Now that Giants are sustaining a winning record, even better, leading the National League wild card race, they are rightfully deemed “buyers” in the current trade market. Back up, they certainly are not sellers. It’s just a matter of whether Brian Sabean can pull the trigger on buying a bat. With Pablo Sandoval, Aaron Rowand, and Nate Schierholtz all producing, the Giants could use another potent swing in that lineup.
Immediate reaction tells us that the best options out there right now are Matt Holliday and Nick Johnson. Dan Uggla remains a possibility at second base. During the past few days an elite Giants scout spent his time watching a couple of teams in the mid west. The Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians faced off, both having disappointing seasons and each showcasing some of the league’s premier talents. Jermaine Dye, of the White Sox, is leading the team in offensive production and also has an expiring contract. He is a Bay Area native and matured as a major leaguer in Oakland. Dye has not yet spoken about the possibility of returning to his homeland, but general manager, Ken Williams, has said repeatedly that he will remain a buyer. However Ozzie Gullen had this to say, “If Kenny is going to make some moves, he will make the move first and then say he’s selling,” regarding the trade potential.
Dye evolved as hitter with the Athletics and grew up an hour from San Francisco
While paying close attention to Dye, the Giants’ scouts also kept an attentive eye on Victor Martinez during the series. Martinez, who plays first base and catcher, is batting .313 with 14 big ones and 57 runs batted in. The Indians’ first baseman could supply the Giants with that power corner-infielder that they have been desperately searching for. On the other hand, Sabean might have already fallen for Travis Ishikawa who has hit .283 with 4 HRs in the month of June.
Martinez, a clubehouse favorite, has power, consistency, and youth.
Both Martinez and Dye are more than viable options that would improve this offense. However Sabean is on a tight financial leash. Additionally, his stage fright is exacerbated when he peeks down at San Jose and sees the incredible potential in the Giants’ farm system. How much is he willing to give up? Will he repeat a Liriano scenario?
The easier question is: which bachelor should we go after? It really comes down to Nate Schierholtz or Travis Ishikawa. Who do they trust more to continue their recent successes. If Dye comes on board, Winn would likely retain playing time over Schierholtz. If Martinez joins the club, Ishikawa loses pretty much all time on the field.
Once again Sabean will be faced with difficult decisions in July. He hasn’t made a beneficial one since the mid season trade for Jason Schmidt. What will this summer look like?
Pitch Count
The Giants are 22-11 since May 25th, before that they had lost 8 of 9. Pablo Sandoval is second in the National League with a BA of .338, he is batting .394 in June with 8 HR, he hit his other 3 HR across two months. Nate Schierholtz has 24 hits in June over 64 at bats.
2 Comments
July 6, 2009 at 10:04 pm
one thing martinez definately doesnt have is youth. 31 is the end of your prime last time I checked. Unless you’re juicing….
July 7, 2009 at 2:00 am
Youth relative to the other option. But we can disregard both of these ideas because Sabean spoke on the following day and had this to say: http://www.knbr.com/common/global_audio/201/9458.mp3