisco will be paying him.
The Giants could have waited things out for Pence and risked losing him. They could have told him what they believed his market price to be and waited for him to capitulate. However, the risk in that scenario would be to lose Pence in free agency and then be unable to replace him with a player of equal value on a lesser deal.
The Giants received a league-worst five home runs and .651 OPS from their left fielders in 2013. They need to improve that spot this winter, but there’s no guarantee that they’ll be able to sign an upgrade or trade for one. Had they lost Pence, they’d be in big trouble in two important offensive spots.
The bottom line is that there just isn’t enough offensive talent to go around. Offense is down around the sport, and the best players are continually signing long-term extensions before they hit free agency.
The Giants farm system is extremely light on positional talent. They had no in-house option ready to take over for Pence, and they would have been hard-pressed to find a replacement this winter.
Did the Giants overpay for Hunter Pence? Based on his performance in 2013 and the Ethier contract it looks like a fair deal. However, even if they did overpay by a few million dollars per season, they absolutely had to keep Pence.
All statistics in this article are courtesy of ESPN. All contractual data is from Cot’s Baseball Contracts.
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In the midst of an awful season, the San Francisco Giants made a preemptive strike to secure their future place in the NL West standings by agreeing to re-sign right fielder Hunter Pence to a five-year, $90 million contract on Saturday.
The deal, reported by CSN Bay Area’s Andrew Baggarly, rewards Pence for an outstanding 2013 in which he’s played in every game and hit the to the tune of a .282/.339/.481 slash line. That production is good enough for a 136 OPS+ when factoring in the run-suppressing environment in San Francisco.
Of course, what Pence has done is not necessarily a great indicator of what he will do over the next five seasons in the middle of the San Francisco order. For the Giants to get optimum value out of their commitment to Pence over the next five seasons, he’ll have to stave off regression and continue to average over 3 WAR per season, if not his 4.2 mark of 2013, per Baseball-Reference.com.
At first glance, the deal seems to be an egregious overpay, but when looking at some recent contracts for corner outfielders, the deal simply becomes a risk for San Francisco. Unless Pence totally breaks down or reverts into a league average player in the very near future, the contract shouldn’t cripple the Giants franchise.
As the following chart shows, Pence posted the fifth-highest adjusted OPS in the three years prior to signing the lucrative deal, yet only received the eighth-largest commitment. While it’s easy to think that Pence wasn’t worth $34-44 million more than the two players, Jason Bay and Nick Swisher, that he out-earned, his deal does not come across as an instant albatross either.
That look at the most recent lucrative deals to corner outfielders does come with caveats, though. As the 2013 season comes to a close, Pence is completing his age-30 season. His three years leading up to the massive payday occurred during his 28-, 29- and 30-year-old seasons, leaving San Francisco responsible for paying him through his early and mid-30s.
In retrospect, major commitments to Vernon Wells and Matt Kemp by Toronto and Los Angeles, respectively, may have been mistakes, but those players were just entering their primes at the time of inking the deals in excess of $100 million. In theory, their clubs could have been predicting even better production before decline hit.
With Pence, 2013 is likely the baseline for his best. As a player who has never walked 100 times in a season or rated as a good defender (-3.1 dWAR for his career), age isn’t likely to be as kind to him as a player like, say, Jayson Werth. When the Nationals gave Werth a $126 million deal after the 2010 season, eyebrows were raised, but the then-31-year-old arrived in D.C. as an excellent defender capable of playing center field as well as a corner, and had the plate discipline to thrive with age even if his physical skills eroded.
Many times, the success or failure of commitments like the new deal for Pence is measured in absolutes. While deals for Crawford, Soriano, Hamilton and Bay have been characterized as disasters and Holliday and Werth look to be successes, Pence’s deal is likely to fall somewhere in the middle.
If the Giants expect a 4.2 WAR or better every season for the next five years, they’ve made a grave mistake. On the other hand, Pence is too solid and too durable to project as a player that will go in the tank early in the life of the contract.
Speaking of durability, Pence’s ability to take the field on an everyday basis should give the Giants a reason to believe he’ll provide value and production during this deal. Since his call-up in 2007, Pence has averaged 151 games per season. When looking at the entire league since 2008 (Pence’s first full year in Houston), it’s clear how durable Pence has been.
The Giants didn’t commit $90 million to a player on the verge of a breakout or with the ability to carry a team. Instead, they committed to a player who they can count on to play 150-plus games per season, bat in the middle of the order and hit 20-25 home runs.
Hunter Pence never struck me as a $90 million player, but when looking at the recent history of corner outfielders and the steadying presence of this two-time All-Star, the Giants stand a better chance to get bang for their buck than many franchises have lately when signing over a check this large.
Is Hunter Pence worth $90 million?
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One of the few bright spots in the San Francisco Giants‘ failure to repeat as World Series champions this year has been the play of outfielder Hunter Pence. His future in the City by the Bay was in question as the 2013 campaign neared its conclusion, but that is no longer the case, as he has agreed to a five-year extension, according to Alex Pavlovic of the San Jose Mercury News:
The deal is reportedly worth $90 million, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, which means Pence will earn $18 million per year once the contract is signed, sealed and delivered:
While Pence’s new contract is pending a physical, the official announcement is expected to be made on Sunday, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports:
There is no question that the Giants are in line to surrender a big chunk of change, but the 30-year-old right fielder has proven his worth this season to the tune of a .282 batting average, 26 home runs, 94 RBI and a career-high 22 stolen bases. Pence’s WAR of 4.2 is also a career high for him in a season spent with one team, per Baseball-Reference.com.
Despite the Giants’ World Series title last season, Pence was somewhat of a disappointment after being acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies in late July 2012. He hit just .219 for San Fran down the stretch, and he hit .210 with one home run and four RBI in 62 postseason at-bats.
Pence returned to his Houston Astros form this season, however, and he was one of the Giants’ only consistent offensive forces. With Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Brandon Belt already in place, though, the Giants promise to be a much better run-scoring team moving forward.
Pitching was arguably the Giants’ main Achilles’ heel in 2013, as they rank just 17th in the league with a 3.95 ERA. Starting pitchers such as Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum and Ryan Vogelsong performed well below expectations, which forced San Francisco’s lineup to do more than it has had to in the past.
As long as the pitching improves a little bit next season, Pence and the rest of the Giants’ lineup could very well return the team to the playoffs in 2014.
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Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Friday that the San Francisco Giants have started negotiations with impending free-agent right fielder Hunter Pence.
Pence, 30, isn’t going to be cheap to retain. Pence is making $13.8 million in his final season of arbitration eligibility this year.
If the Giants don’t reach a long-term deal with Pence before free agency begins, they’ll likely extend him the one-year qualifying offer. If Pence were to accept—which seems unlikely—he’d be back on another one-year deal for close to $14 million. If he were to reject it and sign elsewhere, the signing team would forfeit its first-round draft choice unless it finished in the bottom 10 in the overall standings.
However, with both sides open to a long-term deal, it’s more likely that Pence will seek a multi-year deal from the Giants. The best, most recent comparison for what Pence’s next contract will look like is Nick Swisher’s four-year, $56 million deal with the Cleveland Indians.
Swisher’s leverage on the free-agent market was hurt by the draft-pick compensation attached to him from the qualifying offer extended by the New York Yankees. When Swisher hit the market last winter, he was a lifetime .256/.361/.467 hitter. His on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) was .828. His OPS+, which adjusts for park factors, was 118.
Pence is currently a lifetime .286/.339/.476 hitter with an .814 OPS. His OPS+ is nearly identical to Swisher’s at 119.
Thus, while Swisher and Pence are different players, their overall production has been very similar. According to FanGraphs, Swisher was worth 25.2 wins above replacement (WAR) before signing with Cleveland, while Pence has been worth 24 WAR thus far in his career.
Pence hits for a higher average and slightly more power, but Swisher gets on base more often because he has better plate discipline. Swisher’s career walk rate is 13.2 percent compared to just 7.3 percent for Pence.
However, other than patience, Pence has better tools than Swisher. Pence is 21-for-23 on stolen base attempts this year while Swisher has only 13 career stolen bases. Pence also has some of the best raw power in the game.
While his career slugging percentage is only nine points higher than Swisher’s was when he became a free agent, Pence leads the league in average home run distance this year. Thus, Pence may have a better chance to maintain his power as he ages. Also, Pence is a year younger than Swisher, so a four-year deal for Pence would carry a little less risk.
Because of his raw power, athletic ability, durability (he’s started every game this year) and youth, Pence may be able to do better than Swisher’s four-year, $56 million deal on the open market. Given that he’s only 30 years old and clearly in great shape, he may command a five-year deal.
While every free-agent contract carries tremendous risk, the Giants absolutely need to retain Pence. He leads the offensively challenged Giants in home runs, doubles, triples and slugging percentage.
San Francisco left fielders have combined for the game’s worst OPS and the fewest home runs at the position this season. It’s pivotal that the club upgrades at that spot. However, they first must retain Pence in right field.
The Giants need to find an upgrade on Gregor Blanco in left field over the winter. If they fail to retain Pence, they’ll need to find a new right fielder as well.
With few alternatives in the outfield on the free-agent market, the Giants would have an extremely hard time replacing Pence while also upgrading in left field. Thus, they need to re-sign Pence and then improve the left field situation.
Pence should at least match Swisher’s $56 million contract because the two right fielders had nearly identical production before hitting free agency. However, Pence’s youth, speed and power might earn him a longer, more lucrative contract than Swisher’s.
Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area recently summed up Pence’s overall value to the Giants. Baggarly wrote:
More than speed or power, though, Pence’s most valuable commodity is his energy. In an era when players can’t pop greenies or spike the coffee pot to get up for a game, Pence brings his hyperactivity every day. He’s played all but 13 of the Giants’ innings in right field this season. And he’s poised to become the first Giant in the San Francisco era to start every regular-season game in a season…’It shows you he comes to play every day,’ Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. ‘It’s the intensity he plays with every day. Here he is in September and he has a game like that. It says a lot about the shape he’s in.’
Pence has been one of the few bright spots in 2013 for the last-place Giants. Re-signing him to a long-term deal will come with risk, but it’s a move the Giants need to make. Pence won’t come cheaply, but the Giants need his power, speed, durability and leadership going forward.
All statistics in this article are courtesy of ESPN and Baseball-Reference.
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Envious of how Cuban stars have guided several of their MLB rivals into playoff contention, the San Francisco Giants continue to make a strong push for free-agent slugger Jose Dariel Abreu.
Optimistic that he can become their version of Yasiel Puig, the reigning World Series champs have sent general manager Brian Sabean to the Dominican Republic for some first-hand scouting, tweets Dionisio Soldevilla of ESPNDeportes.com:
Giants GM Brian Sabean is in the DR along with Felipe Alou scouting cuban defector Jose Dariel Abreu
— Dionisio Soldevila (@dSoldevila) September 12, 2013
Abreu’s countrymen have irritated the Giants in recent years by effortlessly adjusting to the majors.
Yoenis Cespedes arrived in the Bay Area prior to the 2012 season after inking a four-year contract with the Oakland Athletics. He has 45 home runs and an .800 OPS through two seasons in their outfield.
Puig debuted this past June and elevated the Los Angeles Dodgers from mediocrity to pennant contention with one of the most impressive all-time starts to an MLB career.
Through 88 games, he flaunts a .339/.404/.556 batting line, which puts him neck-and-neck with Jose Fernandez in the NL Rookie of the Year race. Moreover, his unrivaled athleticism has helped the Dodgers financially, according to Eric Stephen of True Blue LA, by buffing up television ratings and selling merchandise.
Can Abreu make a similar splash for the Giants in 2014?
The 26-year-old isn’t going to contribute eye-popping outfield throws or aggressive baserunning, but his hitting ability is Barry Bonds-esque.
Grantland’s Jonah Keri spent a few thousand words raving about Abreu’s power numbers in early 2012.
It’s difficult to fathom anyone maintaining a .453/.597/.986 batting line at any professional level, which he did in Cuba’s Serie Nacional during the 2010-2011 campaign. Ben Badler of Baseball America notes that we’ve been treated to hundreds of Abreu at-bats in international competition, and most of those results were extraordinary.
Remember this moonshot from the 2013 World Baseball Classic?
Presently, San Francisco’s starting rotation is in shambles. Abreu could go deep every other game next summer and the team still wouldn’t compete with the Dodgers for NL West supremacy.
However, assuming that Sabean and his staff invest in adequate pitching this winter, the club could immediately return to relevancy. A strong supporting cast would be the soapbox for this 6’3″, 240-pound myth to stand on as he battles for our attention and disposable income.
Of course, acquiring Abreu in the first place will require a considerable financial sacrifice.
L.A. committed seven years and $42 million to Puig based on a few batting practice sessions.
Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com expects Abreu to demand double the average annual value, while Jeff Passon of Yahoo! Sports can imagine the winning bid costing north of $60 million. In a free-agent class that’s devoid of consistent, middle-of-the-lineup types, he ought to be highly sought-after.
Although there’s a chance that Abreu joins Puig as a global star and MVP-caliber player, it is much more likely that he fails to mesmerize.
Abreu is a one-dimensional player who won’t use his legs or fielding ability to compensate for slumps at the plate. Also, part of Puig‘s appeal comes from his enthusiasm and immaturity, and we’ll see less of that from Abreu (nearly four years older).
It’s still wise for the Giants to pursue the dominant defector, so long as they have realistic expectations about his potential to influence their bottom line and quest for another championship.
Ely hits for less power than Abreu, but also has interest in signing for millions of dollars. If you have that kind of money laying around (or just love chatting about baseball), contact him on Twitter.
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Venezuelan journeyman Yusmeiro Petit came within one out of completing a perfect game for the San Francisco Giants on Friday night. Although Eric Chavez shattered that dream with a single to right field, Petit’s scoreless effort caused Twitter to erupt with reaction.
There’s a simple explanation for why the 28-year-old has spent so much of this summer in the minors: he takes the mound with ordinary stuff that can be hit hard.
That wasn’t true on this special occasion:
48 pitches through a very efficient five innings for Petit; 36 for strikes, fastball at 89-90 w/great location, great curve command.
— Ray Woodson (@RayWoodson680) September 7, 2013
The suspense really began building in the seventh and eighth innings. Petit’s pursuit of perfection went viral, and most Twitter users were totally confused:
Update: Giants P Yusmeiro Petit is PERFECT through 7 innings. Petit has 5 K as Giants lead DBacks, 2-0.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 7, 2013
Who the heck is Yusmeiro Petit.
— Richard Iurilli (@_princeofwhales) September 7, 2013
Who is Yusmeiro Petit never heard of him before
— dillon ventura (@dillon_ventura3) September 7, 2013
Literally tho, who is Yusmeiro Petit?
— Jon Munshaw (@Jon_Munshaw) September 7, 2013
Although Petit has pitched parts of six major league seasons, he was probably the subject of more tweets in one night than he was during all those previous performances combined:
Trending Worldwide: Yusmeiro Petit
— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) September 7, 2013
The ninth inning rolled around with the right-hander flaunting an astonishingly efficient pitch count (especially when compared to Tim Lincecum’s special night earlier in 2013). There was zero doubt about him staying in for a chance at immortality.
Petit recorded his seventh strikeout against Chris Owings, then forced Gerardo Parra to ground out softly.
Alas, Eric Chavez ruined everybody’s fun. He was so close to striking out, and Hunter Pence nearly caught his soft liner later in the plate appearance:
SO CLOSE! @SFGiants RHP Yusmeiro Petit falls one strike away from perfect game after Eric Chavez lines 2-out single in 9th.
— MLB (@MLB) September 7, 2013
Yumeiro Petit was about a foot away from pitching the most random perfect game in MLB history.
— Rich MacLeod (@richmacleod) September 7, 2013
I’ve watched the Petit 2-2 pitch to Chavez 5 times and I expect him to swing every time…Hell of a take
— Tom Tolbert (@byronjr23) September 7, 2013
Enjoy your worthless hit in an otherwise overrated career, Eric Chavez. LIKE YOU NEED ANOTHER STINKING SINGLE!
— Angry Bills Fan (@chrisskreager) September 7, 2013
That single by Chavez explains the Giants season in a nutshell LOL!!
— Greg Silvia (@gsilvia) September 7, 2013
Nonetheless, Petit regained his composure to finish off the D-Backs for his first MLB shutout.
Braces yourselves—here come the obscure stats:
Yusmeiro Petit is the 12th player to lose a perfect game with 2 outs in the 9th inning (2nd this season – Darvish)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 7, 2013
Petit isn’t the 1st Giant to lose a perfecto on 27th batter. Hooks Wiltse did it in 1908–he hit the opposing pitcher w/2 out in the 9th
— Trent McCotter (@trentmccotter) September 7, 2013
Since start of last season, Giants have thrown 5 no- or one-hitters. Rest of NL: 8.
— Doug Kern (@dakern74) September 7, 2013
Anybody who was aware of this game’s starting pitching matchup would’ve given Patrick Corbin the upper hand. In a frustrating year that has seen most of the Arizona Diamondbacks rotation underachieve, he’s been a quintessential workhorse.
The All-Star southpaw finished his third complete game of the season—8.0 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 5 K—and received a few virtual pats on the back:
He did it! Patrick Corbin threw a complete game!
— Justin Emerson (@J15Emerson) September 7, 2013
@PatrickCorbin11 pitched a great game. Petit just out pitched a little.
— Hannah † (@pickypants14) September 7, 2013
You did great tonight @PatrickCorbin11! #ToughLoss
— Alicia Vasquez (@Dbacks1fanAV) September 7, 2013
Corbin still ranks among the National League’s top 10 in terms of earned run average and innings pitched.
Finally, an “inspiring” takeaway from Petit’s unlikely masterpiece:
Yusmeiro Petit turns 29 this year and had a 4.52 ERA in Triple-A this season. Don’t give up. You could maybe throw a perfect game one day.
— DJ Gallo (@DJGalloESPN) September 7, 2013
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