Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com says (via twitter) that the Giants are letting teams know that Nate Schierholtz is available. Crasnick also says Schierholtz may be the odd man out when Andres Torres returns from his injury. It may be true that the Giants are shopping Schierholtz, but let’s not forget that the Giants can send Darren Ford back to Triple-A Fresno when Torres comes off the DL.
Welcome Back (Again)
Jenifer Langosch (Pirates Beat Writer) of MLB.com tells SF Giants Rumors that Pirates fans loved Freddy Sanchez when he was in Pittsburgh, so he will be treated to a nice ovation.
Sanchez was a 3-time All Star, and won the NL Batting Title in 2006 (.344) while a member of the Pirates.
Trade Market
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports says Mark DeRosa would be a perfect fit for the Florida Marlins as their biggest need is thrid base.
Rosenthal also chimes in on Miguel Tejada‘s struggles and says remember these names for the trade market Jose Reyes, Marco Scutaro and J.J. Hardy.
Injury Update
Andrew Baggarly says (via twitter) Barry Zito will see a specialist in North Carolina to examine his sprained foot tomorrow.
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle chimes in on Andres Torres and Cody Ross. Schulman says the Giants will decide today whether they should place Torres on the disabled list (DL). He also says Ross has began jogging and shagging flyballs. Ross will be joining the Giants on their trip to Arizona, and the plan is to get him some at-bats in extended spring games. Opening Day I seen Ross playing catch and asked how his calf was feeling. He gave a thumbs up, so I’m sure he’s itching to get back on that field ASAP! Win “Freak Season” Book!
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Pitchers Jose Casilla Hector Correa Jake Dunning Chris Gloor Heath Hembree Chris Heston Mitch Lively Michael Main Kelvin Marte Jose Valdez Craig Westcott Zack Wheeler Chris Wilson
Catchers
Tommy Joseph Hector Sanchez
Infielders
Luke Anders Ryan Cavan Juan Ciriaco Chris Dominguez Carter Jurica Nick Liles
Outfielders
Gary Brown Wendell Fairley Ryan Lollis Jarrett Parker
Matt Cain made his first start since Feb. 27th, and tossed 3 shutout innings. Cain threw 43 pitches, 3 hits, no walks and 1 strikeout. Cain has been sidelined with right elbow inflammation. Now it’s a waiting game. Everyone has to wait and see how Cain’s elbow feels tomorrow. Let’s hope it’s fine and he’s back on track to be ready by the start of the season. Shotgun Cain is a workhorse, and it would be a huge blow to the Giants if Cain ever goes down for any portion of the season.
Torres Taking Cuts From The Right Side
Andres Torres has had an injured left oblique, so he hasn’t’ been getting his swings in from the right side. He was in the lineup today to get some AB’s against the Brewers LHP Randy Wolf. Torres had a 1-for-3 day, and his one hit was a triple.
Zito Feels Good
Barry Zito took his game to the Minor League field today, pitched against the Minor League Camp. Zito threw 82 pitches and said after that he was feeling good about his pitches. Maybe all this trade/release talk about Zito will help fuel a comeback player of the year type season for Zito.
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Mychael Urban of CSNBayarea.com says the San Francisco Giants have signed Edgar Gonzalez to a Minor League deal. Gonzalez did not get an invite to Major League Spring Training, but will report to the Minor League Spring Training camp. Gonzalez is 32 years old, and is the older brother of Red Sox newly acquired Adrian Gonzalez. With 193 games under his belt in the Majors, Gonzalez has a .255 career average with 11 homers and 51 RBI’s.
Have you ever wondered what players do on Friday nights in the offseason? San Francisco Giantsthird baseman Pablo Sandoval was at a gym in Florida, getting in another workout. The Kung Fu Panda seems very dedicated to being in the best possible shape he can be by the start of Spring Training. Below is a video of Pablo on Friday January 28, 2011. It’s a backside view but you can tell Pablo has definitely shed some pounds.
Don’t forget to check out Sandoval’s official site. ~King of Cali
The San Francisco Giants have come to terms with Javier Lopez (between $2M-$2.8M, likely $2.4M), and Santiago Casilla (1 year, $1.3M). The only remaining player that is arbitration eligible is outfielder Andres Torres. We should be hearing about a Torres/Giants agreement soon. Torres filed for $2.6 million and the Giants offer was $1.8 million, so how about I just make the deal happen for them and say $2.2 million? Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News said (via twitter) that he’s hearing the Giants are close to signing Jeff Suppan to a minor league contract. Suppan will also get an invite to Spring Training. The Giants need rotation insurance. Baggarly says in another tweet that Suppan’s deal with the Giants, once finalized, includes $1 million if he makes the club. Suppan also has an out clause in late March if he’s not added to the team roster. Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes says (via twitter) that the Giants have signed Francisco Cruceta to a minor league contract, and will be given an invitation to Spring Training. ~King of Cali
The San Francisco Giants announced that their 2011 payroll will be $120 million. That’s because of player raises andMiguel Tejada and Aubrey Huff‘s new contracts. Bruce Bochy has one more year on his contract (2011) so should the Giants reward the first World Series manager in San Francisco history with a contract extension? Possible extension in the works. The Giants beat writer Chris Haft speculates (In his blog) that the Giants can possibly be eyeing outfielderScott Podsednik. Sabean would like to add a left-handed bat and it doesn’t have to be a power hitter. He’s a career .279 hitter with 301 stolen bases in 10 seasons. Carl Steward of the San Jose Mercury News shares with us some insights of the Winter Meetings in Florida. Aaron Rowand still has two years left on his contract. It’s no secret that the Giants may be looking to trade him for a left-handed bat. If he does stay with the Giants he will be asked to also play some left/right field as well. The Giants are still looking for a backup shortstop and Edgar Renteria still remains in the loop. “He’s going to see what’s out there, and I don’t blame him. But we definitely have interest.” – Bochy on Renteria
Mark DeRosa will be taking over at the super utility role. He can play all the infield positions (not catcher/pitcher) and left field. He’s coming off wrist surgery.
Darren Ford will likely start the season in Fresno. Bochy says Ford needs to get more consistent with the bat.
Pablo Sandoval has lost a little over 10 pounds. Brian Sabean has said if Sandoval doesn’t meet weight requirements then he will start the season in the minors.
“He’s got a little ways to go. I don’t want to put a number on it, but he’s still probably got 15 or so somewhere in there.” – Bochy on Sandoval
Freddy Sanchezhas had shoulder surgery on his left shoulder and is expected to be ready by opening day. He won’t be ready by Spring Training, but should be able to get some exhibition games in before the season starts.
Enrique Rojas says via twitter that Miguel Tejada has agreed to a one-year deal with the San Francisco Giants for $6.5 million and with $500,000 signing bonus. ~King of Cali
