I thought that ship had sailed? I also thought it was certain that Bengie Molina would be a New York Met in 2010. New York was dangling a two year deal, but Molina's camp wanted a third year option. Something went terribly wrong in the negotiations, and the two sides parted ways, which is good news for the Giants! It's hard to get greedy in this current market place, especially when you're an older player (who turns 36 in July), and playing a demanding position like catcher. I thought Molina might have ended-up in the American League where he could also be a DH.
Whatever happened at the end of last season (not playing hurt?), I say forget any bad blood that may have bubbled to the surface between Molina and the Giants, and welcome him back behind the plate with open arms. The pitchers love him. He's a club house presence and leader. He will be an excellent mentor to the young Buster Posey. He comes at a relative bargain for one year and $4.5-million, and can hit! Fortunately though, he won't be relied upon to bat clean-up for San Francisco this year (assuming the off-season acquisitions come through as expected). Molina should be much more comfortable further down in the order as a number-six hitter, behind a 3-4-5 combination of Sandoval, Huff, and De Rosa. Now I'm digging this line-up a lot more than I was just a couple of weeks ago.
Yorvit Torrealba? Rod Barajas? Bengie's going to be a better hitter than both of those guys. Last year, Molina struggled through some injuries, but still managed to play in 132 games and had 491 at-bats. The rest of the pertinent numbers: 130 hits, (only) 52 runs scored, 25 doubles, 20 homers, 80 RBI's, and an incredibly low 13 walks...Yikes! That's reflected in a .285 on-base percentage, but a fairly solid .265 batting average. Molina drove in 95 runs with 16 homers and 33 doubles in 2008; with a .292 average, and .322 on-base percentage. So, assuming he plays most of the season, you know roughly what kind of numbers you're going to get. But what if Posey is ready to go mid-season and gets the call-up? That remains to be seen. I would say Eli Whiteside begins the year as Molina's back-up with Posey down in Triple-A Fresno.
By-the-way: Torrealba sported a .351 on-base percentage and a .291 average in just 64 games with the Rockies last season, sharing time with Chris Ianetta. It's hard to really compare any other stats with fewer than half the number of at-bats, but Yorvit did manage to work 21 walks in just 213 at-bats. So, he would easily have more than 50 BB's with 500 A.B's. Barajas, meanwhile, had a descent season with the Blue Jays in 2008 as far as power numbers (19 and 71), but his batting average and on-base were dreadful in roughly the same number of at-bats. So, considering Bengie's familiarity with the Giants' pitching staff, and his overall better hitting, he was clearly the best choice of the three. The fourth choice, Miguel Olivo, had already signed with Colorado -- essentially replacing Torrealba.
Merkin Valdez, who was designated for assignment earlier last week, has been traded to Toronoto for cash considerations. Valdez just never realized his potential, but maintained a dominant fastball even after returning from Tommy John Surgery. The bullpen has depth, despite the departure of both Valdez and Bobby Howry. Brandon Medders, Sergio Romo, Dan Runzler, Waldis Joaquin, and even Joe Martinez can fill the void; bridging the gap to Jeremy Affeldt and closer Brian Wilson. We'll see how things shake out in spring training. There's about a half dozen other bullpen candidates, including one-time short stop Tony Pena, Jr.
So, one more time, let's view what the opening day line-up should look like (with the assumption that Aaron Rowand will lead-off):
CF Rowand
2B Sanchez
3B Sandoval
1B Huff
LF De Rosa
C MOLINA
SS Renteria
RF Schierholtz
SP Lincecum
I would say pretty solid, but is there another potential right fielder out there with more experience? Is the team willing to spend any more money? I would say probably not because they still have to sign Lincecum who has asked for $13-million in salary arbitration for 2010 -- the Giants are offering only $8-million. He'll get at least ten, and probably closer to twelve. Regardless of Timmy's final number, that will boost the team payroll somewhere around 100-million-dollars, and that includes about five-million in deferred money to Barry Bonds.
So, although it would be nice to add an Eric Byrnes (Bay Area kid for probably for not much money), Xavier Nady (former Cal Bear, most recently with the Yankees), or Jermaine Dye (Sacramento kid and one-time Oakland Athletic), it just doesn't appear financially feasible. I believe it was me last season who said that Schierholtz deserves an extended look to prove himself. Now that Randy Winn is gone, it appears the time is now for Nate to play everyday in right field for the Giants. There is some young depth for the outfield as well with Andres Torres, Eugenio Velez, John Bowker, and (I would say very reluctantly) Fred Lewis.
Keywords: Aaron Rowand, Andres Torres, Aubrey Huff, Bengie Molina, Bobby Howry, Brandon Medders, Brian Wilson, Chris Ianetta, Colorado Rockies, Dan Runzler, Eli Whiteside, Eric Byrnes, Eugenio Velez, Fred Lewis, Jeremy Affeldt, Jermaine Dye, Joe Martinez, John Bowker, Jr., Mark De Rosa, Merkin Valdez, Miguel Olivo, New York Mets, Pablo Sandoval, Rod Barajas, San Francisco Giants, Sergio Romo, Tim Lincecum, Tony Pena, Toronto Blue Jays., Waldis Joaquin, Xavier Nady, Yorvit Torrealba
