Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Hot Stove Update: Uribe, Runzler, Calero

The Giants have reportedly reached an agreement to re-sign Juan Uribe to a 1 year contract with an option pending a physical. If Uribe plays like he did last year(OPS .824), he will, once again, be one of the better bargains on the free agent market and will definitely help the Giants. If the Giants offseason activity were to end with the Uribe signing, it would seem the best lineup would have Uribe starting at 3B with Panda sliding over to 1B and Mark DeRosa manning LF. That would give the Giants 3 potential .800+ OPS bats in the middle of the lineup, a significant upgrade from last season. No telling how many games Timmy and Cainer would win with that kind of run support! It might also give the team enough cushion to take a chance on starting Buster Posey at catcher. Posey might have an adjustment period, but if he is as advertised, he should quickly add another .800+ OPS bat to the lineup and we're on our way!

Dan Runzler was named Minor League Reliever of the Year. Runzler was a hard throwing LHP out of UC Riverside with major control issues until he came under the tutelage of former MLB reliever Steve Kline, now a coach for the Giants low A affiliate in Augusta, GA. A few adjustments improved Runzler's control and his overpowering stuff took over. He rocketed up through 4 levels all the way to a September callup with the Giants. His 1.04 ERA with 11 K's in 8.2 IP, made him a strong candidate to stick with the MLB team in 2010. It's great to see ol' Pigpen Steve Kline coaching in the Giants organization and making a difference for their young pitchers.

Speaking of the bullpen, there's a rumor that the Giants are toying with signing Kiko Calero for a bullpen role. Calero has had all kinds of problems fulfilling the promise he showed with the Oakland A's several years ago, but he was lights out for Florida last year. So where would that leave the bullpen? The Giants will almost certainly carry 7 relievers. Players already under contract and likely to make the team:

Brian Wilson
Jeremy Affeldt
Sergio Romo
Brandon Medders(offered arbitration)
Dan Runzler
Waldis Joaquin
Merkin Valdez

The top 4 are absolute locks with Runzler close. Joaquin appears to be ready to pitch in the majors, but could be optioned to AAA for insurance. Valdez would have to pass through waivers to be sent down, and would almost certainly be picked up by another team. He didn't pitch well last year, but do you give up on an arm like his? I guess I would favor signing Calero and sending Joaquin to AAA where he could get some more seasoning. I would even like to see Joaquin try starting again for Fresno!

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