Nick Cafardo of Boston Globe links Dan Uggla to the Red Sox and Giants. Cafardo says the 30 homer, 90 RBI threat could probably first base or left field, but not sure he could go to third base. He could give someone some nice right-handed power, though.
Cafardo also says Mariners, Braves and Giants have interest in Josh Willingham. Willingham hit .260 with 24 homers and 61 RBI’s last season in 427 at-bats.
King of Cali thoughts: The Giants have been linked to Uggla since last season. Uggla doesn’t have a great average, but does have the pop that the Giants need and he could play first base. Willingham would be a nice outfielders to add to the mix for the Giants since it’s not likely they will be able to afford Bay or Holliday. The question is what will teams want from the Giants in a trade?
Jon Heyman of SI.com has some daily scoop. He still has the Giants as a possibility for Milton Bradley.
King of Cali thoughts: I personally don’t think this will happen. Bradley does have a good bat, but he comes with a lot of baggage and is also injury prone.
Heyman also says he was told by one MLB GM that even though the Giants have said they are not going to pursue Jason Bay or Matt Holliday. He’s not going to count them out, despite what they say.
King of Cali thoughts: Despite this rumor that the Giants may still be in it for one of these top two free agents. I don’t see them able to pony up enough $$$ to land either one.
One competing agent suggests he may be able to get a three-year deal for Miguel Tejada, who is thought to be drawing interest from the Cardinals, Astros, Phillies, Rangers and Giants.
King of Cali thoughts: Tejada is a guy that I think would be a good signing for the Giants. Tejada can still hit and we have so many movable parts in the infield. That we can make this signing work and add a nice bat to our struggling offense.
Hey Giants fans! I know it’s been a while since I have actually did a King of Cali blog. I thought I would do one about some free agents that are out there. With it known that the Giants are probably not going to be able to obtain Jason Bay or Matt Holliday. Let’s take a look at a few second tier players that are out there and should be considered by the San Francisco Giants.
Xavier Nady: Nady is someone that the Giants should really be considering. He’s coming off an injury year. He had his second Tommy John elbow surgery. He is hoping to be ready by spring training. Nady only played in 7 games in 2009 for the New York Yankees. He did have career numbers in 2008 with a .305 AVG, 25 homers and 97 RBIs in 2008. He’s only 31, so if he can stay healthy. He would be a good second tier free agent to sign.
Juan Uribe: The Giants have said they would like to bring back Uribe. He was a very valuable piece for the Giants. He was a steal for the Giants when they signed him for $1 million last season. Uribe was able to fill in where ever he was needed in the infield. He played in 122 games, .289 AVG and had 16 homers for a team that was desperate for offense. Renteria is still penciled in as the Giants shortstop, but if the Giants can re-sign Uribe. Renteria might not hold on to that starting role long if he’s not producing.
Adrian Beltre: Is a nice option at third base. He’s coming off a year where he hit .265 with 8 homers in 111 games for the Seattle Mariners. In 2008 Beltre did hit 25 homers in 143 games. He still has the pop that the Giants do desperately need to add to their lineup. He’s also had 2 Gold Gloves within the last 5 years for the Mariners. Word on the street (internet) is that the Phillies are targeting Beltre.
Do you think any of these guys would be a good fit for the Giants?
Cabrera is only 26 years old and already seems to be in much less than ideal physical condition. Cabrera already has four season in which he’s hit .320 or better, three consecutive season of 34 homers, and five straight seasons of 34 or more doubles. That’s the reason there will be interest in him even though he’s not in great shape.
Cabrera has completed two years of an eight-year contract. This is what the remainder of his contract looks like:
2010: $20 million
2011: $20 million
2012: $21 million
2013: $21 million
2014: $21 million
2015: $21 million
King of Cali thoughts: The Giants are rumored to be a possible landing spot for Cabrera. Now this is the kind of big bat the Giants need to land. I know this deal isn’t going to happen for whatever reason, but this is the kind of impact power bat we need to figure out how to get.
King of Cali thoughts: Johnson is a guy that can hit and get on base. He’s not a big power bat, but he’s a guy that can get on base and isn’t a free swinger. He would be a good 2nd tier player to sign, and we all know that Sabean said the Giants will be after 2nd tier players.
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com say several teams are calling the Rangers for Nelson Cruz. One of the Major League source said the club is “not motivated” to move the slugging outfielder because of his productivity and reasonable salary.
Cruz could intrigue clubs such as the Braves, Cardinals and Giants if their other efforts to add an outfield bat fall short. (It’s not know if any of them have inquired about his availability.)
King of Cali thoughts: Cruz would be a great addition to the Giants lineup. He plays Right Field and he hit 33 homers, .260 AVG and 76 RBIs. Just not sure how much the Giants would have to give up to get that trade done. Cruz salary in 2009 was $408,070 per Cot’s Baseball Contracts.
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi have the latest gossip and buzz about Jermaine Dye. Dye has only one career appearance at first base, in 2005. Yet teams are asking his agent, Robert Bry, if he is willing to play first, and Dye is open to the idea.
Dye, 35, could be a right-handed hitting alternative at first for several clubs, including the Braves, Mets, Orioles and Giants.
The negative on Dye is that he slumped after the All-Star break last season, batting .179 with a .293 on-base percentage and .297 slugging percentage.
Do you Giants fans think signing Dye to play first would be a good idea?
Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe says there should be no shortage of teams that need a right-handed power bat. Gary Sheffield will be looking for a team this off-season and Nick Cafardo has listed the Mets, Mariners, Braves, Cardinals, Rays, Twins, Orioles, A’s, Rangers and Giants as the teams that could find some role for him. Sheffield wants to reach 3,000 hits and right now he’s currently at 2,689.
King of Cali thoughts: Sheffield was always a guy I wanted the Giants to get. He’s now 41 years old, and he’s by far not the force he once was. Let’s hope the Giants don’t fall back on Sheffield. I would rather Keep Velez, Rowand and Schierholtz in the outfield. Sheffield would need to stick to the American League if he wants to have a chance to reach 3,000 hits.
Troy Renck of the Denver Post says Yorvit Torrealba, who turned down a two-year, $4.5 million deal from the Rockies. Is expected to receive an offer soon from the clubs that have called about him, including one from the NL West. Troy says he hasn’t pinpointed the NL West team, but the Giants make a lot of sense since they are expected to lose Bengie Molina and need someone they can trust in prospect Buster Posey needs more Triple-A seasoning.
King of Cali thoughts: I have always liked Torrealba, and think he would be a good fit with the Giants. Yorvit did hit .291 in 64 games, so sharing time between him and Posey would also work for Posey’s first full year in the show.
Jon Heyman of SI.com gives us the latest scoop with some of the top free agents out there.
Matt Holliday has absorbed two blows when management people with the Angels and Giants said they wouldn’t be pursuing him.
Johnny Damon is looking for a four-year deal. The Yankees are believed willing to give him two years, but it will be interesting to see if they meet at three years. Damon is believed to badly want to stay with the Yankees, but will have outside interest at least from the San Francisco Giants.
Miguel Tejada had a nice year in Houston (.313, 86 RBIs) should draw interest. Philly, Texas and possibly the Giants all make some sense.
King of Cali thoughts: It’s a bummer to hear Sabean say the Giants will not likely pursue Bay or Holliday. I guess that’s just the reality of it since we have some bad contracts on our team. Damon doesn’t seem like a good fit for the Giants. He’s going to start his decline and his homers were up this year because of playing at the new launching pad in New York. Tejada on the other hand would make perfect sense. This guy has a very nice bat that can help spark our offense.
