Five Available Players the Giants Should Pass On

It's official. After today's 1-0 loss to the Oakland A's, the Giants should be in panic mode when it comes to upgrading the offense. Aaron Rowand isn't cutting it at leadoff (though this isn't exactly "surprising" news) and for whatever reason, Pablo Sandoval has suddenly transformed from budding-Vlad Guerrero to budding-Randall Simon. Add that with Bengie Molina starting to cool off and things don't look good for the Giants and their playoff aspirations.

That being said, despite the Giants desperate (and I mean, "Elizabeth Berkley needing an actress role" desperate) need for offense, they should pass on the following five players who are available and could come at low-cost, but are too much of a risk to acquire.


Number Five: Kaz Matsui, Infielder

Why Matsui is enticing

After hitting .141 and posting a wOBA of .167 to start off the year, the Houston Astros released Matsui on May 19th, deciding to go with Jeff Keppinger at second base for the remainder of the season.

While Matsui seems to be a better fit with the Colorado Rockies (who are in need of a second baseman due to Clint Barmes' slow start), Matsui could be of some use to the Giants. Edgar Renteria has struggled with injuries all year, and Freddy Sanchez's health is also in question after just coming off the disabled list. Matt Downs is a nice option and has performed well, but after falling back to earth recently, one has to wonder if he can contribute to the Giants over the course of a full season. Additionally, Juan Uribe, who also got off to a hot start, has cooled in the month of May (.242 average and .343 wOBA in May; compared to his .313 average and .358 wOBA in April).

Matsui may not be a regular starter, but he could be much needed insurance for a Giants infield that has been plagued by injuries and inconsistency so far this season.

Why Matsui is frightening

Matsui the past couple of years has really declined as a player, and it's hard to see why ESPN Magazine tagged him as the "Next" athlete in their 2004 "Next" issue.

Since 2008, Matsui's slugging numbers have dipped from .427 (in 2008) to .357 (2009) to .155 (this season). The same goes with his OBP (.354 to .302 to .197) and wOBA (.349 to .297 to .167) numbers. Granted, Matsui is not exactly young (34 years old), but it's surprising to see him take such a dive this past few years.

Add that with very questionable defense (he has had negative UZR numbers two out of the past three seasons), and Matsui proves to be a very risky option. Sure, he could be an upgrade over Renteria or Sanchez, but he could also be tremendously worse, which is very hard to stomach for Giants fans.


Why the Giants should pass

Matsui is too much of a risk and has been to much of an underachiever to take a flier on. His career wOBA is .314, and he pretty much has been living off his 2007 season in Colorado when he had a .341 wOBA and stole 32 bases. The Giants are not going to get that 2007 Matsui, or even the slightly decent 2008 version. If acquired, the Giants would get a declining infielder who won't be an upgrade over Sanchez, Renteria, Uribe, or even Downs.


Number Four: Jermaine Dye, Outfielder


Why Dye is enticing

Though he hasn't played since last year, Dye is still available and still apparently in game shape (or at least that's what he says). While last year he declined in a lot of offensive categories (his wOBA dropped from .376 in 2008 to .344 last year), he still hit 27 home runs. Considering the Giants are in dire need of a power threat (sorry...Molina in the cleanup spot for a third straight year isn't cutting it), Dye does fill in a need, and the Giants don't have to give up any prospects in return.

Why Dye is frightening

Do I really need to go through the list? Okay...I will.

1. He's 36 years old.
2. His UZR/150 has been in the minus-20 range three of the past four seasons (and when it wasn't, it was minus-18.9 in 2008).
3. He has suffered massive drop in offensive categories such as batting average (from .292 in 2008 to .250 in 2009), slugging (.541 to .453) and OPS (.885 to .793).
4. He was actually detrimental to his team last year (according to WAR values, he cost the White Sox $1.7 million dollars).
5. $1.5 million dollars isn't enough for Dye. (He's entering Latrell Sprewell territory at this point.)

Why the Giants should pass

Did you not read anything above? If you still want to sign him after reading that, then...well...I don't know what to tell you.


Number Three: Eric Byrnes, Outfielder


Why Byrnes is enticing

Well...he hustles. And he can hit bombs. Don't believe me? Check this out:



Dang. That was parked.

Why Byrnes is frightening

Well, he has had sub-.300 wOBA numbers the past three seasons, he tanked in his short stint with the Mariners this season and defensively and he isn't the Byrnes fans are accustomed to (he had a minus-8.1 UZR/150 this year with the Mariners and a minus-7.0 UZR/150 with the D'Backs in 2008).

Oh, and this is Major League baseball, not club softball.

Why the Giants should pass

Would you rather have John Bowker and Nate Schierholtz in left and right field? Or an injured Mark Derosa and Byrnes? Yeah....I think Giants fans know the answer to that one.


Number two: Carlos Lee, outfielder


Why Lee is enticing

Though he says he won't waive his no-trade clause, the clock seems to be ticking for Lee's tenure in Houston. While Lee does have a massive contract ($18.5 million per year), he does have a history of hitting for power and run production, something you can't really say out of any other players in the Giants lineup. Last year, Lee hit 26 home runs and drove in 102 RBI. Furthermore, Lee has a history of tremendous plate discipline. From 2006-2009, Lee's wOBA ranged from .355 to .396 and his BB/K ratio didn't dip below 0.76.

Those are the kinds of qualities the Giants could use in a cleanup hitter.


Why Lee is frightening

Not only has Lee gone through an awful season so far (.199 average, .250 wOBA), but he hasn't exactly won any awards for "Teammate of the Year" recently. On May 14th, Lee got in a spat with Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter, and Lee wasn't exactly gracious about it either. While Lee isn't a Barry Bonds, one has to wonder if getting a guy like Lee would be the best thing for a team that is so well-known for their clubhouse chemistry.

I mean, ask Seattle Mariners fans what it's like when you bring in a guy with "questionable character issues."

Why the Giants should pass

Lee is a big bopper, but overall, he's too expensive and is too much of a clubhouse risk for the Giants to acquire. Then again, Lee has to waive his no-trade clause in order for anything to be a possibility, but even if he does, Lee certainly isn't worth dealing for considering where he's at in his career (hint: on the decline).


Number one: Pat Burrell, outfielder

Why Burrell is enticing

Burrell is the hottest name right now on the market. Already, we have seen two Giants beat writers (Hank "I love Brian Sabean and Bruce Bochy" Schulman of the Chronicle and Mychel Urban of CSN Bay Area) kibosh the rumors of the Giants having interest in Burrell, and one (Andrew Baggarly) say that the Giants could pursue him.

You can't blame the Giants having some interest. After all, Burrell won't cost the Giants anything, he is a Bay Area kid (he went to Bellarmine Prep in San Jose), he's got some nice chest hair, and he has a proven track record.

From 2005 to 2008, the lowest wOBA he posted was .374, and the lowest BB/K ratio he had in that time span was 0.62. Add that with an average of 31 home runs a year in those four seasons, and you can see why the Rays were willing to shell out some cash for him when he became a free agent after the 2008 season.

Why Burrell is frightening

The Burrell in Tampa Bay experiment really went horribly wrong for general manager Andrew Friedman and the Rays. Last year, Burrell's home run total dipped to 14 (his HR/FB ratio in 2009 was 9.8 percent; the lowest it was before that was in 2003 when it was 12.3 percent) and his wOBA plummeted to .304.

Burrell last year, for a lack of a better word, stunk. And, if you need more evidence of his mediocrity, check out his minus-9.6 wRAA (runs above average based on wOBA) and minus-0.5 WAR (which accumulated to negative-$2.3 dollars in value; Burrell was signed to a two-year, $16 million contract before 2009).

This year hasn't been much better. His HR/FB has actually gone down (to 7.4 percent) and his wOBA is even worse at .284. Furthermore, Burrell's strong plate discipline has been absent this year as well. He sports a BB/K ratio of 0.36 (the lowest of his career so far) and he has swung at 25.8 percent of pitches outside the strike zone (another career high).

Burrell just isn't the same player baseball fans saw from 2005-2008, and you can't blame Friedman and the Rays cutting ties with him so early in the season.

Why the Giants should pass

I would like to believe that Burrell is more comfortable in the National League than the American League East, and if he makes the transition, would kill like Brad Penny when Penny was traded from Boston to San Francisco late last year. He would make a great comeback story, and his Bay Area roots would resonate with the Giants faithful and media.

Yet, I just don't trust Burrell. His decline offensively the past two years has been eye-popping (especially the BB/K ratio and ISO drop), and he isn't good enough defensively (minus-44.6 career UZR in the outfield) to handle the dimensions of AT&T Park (not to mention make up for this offensive decline).

Burrell sounds good on paper, but Giants fans and management should be warned. He isn't worth the playing time he would take away from Andres Torres, John Bowker or Nate Schierholtz (Aaron Rowand would go unaffected because Bochy has a man-crush on Rowand, which explains why he still bats him leadoff though Rowand has an OBP under .300 and is 0-for-2 in stolen bases).

What the Giants need to do to make a run (please read this Brian Sabean!)

Dan Uggla would bring much needed power and RBI support to a Giants team that hasn't had those two things since Bonds' absence.

I'm running high right now. The Giants have just won four straight as they swept the Atlanta Braves and took the first game against the St. Louis Cardinals, their last home series before they hit the road for an NL East swing against Washington and Florida. If the Giants can take two out of three at the very least against the Cardinals this will be big momentum before they hit their interleague series against the hated Oakland A's (yes they are rivals. They swept us in the 1989 Earthquake Series and I have declared Holy War on them since). The Nationals and Marlins are reeling and there is no reason to think why we can't take five out of six or even sweep both series. Well...that might be asking a lot, but we should take four out of six against the Nats and Marlins at the very least. Furthermore, we follow up against the D'Backs after the Marlins series and with the way that team is reeling (with the exception of Justin Upton), the opportunity is there for the Giants to make a big run to pass up the hot Padres and gain some ground on the scorching Dodgers.

The thing is though, our hitting is still lousy. The bats are starting to improve after that lousy 2-9 stretch in Mid-May, but in the long-haul, there really just isn't enough hitting in the lineup for the Giants to make a serious run. Bengie Molina is mired in an awful slump that exhibits why he shouldn't be the Giants cleanup hitter and Pablo Sandoval, our best hitter of the year so far, simply doesn't have the kind of power that can make the team contenders. He's a great contact guy, don't get me wrong. He puts the ball in play and the ball finds holes, but you can't count on him for that big home run or that big double. That just isn't his game nor his style of hitting. He's less reminiscent to a power hitter like Pujols or Bonds and more akin to a slow-slap hitter like Billy Butler. Great contact hitter, puts the ball in play, but you're pretty much getting singles out of the guy and that's it.

The only thing worthwhile is that the Giants pitching, especially starting pitching has been phenomenal. Tim Lincecum, whom I ripped in an earlier post after Opening Week, has looked like his old self. Matt Cain is finally getting some run support and looking like the ace we always knew he would be. Jonathan Sanchez is looking like he always is (great on some days, bad on days when his control is not on) but that is not a bad thing, because when he rides a hot streak, he can be one of the best pitchers on the staff. Even Barry Zito, the 100 plus million dollar man, isn't looking bad. He has been putting out alright outings, but unfortunately, a combination of poor defense and lousy hitting has been his Achilles heel so far that has produced his third straight poor win-loss record out of the gate.

The relief pitching really is the only thing holding the pitching back, mainly because Brian Wilson is a shell of his former self and the set up guys have been inconsistent. Bobby Howry is a perfect example. Totally shuts down the meat of the order against St. Louis last night, but he had nights before when he just gets rocked. If Howry can get some consistency, there is no reason our bullpen can't close the door on the close games. That used to be their MO last year: bullpen closing the door on tight games. And that was with less run support and worse hitting.

So what do the Giants do in order to get in the mix in this NL West Race which looks like Dodgers and everyone else? Well...first they need to solve the Padres. The Giants are a woeful 0-6 at Petco Park this year. While they did sweep a two game series from the Padres in April, that was at a time when the Padres were reeling as well. The Giants have played well against the Dodgers since getting massacred during the opening week. But the Padres have been a different story and the Giants need to get those woeful performances solved. If it's a three-team race between the Padres, Giants and Dodgers, things won't look so good. But if it's narrowed down to a two-team race between the Giants and Dodgers, the odds look a lot better.

Another thing the Giants need to do is get a legitimate power hitter. It's been the priority the fans have been clamoring for even though Sabean is a knucklehead and continues to think guys like Travis Ishikawa and Jesus Guzman are the answers to get it done. Look, I know the Giants are a different team from the Bonds days and I like it. I like that they're more about speed and stretching hits out. I really have come around on Emmanuel Burriss, who is starting to show people why he should be the everyday second baseman. Juan Uribe has been a nice little pickup who's given the lineup some much needed spark (and I think for the time being, we should start Uribe at third and put Sandoval at first. Uribe's a better hitter than Ishikawa and I think Sandoval is more suited for first base anyways). And Aaron Rowand leading off strangely enough has given the Giants lineup the perk that they needed after that woeful mid-May stretch.

Yet there still is that missing run producer that could take this Giants team from good to great. The good thing is, this problem is solvable. There are guys on the market that can come in and help the team immediately. The bad thing is, Sabean is the worst GM in the league and whether or not he has the smarts to make a moves is something to be determined. Here are a few guys I believe the Giants should make serious runs for.

Nick Johnson: I like getting Nick Johnson for various reasons, and reporters everywhere are sure that he's one of the first players to be moved this season. One, you can't overestimate the value of getting a guy that is in the same league. While we have seen exceptions to the rule before (Manny and C.C. last season) for the most part, there has always been a drop off when guys switched from one league to the other. Nomar had a drop off when he went to the Cubs down the stretch and the Cubs suffered for it. Renteria has struggled whenever he has gone to American League ballclubs. So getting a guy from the Nationals is a positive move, just because he is already used to the pitching in the National league. In addition, what makes this trade so tantalizing is Johnson is a northern California guy. He played at McClatchy High School in Sacramento, Calif. A guy familiar with the area can be a wonderful thing. He'll feel right at home and won't need much time to get used to the area. And lastly, and most importantly, the guy can hit. He's healthy for the first time in a while and he has been a catalyst for a rather meager Nationals ballclub. Currently, he's batting .335 with four home runs and 26 RBIs. In addition, he's always been a solid on base guy and can take advantage of the gaps, a quality that is beneficial in a spacious ballpark such as AT&T Park. If the Giants can land this guy for a few minor league arms, (which the Nationals need because there pitching is ridiculously poor), the Giants could make a tremendous leap in terms of improving their mediocre offensive numbers.

Dan Uggla: He's struggling actually right now (.207 average, 9 HRs, 34 RBIs) and the Marlins have always showed in the past that they always want to get younger. With a lot of young farm guys coming up and the Marlins looking as if they are going to be an afterthough in the competitive NL East, an expected fire-sale of big name guys could happen very soon, much sooner than usual. Uggla would bring much needed power to the Giants lineup and could be the kind of second baseman that might bring back for fans memories of Jeff Kent, one of the best second baseman the Giants have ever had. Like Kent, Uggla isn't much of a fielder, but they don't need him to be really. Kent was an average fielder as well, but he was able to take advantage of the Giants home ballpark and was a catalyst behind Bonds in the lineup. With Molina fading fast in the cleanup spot, Uggla coming to San Francisco could be the pop to help the Giants compete with the loaded Dodgers. Furthermore, this could be a win-win for both sides. For the Giants, they get a better hitter, and for Uggla, he gets a fresh start and gets to be "the man" something he really hasn't had in Florida with Hanley Ramirez the main headliner.

Carlos Lee: I've been reading up on this one on a couple of blogs and I'm not exactly convinced, but I'm not totally closed to this idea as well. There is a lot Lee can bring to the table for the Giants. He'll obviously be an immediate power threat not to mention a run-driving threat that Giants have lacked since Bonds was let go. Granted, for all of Lee's inadequacies (lousy fielder, shaky personality) the one thing he does have going for him is that he has always been a consistent hitter. In his tenure with the White Sox, Brewers and Astros his stats have always been around the same, and that is what the Giants have lacked in their lineup. Molina is up one month, down the other. Same thing with every guy in this Giants lineup 1-8. A force like Lee not only would give the Giants lineup a consistent threat, but could also add confidence in the hitters, who'll not feel the pressure like they usually do with runners on. Molina won't need to be the man, and can bat lower in the lineup which he is more suited for. The only roadblock in this is money. He costs a lot and his arrival undoubtedly would mean Fred Lewis or Randy Winn would be packing their bags (most likely Lewis, who I like a lot). But the Giants should definitely look into this, especially since a big-hitting veteran presence could do this young team some good.

So those are some of my thoughts about the Giants as of today. Hopefully they can take their fifth in a row but with Carpenter on the mound, I'm highly skeptical.