Posts tagged Brian Sabean at FanHouse

It's no secret that the Giants need offensive help. They've finished 15th in the National League in scoring two years running. It's also become abundantly clear that they're gearing up for a run at the NL West crown in 2009, having signed Randy Johnson, Edgar Renteria, Jeremy Affeldt and Bobby Howry this offseason.

So it shouldn't come as a surprise then, that San Francisco is making a run at the biggest and best bat still available.

The Giants, the NL West's most active team this winter, are quietly making an aggressive play for free agent Manny Ramirez, according to a major-league source.

Acquiring Ramirez would come with a number of headaches -- from simply having the mercurial slugger on their roster to likely having to trade one of their incumbent outfielders (Randy Winn, Aaron Rowand, Dave Roberts). But all in all, he'd probably be worth it for a team that isn't all that far from seriously contending. They play in a soft division where 85 wins could easily equal a playoff berth.

That's especially true when you consider three factors: (1) the market for Ramirez is severely depressed because of the number of all-hit, no-field corner bats on the market, (2) signing him would simultaneously improve the Giants' offense and weaken the rival Dodgers and (3) it would save GM Brian Sabean from having to engineer a complex trade for a bat that would cost him one of his top young pitchers like Jonathan Sanchez.

Sign Manny? Sure, why not? It's not like folks in San Francisco aren't used to having a sometimes-surly, Hall of Fame slugger prowling around in left field after all.

Lost in the radical makeover under way in the Bronx this winter is the similarly stark turnover taking place in San Francisco. No, the Giants haven't spent 10 times the Opening Day payroll of the Tampa Bay Rays on a handful of players, but they have added shortstop Edgar Renteria, pitcher Randy Johnson and relievers Jeremy Affeldt and Bobby Howry.

With Johnson, reigning Cy Young Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, they've got the starting rotation to win the NL West, but probably not the offensive firepower just yet.

In fact, the signing of Johnson might serve another purpose besides bolstering an already strong rotation, it might allow GM Brian Sabean to deal some of his pitching depth -- namely Jonathan Sanchez -- to give San Francisco's lineup more punch.

Having resisted offers of corner infielders for Jonathan Sanchez, general manager Brian Sabean hinted that he might at least listen to trade proposals involving the left-hander, now that Johnson's aboard. "We're going to have to be open-minded," Sabean said, although he repeated that he wouldn't obtain a player who's eligible for free agency after 2009.

There's hardly a more valuable commodity in baseball than cost-controlled starting pitching, but the Giants have that in spades, especially if you factor in high-upside prospects Madison Bumgarner and Tim Alderson.

They say the week between Christmas and New Year's Day is just about the slowest week of the year for baseball news, but Randy Johnson and the Giants apparently bucked that trend when Johnson agreed to a one-year deal with San Francisco yesterday. MLB.com says the deal is worth at least $8 million with the potential for $2.5 million in performance bonuses and $2.5 million in awards bonuses.

This deal means a couple of things. First off, it means that we're all in the clear to keep on making "Brian Sabean loves signing old players" jokes because Johnson is 45 years old. That makes him older than everyone in the league not named Jamie Moyer. Secondly, it means that the Giants have some impressive pitching depth with Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez and Barry Zito already on the roster. Finally, it means that teams will likely be calling Sabean incessantly, inquiring about the availability of the guys I just named in a trade, with Sanchez and Cain likely drawing the most interest.

For Johnson, it means he can pursue his 300th win (he's at 295) without leaving the NL West. He was pretty good with the Diamondbacks last year and if Sabean doesn't do something stupid with the pitching surplus he has, I guess it's possible the Giants could be sleeper contenders in what's been generally the worst division in the NL the past few years. Of course, all this is predicated on Johnson staying healthy, which is no sure thing for a 45-year-old with his history of back injuries.

San Francisco Giants' general manager Brian Sabean has reportedly told season ticket holders that he's working hard to sign Randy Johnson to a one-year contract. The Giants are likely attractive to Big Unit on one front, while slightly unattractive on another.

Johnson grew up in Livermore and might want to come home. He has also said he wants to play for a contender.

The addition of Johnson to the Giants rotation would make it a very solid starting group. Of course, they are still quite offensively-challenged. The writer in the above link speculates that the addition of Johnson would enable Sabean to deal Jonathan Sanchez for offense.

You know, there are still some free agent bats out there -- Adam Dunn, Pat Burrell, Milton Bradley, to name a few -- so I'd hold onto the pitching and try to sign someone. With Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Randy Johnson, and Jonathan Sanchez in the rotation, the Giants would only need a minimal amount of offense to be somewhat competitive in what is sure to be a weak NL West this season.

From the Windup is FanHouse's extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.

The 2009 Hall of Fame ballot was released Monday, and with it is certain to come heated debate right up until and after the voting results are revealed on Jan. 12, 2009. This year's class of candidates is similar to last year's, in that it's a shallow group.

There is only one sure-fire Hall of Famer among the 23 candidates, which means this is a critical vote for the borderline players who have been up for election on multiple occasions. Now is the time for those borderline guys to get over the top or make a big push to lay the groundwork for election in future years.

After the jump is a breakdown of the ballot, complete with what I think will happen and what should happen with this year's class of Cooperstown contenders.

The Tigers have zero interest in Edgar Renteria. This was clear back in October, when the team declined his $12 million option for 2009, and it was reinforced last night when the team declined to offer arbitration by the midnight deadline.

Had Renteria accepted, he likely would have been awarded a salary on par with last year's $9 million, which the Tigers deemed excessive given his disappointing performance both at the plate (he posted an 84 OPS+) and on the field (his .810 zone rating was among the lowest by starting major league shortstops).

But had Renteria declined and accepted a contract elsewhere, the Tigers would have been awarded a pair of draft picks as compensation. Even though the Tigers would prefer to go in a different direction, I think they should have rolled the dice and made the offer. If you believe the rumor mill, he's already agreed to a two-year deal with the Giants.

Rafael Furcal is the hottest free agent shortshop on the market. This is partially because he's better than Edgar Renteria, but also because he's not 400 years old, even if he's been injured a lot lately. (Although his age is probably something the San Francisco Giants are thrilled about, since he's like drafting a rookie after the Omar Vizquel Era.)

But, regardless of the rumors that Renteria has signed with the Giants, the team is still denying it ... which makes it awfully odd that when Raffy made his way out to the West Coast to eat lunch with Billy Beane, he didn't even bother to swing by Brian Sabean's office.

The two went to lunch and Beane gave Furcal a tour of the area. Furcal's agent, Paul Kinzer, said one day earlier that Furcal hoped to narrow his options down to two teams this week.

Furcal did not swing by the Giants' park while he was in the area. Kinzer said the shortstop, who has spent his entire career in the National League, already is familiar with San Francisco and wanted to see Oakland and the Coliseum because he has not spent much time there.

Hmmm. That's weird. I didn't realize "familiar" was a synonym for "uninterested". Whatever though, I suppose it's entirely possible that Furcal could ink with the Giants, but I also think it's more likely, um, unlikely that he does. Yes, whatever that means. Seriously, though, let's just wrap this up, Beane, and make sure the Giants get the oldest free agents possible. I don't want to live in a world where Sabean still has a job wins with young talent.

With all of the hype surrounding Manny Ramirez, CC Sabathia, and even guys like A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe, some big names get lost in the off-season free agency hype. One guy that's kind of disappeared so far this winter is Rafael Furcal. Everyone points to Manny Ramirez as the catalyst for the Dodgers' run to the NLCS, but Furcal's return late in the season had just as much to do with it as Ramirez did.

As things stand right now, it looks like Furcal may not have to move all that far to get to his new home in 2009. Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the A's and Giants are leading early bidding for the shortstop. Both teams have seen and are satisfied with his medical records. The Dodgers are still interested, but Ned Colletti amusingly told Rosenthal, "I don't know if we're going to be in or out."

The sticking point all around right now seems to be that Furcal wants four years, whie the Dodgers are slow to give more than three. I'd imagine the Billy Beane and the A's would be, too, though he'd certainly be a nice addition to an Oakland team that's looking to contend next year. On the other hand, Brian Sabean probably wouldn't think twice about giving Furcal that fourth year. Do the Giants need him? Probably not, but hey, that never stopped Sabean in the past.

New Giants managing partner, William Neukom, has reportedly pushed general manager Brian Sabean to field a much more competitve team. If that means opening the pocketbook to bring in big names, so be it. Obviously, the subject of Manny Ramirez qualifies. When asked about him, Neukom replied: "I can't say there is no possibility." Of course, later he raved about the shape of their outfield and said that shoring any part of it up was not a high priority.

The bottom line here for Giants fans is that this sort of talk is a good thing. Management is obviously planning on increasing the payroll, which means signing a few offensive weapons is a definitey possibility.

"Player payroll is going to depend on two things," Neukom said. "First of all (is) the best thinking of our baseball guys. What does that optimal 2009-and-beyond roster look like? How do you build that roster? That's going to have a price tag to it. The other major influence is, what can we afford?"

I know what direction I'd go. There's no reason to start dealing in the trade market when you can throw some money around, and this shows the Giants aren't afraid to. It might not be Manny, but Mark Teixeira and several other big bats are out there. We'll see how the Giants work.

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2009.

The Giants were not a disappointment in 2008 as far as I'm concerned, because they only lost 90 games and did not finish in last place. Going into the season, in looking at the rosters, Giants fans had to expect 100 losses and a definite last place finish. Moving forward, there is hope for a quick franchise turnaround.

Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, and even the injury-prone Noah Lowry have the makings of a quality young starting rotation. They could be above average with offensive support and an improved defense. Bengie Molina and Aaron Rowand can be helpful players on a good team, but they cannot be the centerpieces of the offense, as they were this past season. Randy Winn and Fred Lewis are viable starters for '09, but they need to be slotted at the end of the batting order.

The key to the approach for 2009 is to try and compete without foregoing the future. The rotation, closer Brian Wilson, and potential stars like Madison Bumgarner, Conor Gillespie, and Buster Posey are too valuable to deal in a trade just to land one player.