Giants avoids arbitration for Brian Wilson

Henry Schulman
SFGate/San Francisco Chronicle
The Giants and closer Brian Wilson took the path of least resistance in agreeing to a 2010 contract Saturday, agreeing to split the difference of their arbitration filings and settle on $4,437,500.

That is halfway between the $4 million the Giants offered and the $4.85 million that the 27-year-old closer requested after saving 38 games in 45 chances last season. For that, he earned $480,000 and thus will get nearly 10 times as much in his first year of arbitration eligibility.

Given how close the two sides were in their official filings, their Solomon-like compromise was the least-surprising outcome. It was difficult to believe they would have ended up in a hearing room over $850,000, and for reasons they might explain shortly, they opted to produce a one-year contract rather than work out a multiyear deal.

Saturday's news leaves the Giants with one potential hearing, otherwise known as "The Doozy." Tim Lincecum is seeking $13 million. The Giants are offering $8 million. They still have plenty of time to work out an agreement before they would have a hearing sometime in February.

Sabean playing with fire

Gary Peterson
Oakland Tribune

Best case scenario, Freddy Sanchez isn't out long enough to be missed. He's back in the lineup before taxes are due. His left shoulder feels like $12 million over two years. By the time the Giants take the field for Game 1 of the NLDS, his offseason medical misadventures are long forgotten (think Jeff Kent's wrist in 2002).

Worst case scenario, one or more of the variables in the best case scenario fails to materialize. The Giants are unable to forge their pleasantly surprising 2009 into a pleasantly confirming 2010. Sanchez becomes a magnet for fan dissatisfaction, the Armando Benitez of the 20-teens. If you want to go full doomsday, Tim Lincecum free-falls to third in the Cy Young balloting.

And the whole unfulfilling spectacle costs general manager Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy their jobs.

There might be a patch of middle ground in there somewhere. Say, Sanchez barely contributes but the Giants win 89 games and squeeze into/just miss out on a wild-card berth. But as we speak, this business regarding Sanchez and his shoulder smells like an either-or proposition.

That isn't necessarily the way Sabean saw it Friday during a conference call with reporters.

"He's young enough, he's hard working, he's on a mission," Sabean said. "He wanted to stay with the ballclub and be our second baseman, and that's the way it's going to turn out."

Then again, Sabean is pretty invested in the process which began July 29 when he acquired Sanchez from Pittsburgh for pitching prospect Tim Alderson. The Giants were dreaming big at the time and led the wild card race by a half-game at the close of business that day.

They wound up four games behind wild-card winner Colorado. For his part, Sanchez played in just 25 of the Giants' final 61 games, missing time with a strained left shoulder and a cartilage problem in his left knee. His knee was surgically repaired in September. The Giants reworked his contract in October — replacing an $8.1 million option for 2010 with a two-year, $12 million deal through 2011.

In early December, Sanchez broke down for the third time in little more than four months, when his shoulder failed to hold up to resumed baseball activity. He had surgery Dec. 23 to repair his labrum. The Giants kept it quiet for almost a month before Bochy broke the news in a radio interview this week.

Will Sanchez be ready to start the season? Giants head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner checked in with a definite maybe.

"That's a goal for Freddy," said Groeschner, who has been overseeing Sanchez's rehab in Arizona. "I know he's working his butt off right now. It's a possibility, but it may not happen."

So many questions. When does Sanchez come back? How will his shoulder hold up? Which player will he be? The guy who won a battling title with 53 doubles in 2006? The guy who hit .304 and made the All-Star team in 2007? The guy who posted career lows in average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage in 2008? The ghost who hit a soft .284 for the Giants at the end of 2009? Which body part will break down next?

Sabean, of course, defended the Giants' decision to rework Sanchez's contract last fall while he was between surgeries.

"The nth degree of due diligence was done on the medical side," he said. "This is something we couldn't pinpoint. It shows the medical profession isn't perfect. There's nothing more we could have done."

Perhaps not. But this makes twice Sabean has wound up on the wrong side of a thoughtful decision regarding Sanchez. And while Sabean deserves credit for rebuilding the post-Barry Bonds Giants into a would-be contender, that process has featured some high profile swing-throughs (Aaron Rowand, Edgar Renteria, Ryan Garko).

Clearly that isn't lost on team managing partner Bill Neukom, who limited to two years the new contracts he gave Sabean and Bochy after last season. Because as we all know, a two-year contract is code for, "You have one year to make something happen."

That the year may start with Sanchez on the bench is an ominous development for the GM and the manager — unless the Giants are deeper than they appear, their young players are older than they look, and Neukom is more forgiving than the contracts he doles out with such calculated restraint.

Jesus Guzman Designated for Assignment

Mike Lovell
Talkin' Giants Baseball
Jesus Guzman was designated for assignment to make room for Bengie Molina on the 40 man roster.

Guzman's designation in an indicator that the Giants farm system is very healthy. Guzman is an excellent hitter who could not find a defensive position with the Giants organization. Guzman will, with little doubt find a place in baseball....the American League as a Designated Hitter is the logical destination for Guzman.

AP source: Giants, Molina agree to 1-year deal

Janie McCauley
Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO -- In an unexpected twist, Bengie Molina is coming back to the San Francisco Giants after all.

The free-agent catcher reached a preliminary agreement with the Giants on a one-year contract, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement was pending a physical and had not been completed.

It's a surprising move for both sides, because Molina had been negotiating a two-year deal with the New York Mets only days ago. He had hoped to land a three-year contract this offseason, and Giants general manager Brian Sabean had said the veteran catcher wouldn't return.

"That ship has sailed," Sabean said at the winter meetings last month.

KPIX TV in San Francisco first reported Molina's deal.

The Giants also agreed Tuesday to a one-year contract with left-hander Jonathan Sanchez, avoiding arbitration. Sanchez threw a no-hitter on July 10.

While Molina appeared set to join the Mets, the Giants came back into the picture only recently.

Molina said late in the 2009 season that he would like to stay in San Francisco if shown he was wanted. Right away, Sabean ruled out giving Molina more than a one-year deal with Buster Posey set to be the club's catcher of the future.

The 35-year-old Molina batted .265 with a career-high 20 home runs to go with 80 RBIs last season as the cleanup hitter in his third year with the Giants and 12th in the big leagues.

Molina's previous $16 million, three-year contract ended after last season and he became a free agent. He also said he would like to retire as a Giant.

San Francisco was never prepared to make such a commitment considering Molina's age and health concerns. The Giants were ready to move forward with Posey, the fifth overall pick in the 2008 draft, if no other opportunity emerged. Yet Sabean had said this winter he didn't think Posey was ready to be a full-time major league catcher and would prefer he start the season with Triple-A Fresno to gain more experience.

Posey hit .325 with 18 homers and 80 RBIs in the minors last season and played seven games with San Francisco in September.

Giants' roster takes shape with Huff

Expected signing should cap bulk of team's upgrades

Chris Haft
MLB.com
As you run your fingers down the Giants' projected Opening Day roster, don't forget to cross them.

The impending signing of first baseman Aubrey Huff likely finishes the Giants' offseason efforts to upgrade the ballclub, though they still might pursue a veteran catcher to keep Buster Posey's shinguards warm and a starting pitcher to deepen the back end of the rotation.

Unless the Giants find a latter-day Johnny Bench to catch, they're essentially done trying to bolster the offense. San Francisco appears to have helped itself incrementally, though not dramatically, by adding free agents Huff and Mark DeRosa. Huff batted .304 with 32 home runs and 108 RBIs as recently as 2008 with Baltimore, and DeRosa hit a career-high 23 homers last year with Cleveland and St. Louis.

But the Giants will need widespread resiliency to sustain the progress they made last year, when they improved by 16 victories to finish 88-74 and lift the shroud of four consecutive losing seasons.

Health is an issue. Second baseman Freddy Sanchez (left knee, left shoulder), DeRosa (left wrist) and shortstop Edgar Renteria (both shoulders, right elbow) are striving to recover from injuries.

Additionally, several Giants must rebound from subpar seasons. Renteria hit a career-low .250. Huff also recorded his lowest batting average (.241) and hit 15 homers, less than half of what he amassed the previous season. Center fielder Aaron Rowand hit .261, his lowest average since he hit .258 in 2002, his first full Major League season. During his injury-shortened stint of 25 games with the Giants last year, Sanchez compiled on-base and slugging percentages of .295 and .324, respectively. By comparison, he owns a career on-base average of .334 and a slugging percentage of .417.

The lone "youngsters" in this veteran-laden lineup will have something to prove. For now, Posey, who turns 23 on March 27 and has generated considerable hype while playing 132 professional regular-season games, will be the Opening Day catcher. Nate Schierholtz, who turns 26 on Feb. 15, is probably the leading right-field candidate. Schierholtz impressed management by hitting .324 in 19 games for Gigantes de Carolina in the Puerto Rican Winter League, but still must show that the .164 average he posted in his final 29 games last season was an aberration.

With Huff's arrival, Pablo Sandoval is destined to settle at third base while DeRosa occupies left field. Against left-handed pitchers, the left-handed-batting Huff probably will sit more often than not. In that event, Sandoval could move to first base while Juan Uribe -- now destined to fill the super-utility role the Giants envisioned for him -- plays third. Or DeRosa could be the right-handed-batting platoon first baseman, with Sandoval remaining at third base and a fresh reserve moving to left field from the bench.

The batting order could change frequently. As general manager Brian Sabean suggested last week, Rowand might indeed begin the season as the leadoff hitter. Manager Bruce Bochy likes Sanchez in the No. 2 spot but knows that the 2006 National League batting champion also has the aptitude to hit third. If Sanchez drops to third, DeRosa could fill the No. 2 hole, a role he has handled in 139 career games.

Though Sandoval has been anointed as the cleanup hitter, he could bat third under certain circumstances. Huff, who has spent almost his entire career in the 3-4-5 neighborhood, looks like a No. 5 hitter as a Giant. Posey, Renteria and Schierholtz will complete the order, not necessarily in that sequence.

Competition for reserve spots will be fierce in Spring Training. Eugenio Velez and Andres Torres, who not long ago were expected to compete for or share playing time in left field, will be handy to bring off the bench, given their speed and switch-hitting ability. Fred Lewis and John Bowker ostensibly are part of the outfield mix. But the Giants may try to trade Lewis, and Bowker still has a Minor League option remaining.

First baseman Travis Ishikawa probably still has a place on the roster despite Huff's presence. Bochy has said that he might experiment with Ishikawa in left field during Spring Training. That would give Bochy more flexibility and Ishikawa more job security and maybe even playing time.

Given DeRosa's and Uribe's versatility and Velez's ability to play second base, the Giants might not need to keep an additional utility infielder. They can choose from among Kevin Frandsen, Emmanuel Burriss and Ryan Rohlinger if they elect to add one.

Giants Agree to Sign Aubrey Huff

By Ben Nicholson-Smith [January 10 at 10:16pm CST]
from: Major League Trade Rumors.com

The Giants agreed to sign Aubrey Huff to a one-year $3MM deal, according to Dennis O'Donnell of CBS5 in San Francisco. The deal, O'Donnell says via e-mail, is pending a physical.

Huff split his time between first base and DH last year and though he has played hundreds of major league games at third, he figures to play first for the Giants. Pablo Sandoval, Mark DeRosa and Juan Uribe are all in the mix for time at the corner infield positions, so Bruce Bochy will have lots of options.

Huff, 33, hit .241/.310/.384 in 2009. He will presumably pick up some at bats from Travis Ishikawa, who is seven years younger than Huff and plays better defense. Ishikawa hit .261/.329/.387 last year in 113 games at first base, so he was more productive than Huff at the plate, too.

As MLBTR's Mike Axisa points out on River Ave. Blues, the move appears to lessen the chances that Johnny Damon ends up in San Francisco. The Braves and Yankees could still be fits for Damon, but the Yanks' interest likely depends on Damon's willingness to lower his demands. This also limits the market for Adam LaRoche; the Mets and Orioles have openings at first, but few other teams do.

2000	23	TBD	AL	39	129	122	12	35	7	0	4	14	0	0	5	18	.287	.318	.443	.760	91	54	6	1	0	1	1	5
2001	24	TBD	AL	111	434	411	42	102	25	1	8	45	1	3	23	72	.248	.288	.372	.660	74	153	18	0	0	0	2	5D3
2002	25	TBD	AL	113	494	454	67	142	25	0	23	59	4	1	37	55	.313	.364	.520	.884	135	236	17	1	0	2	7	D35
2003	26	TBD	AL	162	706	636	91	198	47	3	34	107	2	3	53	80	.311	.367	.555	.922	145	353	19	8	0	9	17	9D3/5	MVP-24
2004	27	TBD	AL	157	667	600	92	178	27	2	29	104	5	1	56	74	.297	.360	.493	.853	124	296	9	6	0	5	6	53D/79
2005	28	TBD	AL	154	636	575	70	150	26	2	22	92	8	7	49	88	.261	.321	.428	.749	98	246	12	5	0	7	13	9D3/5
2006	29	TOT	MLB	131	517	454	57	121	25	2	21	66	0	0	50	64	.267	.344	.469	.813	108	213	11	7	0	6	6	59/3D
2006	29	TBD	AL	63	256	230	26	65	15	1	8	28	0	0	24	25	.283	.348	.461	.809	108	106	4	0	0	2	3	5/D
2006	29	HOU	NL	68	261	224	31	56	10	1	13	38	0	0	26	39	.250	.341	.478	.819	107	107	7	7	0	4	3	95/3
2007	30	BAL	AL	151	603	550	68	154	34	5	15	72	1	1	48	87	.280	.337	.442	.778	103	243	13	1	0	4	2	D35
2008	31	BAL	AL	154	661	598	96	182	48	2	32	108	4	0	53	89	.304	.360	.552	.912	137	330	9	3	0	7	7	D53	MVP-16,SS
2009	32	TOT	AL	150	597	536	59	129	30	1	15	85	0	6	51	87	.241	.310	.384	.694	81	206	15	5	0	5	7	3D
2009	32	BAL	AL	110	480	430	51	109	24	1	13	72	0	6	41	74	.253	.321	.405	.725	90	174	12	4	0	5	7	3D
2009	32	DET	AL	40	117	106	8	20	6	0	2	13	0	0	10	13	.189	.265	.302	.567	47	32	3	1	0	0	0	D
10 Seasons				1322	5444	4936	654	1391	294	18	203	752	25	22	425	714	.282	.340	.472	.812	113	2330	129	37	0	46	68

Giants sign Uribe - more to come?

Henry Schulman
SFGate/San Francisco Chronicle
Building a baseball team is like trying to paint a chameleon. The artist must be willing to re-imagine his vision for the work because the subject constantly changes colors.

So it is this offseason with the Giants and general manager Brian Sabean, who formally announced Juan Uribe's one-year, $3.25 million contract Tuesday.

Ideas germinated in October have been pushed aside by market realities, a dearth of available impact hitters that sent their prices sky-high - beyond what the team was willing to spend - and a reluctance to trade away pitching.

In October, Sabean suggested catcher Buster Posey and starter Madison Bumgarner needed more seasoning in the minors. Now, unless something unforeseen happens, they will go into spring training with jobs to lose.

After spending most of their available money to re-sign Uribe, acquire Mark DeRosa and extend Freddy Sanchez's contract, Sabean said what little money remains will go toward improving the offense, preferably with a left-handed bat.

The Giants are believed to have some interest in free-agent outfielders Johnny Damon and Jack Cust. Others on the market include Scott Podsednik, whom the Giants tried to acquire via trade some years back, and Rick Ankiel.

Thus, there is little or no money left for a catcher or fifth starter. Sabean said he is "comfortable" with a catching corps of Posey and Eli Whiteside. And if Bumgarner, a 20-year-old lefty, is the top option for the No. 5 starting job, you can bet Sabean will not trade No. 4 starter Jonathan Sanchez for a bat.

The Giants still could sign a left-handed-hitting first baseman. They extended an offer to Adam LaRoche, $17 million for two years, according to ESPN. LaRoche reportedly turned that one down, but if he eventually signs, Uribe would be a super-utility player. Lefty-hitting Nate Schierholtz still could get a crack in right.

Now, however, there is a Plan B that was not discussed by Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy until now.

"Boch and I talked this morning," Sabean said. "We are still pursuing more help. Selfishly, we'd like it to be a left-handed hitter. Having said that, there is a scenario that could develop (for Uribe) other than the super-utility role, which he signed for. He could end up being the third baseman and DeRosa could be the left fielder. We're also visiting internally what could be the leadoff situation."

Ah, another metamorphosis for the chameleon.

After the season, management suggested a left-field and leadoff platoon of Eugenio Velez and Andres Torres. Now, Sabean said, "We're not necessarily comfortable with that."

So, if the Giants do not acquire a leadoff hitter, they might give the job to Aaron Rowand. His .319 on-base percentage does not scream "table-setter," but Rowand did give the team a spark when given a shot there last year. In fact, his average rose to .294 and his OBP to .341 from the first spot in the order.

Bochy could paint a real dramatic brushstroke by allowing Uribe, 30, to compete with Edgar Renteria for the shortstop job, but Bochy said that will not happen because Renteria has been "an astounding shortstop, a smart player and a clutch hitter" whose production faltered because he was injured.

"We're going into the season with Edgar as our shortstop, and I think you'll see a different player in the fact that he's healthy now," Bochy said.

The news of the day, Uribe's re-signing, will cheer Giants fans who enjoyed his 2009 production (16 homers, 55 RBIs in 398 at-bats) and teammates who loved his sense of humor and graciously handed him their spare cash in clubhouse domino games.

Uribe was not available for comment.

To clear a 40-man spot for Uribe, the Giants designated for assignment Brian Bocock, their 2008 Opening Day shortstop who struggled to hit at Class A San Jose last year.