* Alex Rodriguez took steroids. Next topic:
* Rich Aurilia is coming back to the Giants on a minor-league deal, writes Ken Rosenthal. [UPDATE: Sfgiants.com has confirmed it.] As noted in my last post, this is a guy who crushed lefty pitching last year and won’t embarrass himself as a fill-in infielder. For him to take a minor-league contract is remarkable. You’d think some team somewhere would offer a guaranteed half a mil. Maybe I’m overestimating Richie’s remaining skills.
* Schulman of the Chron has more details: Richie could have signed a major-league deal early with Houston. The Giants told him he’d be a right-handed bat off the bench and possible spot starter, to which Aurilia added, "You never know what can happen. Look at last year. I was supposed to have the same role, and the last week of spring training they came to me and said, ‘You're the starting first baseman.’"
Also: if the Giants acquire another infielder during spring training, Aurilia can get out of his contract and look for a job elsewhere. (The Giants don’t expect to land Joe Crede, writes Schulman.)
* Baseball Prospectus has released its team depth charts but hasn’t updated its PECOTA projections for 2009. For subscribers, the Giants’ chart is here. They also project the Giants to go 79–83, third best in the N.L. West and a seven-game improvement.
BP says they’ll score 702 runs, give up 716, and hit .260 / .320 / .400 as a team. Last year they scored 640, gave up 759, and hit .262 / .321 / .382.
* With all these guys competing for a few roster spots, the Fresno Grizzlies will have some intriguing roster puzzles of their own. Remember, the Giants signed Jesus Guzman, a prodigious minor-league hitter with defensive liabilities, out from under the A’s noses. He went on to win the Venezuelan Winter League MVP this year. He’s been invited to big-league camp but will likely start the year at AAA, probably at 3B. Either Burriss or Velez, perhaps both, will be in the middle infield. Ishikawa is out of options, so John Bowker will have to shine on offense and defense this spring to avoid going back to AAA. He split time between OF and 1B there when demoted last year. If Uribe or Phelps spend any time at AAA, the infield could get crowded. And they’ll always have Scott McClain.
