Surprise! The Giants weren't done dealing after all. They've signed Ryan Theriot, backup middle infielder supreme, to a one-year deal for $1.25 M and incentives that could bump his cash to $2 M. It's non-guaranteed, which means they only pay him a few hundred thou if he's cut before Opening Day. (Hank has the details here.)
Blech, you say, another moving part who has no power and doesn't get on base very much. Right. There's a reason he's a backup infielder, although he's one of those backup infielders who always seems to be in a starting lineup somewhere. But if you know one thing and one thing only about Ryan Theriot -- other than the fact that Bip Roberts once, intending no apparent mischief, pronounced his name "The Riot" -- it's this:
Who knew? Many people, probably. Hopefully Bruce Bochy does, too, and will use him accordingly. No harm in having Theriot on the bench when Brandon Crawford starts, and having Crawford ready as a late-game defensive replacement when Theriot starts against tough lefties.
If Crawford, as some people predict, Bococks his way back to Triple-A, well, then the Giants will have a Rajun Cajun shortstop platoon of Theriot and Fontenot. (Add Brian Wilson, and it's three LSU alums on one team.) I'm not as down on Crawford; I think he'll hit just enough to make his glove indispensable. But I feel better with Theriot as an extra alternative, instead of just Fontenot and Manny Burriss. Keep in mind, Freddy Sanchez plays second base for the Giants, which means plenty of chances to look up and see " Theriot -- 2B" penciled into the lineup.
All in all, not a bad move. Thank you, Orlando Cabrera for retiring and making it possible.
With the Clay Hensley signing (which I missed yesterday), the Giants' 40-man roster is now topped up. They'll have to ditch someone to add someone. Hensley could well be the ditchee; his $750,000 contract is also non-guaranteed.
Blech, you say, another moving part who has no power and doesn't get on base very much. Right. There's a reason he's a backup infielder, although he's one of those backup infielders who always seems to be in a starting lineup somewhere. But if you know one thing and one thing only about Ryan Theriot -- other than the fact that Bip Roberts once, intending no apparent mischief, pronounced his name "The Riot" -- it's this:
vs LHP as RHB .301 / .373 / .401 / 122 tOPS*
Those are his career splits against left-handed pitchers. Gosh, I had no idea. Those are very good numbers. And if he could do in 2012 against lefties what he did in 2011 against lefties -- .310 / .356 / .413 -- he would be one of the best leadoff platoon hitters in baseball. (UPDATE: *Chris at Bay City Ball chided me softly on the Tweeter that tOPS, which I pulled from Theriot's Baseball Reference page, is not the same as OPS+, which is what that said before this update. Mea culpa. tOPS is a player's OPS in a split relative to his total OPS; in other words, Theriot is better (22% better?) hitting against lefties than he is against all pitchers. Which isn't as impressive as saying he's 22% better than the league. But his raw slash line against lefties is still impressive for a middle infielder.)
Who knew? Many people, probably. Hopefully Bruce Bochy does, too, and will use him accordingly. No harm in having Theriot on the bench when Brandon Crawford starts, and having Crawford ready as a late-game defensive replacement when Theriot starts against tough lefties.
If Crawford, as some people predict, Bococks his way back to Triple-A, well, then the Giants will have a Rajun Cajun shortstop platoon of Theriot and Fontenot. (Add Brian Wilson, and it's three LSU alums on one team.) I'm not as down on Crawford; I think he'll hit just enough to make his glove indispensable. But I feel better with Theriot as an extra alternative, instead of just Fontenot and Manny Burriss. Keep in mind, Freddy Sanchez plays second base for the Giants, which means plenty of chances to look up and see " Theriot -- 2B" penciled into the lineup.
All in all, not a bad move. Thank you, Orlando Cabrera for retiring and making it possible.
With the Clay Hensley signing (which I missed yesterday), the Giants' 40-man roster is now topped up. They'll have to ditch someone to add someone. Hensley could well be the ditchee; his $750,000 contract is also non-guaranteed.
