Veteran nearly assured of utility role with San Francisco
Chris Haft MLB.com It's not a stretch to suggest that Juan Uribe could prove to be the most valuable free agent the Giants signed last offseason -- or, at the very least, among the most essential.
Uribe signed a Minor League contract on Jan. 29, but the type of deal was a mere formality, since the Giants had no 40-man roster spots left. They know that he's a legitimate Major Leaguer who's capable of filling in at second base, shortstop and third base. Moreover, he can provide offense, having hit 20 or more home runs three times in his seven full big league seasons.
Uribe punctuated his Cactus League performance with an exclamation point Monday by homering twice, including an impressive opposite-field shot to right field, in the Giants' 7-5, 10-inning loss to the Texas Rangers. Uribe and Jesus Guzman, whose two-out homer tied the score, 5-5, in the ninth, share the team lead in RBIs with 15.
"I knew we were getting a good player, but he's played great this spring," manager Bruce Bochy said of Uribe, who's batting .400 (8-for-20) with runners in scoring position.
At 30, Uribe has reached a juncture in his career where he knows that his best chance to stay in the Majors is as a utility man. Any former regular who becomes a reserve won't be proficient at the role unless he embraces it. Uribe sounded as if he has adopted this attitude.
"I can't say, 'I want to play every day,'" said Uribe, a nephew of former Giants infielder Jose Uribe. "Where the team needs me, where the manager wants me to play, I'll do it."
Briefly this spring, Uribe's status appeared to be in doubt. Since he signed that Minor League deal, the Giants were under no obligation to keep him on the Opening Day roster. But he improved his conditioning -- "He's gotten himself in great shape since he's been here," Bochy said -- and has virtually assured himself of a job.
Asked if Uribe was part of the team in every roster scenario, Bochy said, "Right now, that's the way it's shaping up."
Bochy added that Uribe's versatility makes him ideal to use in double-switches, while his offensive potential would enable him to thrive as a pinch-hitter.
Cast aside by the Chicago White Sox, for whom Uribe played from 2004-08, he's grateful just to be considered.
"I'm happy that the team has given me a chance to play," he said.
But Uribe also knows that though his prospects look good, he shouldn't peruse apartment listings in San Francisco until the roster is finalized.
"I don't have control," Uribe said.
Exactly how the Giants will set their roster remains mysterious. They appear to have an excess of qualified infielders, yet Bochy reiterated that Uribe, Rich Aurilia and the loser of the Emmanuel Burriss-Kevin Frandsen tug-of-war at second base all could make the Opening Day squad -- which might force the Giants into stocking the pitching staff or outfield with one fewer player than usual, or gambling by assigning third baseman Pablo Sandoval the duty of backup catcher.
"We're discussing this club on a daily basis," Bochy said. "We've got some difficult decisions coming up."
Giants prospect had good experience learning from Major Leaguers
Chris Haft MLB.com Buster Posey's inevitable departure from big league Spring Training more closely resembled a see-you-later than a farewell.
The Giants reassigned their prized catching prospect to Minor League camp after Sunday's 1-0 exhibition loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, but the move theoretically wasn't a demotion. Ideally, it'll hasten Posey's development, as he's expected to play every day with other top farmhands at high-Class A San Jose.
Though Posey was in Major League camp to gain experience and knowledge, he often looked like somebody competing for a job. He hit .300 (9-for-30) with two home runs, seven RBIs and a .533 slugging percentage. The 22-year-old finally appeared a little overmatched at the plate Sunday, striking out twice in an 0-for-3 afternoon while playing the entire game.
He's not ready yet, but the Giants believe he could be ready soon. Posey still must learn the art of calling pitches. Still, since starting catcher Bengie Molina will become eligible for free agency after this season, Posey's timetable could be accelerated.
"We think a lot of Buster," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He's a talented player. We wanted him to get the experience of playing with these guys and also get a look at him."
Posey, who won last year's Golden Spikes Award as the country's top amateur player before the Giants drafted him fifth overall out of Florida State University, gained a sense of the considerable difference between college ball and the Majors.
"The experience for me was good because it gave me a chance to see the speed of the game," Posey said. "... I felt like I made the adjustment pretty well and I felt like I learned a lot."
What Posey learned encompassed all aspects of the game, though a large portion of his education involved catching.
"There's little nuances I picked up," he said. He learned not only by listening to coaches and veterans such as Molina, but also by watching exhibition-game opponents.
It was initially believed that Posey would go to Minor League camp in early March, but the Giants waited until only three games remained on their Cactus League schedule to reassign him.
"I didn't know the time frame, but I didn't think I'd stay this long," he said.
Posey, who received a $6.2 million bonus, set a simple yet oft-unattainable goal for himself as he enters his first full professional season.
"I hope it stays the same with me my whole career -- for me, it's to go out and be consistent," he said. "I think that's one of the big keys to this game. When you look at the guys who've played for so long, they've maintained that consistency."
Posey's not the only Giant likely to use the Minors as a stepping-stone. Another is right-hander Joe Martinez, who blanked Milwaukee for four innings Sunday to lower his spring ERA to 4.12. Martinez, who led the Eastern League last year with a 2.49 ERA, has aligned himself as a leading candidate to be summoned to the Majors if or when the Giants need to replace an injured or ineffective starting pitcher.
"I hope I've shown that I can compete and give them some quality innings," said Martinez, who hasn't yet been officially demoted. "I hope that if they need me, they feel comfortable calling on me."
Martinez, 26, relies on a sinking fastball to coax opponents into hitting harmless grounders and lifting innocuous popups. Though he's not renowned for striking out hitters, he fanned Milwaukee's Prince Fielder with two runners aboard and one out before escaping the first inning.
"If my fastball has movement and a little life on it, that's the biggest thing," he said. "It's not necessarily how hard I'm throwing."
Besides trimming Posey from the spring roster, the Giants optioned first baseman-outfielder John Bowker and right-hander Osiris Matos to Triple-A Fresno, leaving 32 players in camp.
Both had chances to make the club but would have needed excellent Cactus League performances to do so. Bowker, who batted .255 with 10 home runs and 43 RBIs in 111 games with the Giants last year, hit .211 with two homers, 10 RBIs and a .351 slugging percentage this spring. He also had a team-high 15 strikeouts in 57 at-bats. Matos, 1-2 with a 4.79 ERA in 20 relief appearances for the Giants last season, allowed only one earned run in his first 10 Cactus League outings but was sent down with a 4.22 ERA in 11 games.
Just hours after acquiring catcher Ronny Paulino from Philadelphia, the Giants traded him to the Marlins for Minor League right-hander Hector Correa.
Correa was named the No. 3 prospect in the New York-Penn League in 2007, earning all-star honors with the short-season Class A Jamestown club, going 6-2 with a 3.22 ERA in 11 starts.
Reliever Jack Taschner was the longest-tenured Giant on the 40-man roster, a left-hander who persevered through multiple arm surgeries and made it to the majors after a seven-year climb. It was a nice story that ended, not happily, with Taschner traded to the Phillies on Friday.
In return the Giants got Ronny Paulino, a 27-year-old catcher who batted .278 in 304 games for the Pirates from 2005-08. Pittsburgh traded him to Philadelphia in December. The Giants were looking for to upgrade their backup catching.
Taschner, who turns 31 next month, was 8-4 with a 5.01 ERA in 178 games for the Giants since his 2005 debut. He was at times a valuable reliever, but recent struggles with the strike zone troubled management. Over the past two seasons, Taschner walked 53 batters in 98 innings. He had 12 walks in nine innings this spring.
Before spring training, general manager Brian Sabean declared that relievers who do not throw strikes would not be on this team. In Taschner's case, he kept his word. For his part, Taschner was not always thrilled with the way he was used. Last year, he privately complained that one bad outing would land him in the doghouse for days.
Clearly, this is a trade that both sides wanted, and a possible change of scenery was discussed during a recent meeting between Taschner and manager Bruce Bochy. Taschner said he did not specifically ask to be traded.
"This is a good opportunity," Taschner said Friday night. "I get to go to the defending world champs and pitch a little. I get to go back and play with (former teammate) Scottie Eyre. Sometimes you get to a point in your career - I got to a spot where I wasn't getting it done in San Francisco all the time - and you look forward to going to another club.
"Plus you get a new set of eyes to look at you, and a new mentality."
It is unclear if Paulino will be Bengie Molina's backup catcher. Earlier Friday, when this deal clearly had to be in the works, general manager Brian Sabean said he and the staff were considering a two-man catching corps, with Molina as the starter and Pablo Sandoval moving from third to catcher if Molina was removed.
One reason, besides the potential need for a 12th pitcher over a third catcher, would be preventing a weak-hitting backup catcher from moving into Molina's cleanup spot late in games. Paulino's hitting has regressed since his .310 rookie season in 2006. He batted .212 in 118 at-bats for the Pirates last year. This spring for Philly, he hit .194 with 12 strikeouts in 31 at-bats.
Giants officials were not immediately available to comment.
BATS ALIVE: A lineup featuring mostly backups pounded reigning American League Cy Young Cliff Lee for eight runs in five innings in a 10-3 victory over the Indians.
Andres Torres and Eugenio Velez, who might be competing for the same bench job, combined to go 5-for-10 with five runs, two doubles and a triple. Juan Uribe hit two doubles and drove in three runs.
Jonathan Sanchez produced one of the best starts by a Giant this spring. He allowed two runs over seven innings, walked none and struck out six.
Torres, Uribe, Velez spark offense; Sanchez solid over seven
Chris Haft MLB.com GIANTS 10, INDIANS 3 at Scottsdale, Ariz. Friday, March 27
Indians at the plate: Cleveland stranded a runner in scoring position in each of the first three innings before Jhonny Peralta led off the fourth inning with his third homer of the spring. Peralta also singled and scored in the sixth to lift his Cactus League average to .435.
Giants at the plate: Eugenio Velez stroked a single, double and a triple to pace the Giants to their third win in a row and ninth in their last 11 games. Andres Torres, Nate Schierholtz, Rich Aurilia and Juan Uribe each had two hits, as the Giants amassed seven extra-base hits.
Indians on the mound: Cliff Lee, the American League's reigning Cy Young Award winner, yielded eight runs (seven earned) and 12 hits in five innings, as his ERA rose to 12.42. He walked none and struck out six.
Giants on the mound: Jonathan Sanchez pitched by far his best Cactus League game, allowing two runs and seven hits in seven innings, the longest outing by a San Francisco pitcher this spring. He threw 81 pitches, including 57 for strikes, while walking none and striking out six.
Cactus League records: Indians 9-16-2; Giants 17-14
Up next: The Indians will travel to Tucson, their former Spring Training home, to face the Arizona Diamondbacks at 4:05 p.m. ET on Saturday. Left-hander Zach Jackson, who will start, and right-hander Vinnie Chulk are each expected to pitch multiple innings as they compete for the bullpen's last vacancy -- a long-relief role.
San Francisco will go to Peoria on Saturday to confront National League West rival San Diego, which will send its No. 2 pitcher, right-hander Chris Young, against Giants prospect Kevin Pucetas. That game starts at 1:05 p.m. PT.
