Are the San Francisco Giants Going to Make a Deal for Freddy Sanchez?

(Photo by: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

According to San Francisco Chronicle writer Henry Schulman, the San Francisco Giants have just demoted Matt Downs to Fresno, and have reactivated Rich Aurilia from bereavement leave following the Giants' 9-0 win on Saturday over the Houston Astros.

This is big news because what it means now is that the Giants roster is full of extra arms, and is saddled with an incredible shortage of position players.

Currently, the only extra infielder off the bench is Aurilia, who at this point in his career is only suited to play first base.

That lack of depth in the infield is alarming, because Aurilia physically is not able to be an adequate backup at shortstop to Edgar Renteria, at third base to Pablo Sandoval, or at second base to Juan Uribe.

And the worst part? All those players listed are suspect defensively.

To make matters worse, the Giants don't have much choice in the matter due to the lack of minor league options many of their players have.

Travis Ishikawa, Fred Lewis, Merkin Valdez, and even Andres Torres would be prime candidates to be sent down, but cannot be demoted easily because they are out of minor league options.

In order to be sent down, they would need to be designated for assignment, an action where the Giants would run the risk of losing those players altogether.

Furthermore, the players that do have minor league options left aren't exactly the players the Giants want to send back down to Fresno either.

Ryan Sadowski has earned a spot in the Giants rotation after two great outings. Eli Whiteside is the only Giants backup catcher, as Sandoval's days of playing behind the plate look to be done unless Bengie Molina gets injured.

And Jonathan Sanchez? Well, if the Giants want to get any trade value with him, they have to show that he can pitch against Major League hitters, not Pacific Coast League batters.

Basically, the Giants are in a bind. They have more pitchers than they need, but they don't have a lot of options when it comes in terms of what to do with them.

So what does this mean for the Giants, and what is Brian Sabean supposed to do?

According to Schulman, who heard from a team source, the Giants are looking into a deal for Pittsburgh Pirates' second baseman Freddy Sanchez.

Sanchez, a former All-Star in 2006, is batting .316 with six home runs, five stolen bases, 33 RBI and has a .355 OBP.

The Giants are also entertaining offers from the Pirates for first baseman Adam LaRoche according to a non-team source, Schulman said in the article.

LaRoche is currently batting .266 with 12 home runs and 39 RBI.

Yet for the most part, Sanchez seems to be the main guy the Giants are making a serious run for.

It makes sense. With Downs back in AAA and Uribe now penciled in as the starting second baseman for the time being, this may be the opportunity that the Giants have been waiting for.

Manager Bruce Bochy has been looking for answers at the second base position all year long.

Despite a stellar spring training, Emmanuel Burriss struggled in his tenure as starting second baseman and was sent back down to Fresno to work on his swing.

Kevin Frandsen and Downs both had short stints to prove they were worthy of being considered for the position, but neither provided much spark in the lineup offensively.

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