I’ll add more as the day rolls along, so check back frequently. Lots of tidbits to peruse…
* The Giants added four fresh young fellows to the 40–man roster, all pitchers: Jesse English, Waldis Joaquin, Joseph Martinez, and Henry Sosa. English had a great year with single-A San Jose after years of problems, including two years not pitching at all. Behind Bumgarner and Alderson, Sosa is probably the highest-ranked pitching prospect, but a knee injury early this year set him back. Joaquin had terrible control problems in Hawaii winter ball, but he put up intriguing peripheral stats in two single-A stops this year, including just 1 home run allowed in 52 innings at Augusta. Factor his age — he turns 22 on Xmas Day — and there’s a lot of upside. Martinez pitched all year with AA Connecticut, and quietly had a nice year. Not tons of Ks, but lots of ground balls and few HRs. He’s my dark-horse candidate for a 5th starter/long man spot in the show next year.
* That leaves three more open spots on the 40–man. The Giants almost certainly will sign another free-agent reliever (38), and they seem determined to get a middle infielder, be it Rafael Furcal, Edgar Renteria, or, now according to Chris Haft, Orlando Hudson (39).
I can’t imagine they’ll go after a free-agent 2B and SS. One or the other; my guess is the Hudson pursuit is plan B in case Furcal washes out. Who knows, perhaps Hudson is the priority and Furcal the backup. Whatever the case, this middle-infield lust tells me a couple things: 1) The current candidates to start, Burriss and Frandsen, are young enough and positionally flexible enough (Burriss can play 2B, Frandsen 3B) that if a deal makes sense the Giants want to strike for a better player. 2) The Giants have little confidence that either Burriss or Frandsen can succeed as an everyday player. Is this fair? Perhaps a better question: Do they deserve to start in 2009? Even if they got their chance, there would be a disquieting lack of depth behind them: Bocock, Ochoa, Velez.
I can see the Giants’ thinking: Burriss is raw, Frandsen was never a sure thing and just sat out for a year with a serious injury. I’m hoping Frandsen gets an unobstructed shot at becoming the next Dustin Pedroia, but it seems the Giants aren’t willing to hand him anything. I’m starting to think the Giants want Burriss and Frandsen to compete for the 2009 utility middle-infield spot.
* Keiichi Yabu will be invited back to compete for a bullpen spot. I like this idea.
