Several marquee players weren't offered arbitration last night. Here's a list of the surprises, according to MLB Trade Rumors:
Bobby Abreu
Joe Beimel
Pat Burrell
Adam Dunn
Braden Looper
Jamie Moyer
Randy Wolf
Kerry Wood
I would add Bobby Howry to that list. He's no Kerry Wood, but he was Type-A. Now his next team won't have to forfeit draft picks. In his good years, he's about as good as a setup man gets. In fact, I'll bet Howry is the Giants' next top priority. There's plenty of chatter about Burrell and Dunn, seeing how the Giants desperately need home run hitters, but neither of those guys fits the bill. Burrell is 32 and exudes near-future DH-ness. Dunn is younger and could make the switch to full-time 1B more easily, but with his terrible career numbers at Mays Field, I doubt he wants to sign a long-term deal with S.F. Fans tend to forget the "free" part of free agency. Just offer bank cash dollars, and they will come? No. These guys have personal preferences, too.
In addition to Howry, I wouldn't be shocked if the whisper mill links the Giants to Looper and Wolf. A few mil for one of those guys as 5th starter could work for me and give the Giants more breathing room in case Lowry doesn't return or Jonathan Sanchez is traded. I'd love to see the injury-prone Wolf on an incentive-heavy contract, but he'll probably get enough interest to demand guaranteed money. You want a really dark horse candidate? Put a few bucks on Randy Johnson. Laugh all you want, but the Unit was very good and fairly durable in 2008. Thirty starts, 184 innings, 173 Ks versus only 44 walks? Sure, he might never reach those numbers again as his body continues to crumble, but what's the risk worth? How about $5 M guaranteed with another $5 M in incentives?
