San Francisco Chronicle-Harry Schulman
The Giants, in their first significant move to shape a team without Barry Bonds, signed free-agent center fielder Aaron Rowand to a five-year, $60 million contract on Wednesday.
For that significant investment, in both years and dollars, the Giants have secured a fifth-place hitter, an All-Star, a Gold Glove center fielder and, equally important, a personable and emotional leader who will be asked to infuse the clubhouse with the "warrior mentality" that manager Bruce Bochy complained it lacked last season.
"He's the type of guy who's going to hold everyone accountable to do the same thing he's doing, which is playing the game right and playing to win," Bochy said. The Giants could add another bat, but for now Bochy envisions Randy Winn batting third, Bengie Molina fourth and Rowand fifth.
After signing Rowand, one of the better hitters in a weak free-agent market, general manager Brian Sabean declared he will not trade pitchers Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum for offense, which means a proposed deal with Toronto for outfielder Alex Rios is dead. So, too, are talks with the Yankees for outfielder Hideki Matsui.
Sabean insisted he never actively shopped Cain or Lincecum and said, "We know the value of both individuals, believe me, and maybe more so after we've gone through this exercise. These might be the hottest two names in baseball."
Sabean will consider trading Jonathan Sanchez, other pitchers and younger outfielders to fill remaining needs - a third baseman, first baseman and relievers. Sabean will continue to pursue a contract with free-agent third baseman Pedro Feliz, not for three years, but perhaps for two. The Giants are not talking to Detroit about available third baseman Brandon Inge.
Dave Roberts will move to left field, with Nate Schierholtz, Rajai Davis and Fred Lewis destined to compete for backup roles if they are not traded. Sabean could deal Roberts but seems inclined to keep the only experienced leadoff hitter the Giants have.
Rowand, 30, was pursued by both of his former teams, neither of which wanted to give him five years. He chose the Giants after Bochy and Ron Schueler, the former White Sox GM who now works for Sabean, visited Rowand at his Las Vegas home and pitched San Francisco.
The Giants will draw criticism in some quarters for giving Rowand a five-year deal, but that is the cost of doing business in a free-agent market lacking quality hitters, and, as Sabean discovered, the cost of acquiring a potential impact hitter without surrendering Lincecum or Cain.
Sabean said that by signing Rowand the Giants helped further three offseason goals: getting younger, improving defensively and "adding a presence to our lineup."
"This guys is a tremendous all around player," Sabean said. "His no-nonsense approach is known throughout the game, including inside the clubhouse."
Rowand, 30, used another term for his approach.
"No bull--," he said.
The right-handed hitter spent five years with the Chicago White Sox, playing 157 games for the World Series title team in 2005, and played 161 games to help the Philadelphia Phillies overtake the Mets to win the National League East last season.
The career .286 hitter is coming off his best offensive season. He hit .309 with 27 homers, 89 RBIs and a .374 on-base percentage. He also won his first Gold Glove with a .995 fielding percentage.
Although his offensive numbers were inflated by playing a hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park, he hit .299 with a .368 on-base percentage, 10 homers and 41 RBIs on the road.
Beyond the numbers, Rowand is known for his fearlessness in the outfield. In 2006, he crashed into the center-field fence in Philadelphia to make a catch, and held onto the ball despite breaking his nose and bones around his left eye. Rowand said he loves the reputation as a do-or-die competitor.
"It's one thing if you say, 'Hey, that guy's a great hitter,' or, 'Hey, that guy's a great outfielder,' " Rowand said. "It's another thing when a guy shows up to play every day and that guy plays hard every day and will do whatever it takes to win every day.
"Hopefully when I'm done playing this game, that's what I'll be remembered for. If that's the only thing I got remembered for, I'd be content with that for the rest of my days."
Bochy was frustrated last season with older players who reported for work with aches and pains and declared they could not play. They view Rowand as the complete opposite, and Rowand said he told Bochy during their meeting in Las Vegas, "One thing I can promise you, I'm going to show up every day and play. I'm not going to take days off. I'm going to play whether I'm bruised up or not."
For that significant investment, in both years and dollars, the Giants have secured a fifth-place hitter, an All-Star, a Gold Glove center fielder and, equally important, a personable and emotional leader who will be asked to infuse the clubhouse with the "warrior mentality" that manager Bruce Bochy complained it lacked last season.
"He's the type of guy who's going to hold everyone accountable to do the same thing he's doing, which is playing the game right and playing to win," Bochy said. The Giants could add another bat, but for now Bochy envisions Randy Winn batting third, Bengie Molina fourth and Rowand fifth.
After signing Rowand, one of the better hitters in a weak free-agent market, general manager Brian Sabean declared he will not trade pitchers Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum for offense, which means a proposed deal with Toronto for outfielder Alex Rios is dead. So, too, are talks with the Yankees for outfielder Hideki Matsui.
Sabean insisted he never actively shopped Cain or Lincecum and said, "We know the value of both individuals, believe me, and maybe more so after we've gone through this exercise. These might be the hottest two names in baseball."
Sabean will consider trading Jonathan Sanchez, other pitchers and younger outfielders to fill remaining needs - a third baseman, first baseman and relievers. Sabean will continue to pursue a contract with free-agent third baseman Pedro Feliz, not for three years, but perhaps for two. The Giants are not talking to Detroit about available third baseman Brandon Inge.
Dave Roberts will move to left field, with Nate Schierholtz, Rajai Davis and Fred Lewis destined to compete for backup roles if they are not traded. Sabean could deal Roberts but seems inclined to keep the only experienced leadoff hitter the Giants have.
Rowand, 30, was pursued by both of his former teams, neither of which wanted to give him five years. He chose the Giants after Bochy and Ron Schueler, the former White Sox GM who now works for Sabean, visited Rowand at his Las Vegas home and pitched San Francisco.
The Giants will draw criticism in some quarters for giving Rowand a five-year deal, but that is the cost of doing business in a free-agent market lacking quality hitters, and, as Sabean discovered, the cost of acquiring a potential impact hitter without surrendering Lincecum or Cain.
Sabean said that by signing Rowand the Giants helped further three offseason goals: getting younger, improving defensively and "adding a presence to our lineup."
"This guys is a tremendous all around player," Sabean said. "His no-nonsense approach is known throughout the game, including inside the clubhouse."
Rowand, 30, used another term for his approach.
"No bull--," he said.
The right-handed hitter spent five years with the Chicago White Sox, playing 157 games for the World Series title team in 2005, and played 161 games to help the Philadelphia Phillies overtake the Mets to win the National League East last season.
The career .286 hitter is coming off his best offensive season. He hit .309 with 27 homers, 89 RBIs and a .374 on-base percentage. He also won his first Gold Glove with a .995 fielding percentage.
Although his offensive numbers were inflated by playing a hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park, he hit .299 with a .368 on-base percentage, 10 homers and 41 RBIs on the road.
Beyond the numbers, Rowand is known for his fearlessness in the outfield. In 2006, he crashed into the center-field fence in Philadelphia to make a catch, and held onto the ball despite breaking his nose and bones around his left eye. Rowand said he loves the reputation as a do-or-die competitor.
"It's one thing if you say, 'Hey, that guy's a great hitter,' or, 'Hey, that guy's a great outfielder,' " Rowand said. "It's another thing when a guy shows up to play every day and that guy plays hard every day and will do whatever it takes to win every day.
"Hopefully when I'm done playing this game, that's what I'll be remembered for. If that's the only thing I got remembered for, I'd be content with that for the rest of my days."
Bochy was frustrated last season with older players who reported for work with aches and pains and declared they could not play. They view Rowand as the complete opposite, and Rowand said he told Bochy during their meeting in Las Vegas, "One thing I can promise you, I'm going to show up every day and play. I'm not going to take days off. I'm going to play whether I'm bruised up or not."
1 comment:
I really like this deal for the Giants. Rowand is as hard-nosed as they get and will pay dividends in both performance and presence. And, they kept a strong staff intact. Now, if they could just get one more hitter....
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