San Francisco Giants Trade Scenarios: Brian Sabean's 5 Highest Priorities

Assessing the San Francisco Giants' needs as the 2011 Major League Baseball trade deadline approaches is a bit like strolling through your neighborhood Big Box store: The sheer volume of opportunities can overwhelm you.

A corner outfielder with power? That'd be swell.

A catcher who can....catch? Hit? Put him in the cart.

A second baseman? Absolutely.

A right-handed situational reliever? Why not.

A true leadoff threat? Love it.

Injuries and underperformance have made Brian Sabean's job more difficult than it would have been under ordinary circumstances. 

As defending World Series champs, the Giants aren't sneaking a valuable addition through the waiver wire, as they did in 2010 (think Cody Ross). And, with nearly two-thirds of clubs still within hailing distance of a playoff spot, it's a seller's market. The price of an upgrade, like the cost of gas, is way up from a year ago.

Assuming Sabean intends to make several moves, where should he start? Here's one opinion of how the Giants ought to prioritize their five greatest needs.

Priority No. 1: A Catcher

You want to know how bad it's gotten for the Giants since Buster Posey went down for the season in late May? 

Here's how bad: Posey's replacements, Chris Stewart and Eli Whiteside, have combined to bat .210 with three HRs and 15 RBI. Ugh.

The rest of their numbers are so offensive—forgive the sarcasm; it's a survival tool—I won't bother summarizing.

Offensive ineptitude could be overlooked in favor of solid defense. If only.

The cold truth: The backup tandem has thrown out just 24 percent of would-be base stealers. Posey, before his injury, was nailing 36 percent. Whiteside and Stewart have already surrendered six passed balls; the Giants allowed six as a team over the entire 2010 season.

We hear that Giant pitchers "love throwing to Whiteside and Stewart." And we know Bruce Bochy is always extraordinarily patient with his veterans. 

That's lovely. But irrelevant. A club this offensively challenged, this dependent on pitching and defense, can't afford catchers who don't hit or catch or throw well. No one should expect another Posey, but trading for a decent fill-in should be Sabean's top priority.

Priority No. 2: A Center Fielder

The 2010 version of Andres Torres was a revelation: .268, 16 HRs, 63 RBI, 43 doubles, 26 stolen bases and terrific in center field. He was aggressive for a leadoff hitter—56 walks vs. 128 strikeouts—but considering the context, that's nitpicking.

He was last year's Ryan Vogelsong. 

2011 has been a reversion to form: .226, three HRs, 14 RBI, 17 doubles, nine stolen bases and occasional startling lapses in center field. Torres' plate aggression—an amusing side note a year ago—isn't so amusing now. 

Basically, Torres has just about played his way out of the lineup.

Aaron Rowand filled in admirably after Torres strained his Achilles earlier this season. But Rowand, too, has reverted to recent form.

His season numbers—.242, two HR, 17 RBI—are unremarkable. A layer below, they're fairly ugly: 10 walks vs. 60 strikeouts; .192 average vs. right-handers (accounting for nearly 70 percent of his at-bats).

To be fair, Rowand has batted .352 against lefties, and still plays a very solid outfield. That spells "fourth outfielder," not lineup mainstay. And his contract (year four of a five-year, $60 million deal) isn't sufficient justification to overplay him. 

Bottom line: Center field has become a gaping hole. Given current roster limitations, the only seemingly viable option is to acquire a corner outfielder and move Cody Ross to CF.

Priority No. 3: A Corner Outfielder

In early 1978, the Giants sent seven largely forgettable players and $300,000 to the A's for Vida Blue.

Blue won 54 games over the next four seasons and made three All-Star appearances. The deal had another, less dramatic effect: wringing out a cluttered roster.

The Giants outfield in 2011 is cluttered with underperformers, and acquiring a corner outfielder has become nearly essential.

Imagine being Bruce Bochy. Each day, he depends on at least one of three guys who've been mired in prolonged slumps—Andres Torres, Aaron Rowand or Pat Burrell—to complement Cody Ross and Nate Schierholtz. It hasn't helped that first baseman Aubrey Huff has scuffled, further limiting Bochy's flexibility.

On days the Giants face a tough right-hander, lots of luck. 

Here's how bad it is: Schierholtz, with 31 RBI, is the Giants' most potent outfielder. All three Phillies outfielders—Ben Francisco (31), Shane Victorino (34) and Raul Ibanez (47)—have as many RBI or more.

Thus, the dilemma for Brian Sabean: Does he concede that 2010 was a "lightning in a bottle" year, give up on Burrell and trade for a productive rental outfielder for the remainder of 2011? At what cost? And if he does acquire, say, Michael Cuddyer or Carlos Beltran to play a corner, does he move Ross to CF?

My two cents: Yes, who cares and yes.

Priority No. 4: A Second Baseman

A year ago, the left side of the infield was the Giants' Bermuda Triangle.

Pablo Sandoval was a shadow of his 2009 self (a shadow-and-a-half, actually). Edgar Renteria was a no-show at shortstop until the postseason. Juan Uribe filled in all over the infield, and Mike Fontenot added late-season depth.

Sandoval has stabilized things at third base. Rookie Brandon Crawford has emerged as a viable everyday option at shortstop—fortunately for the Giants, who gambled on Miguel Tejada and thus far, appear to have lost.

Unfortunately, second base is a mine field. Freddy Sanchez goes down in June with a shoulder separation. There's been some brave talk of a 2011 return, but I'm not holding my breath. 

Emmanuel (please don't call me Manny) Burriss hasn't hit much, and is inconsistent in the field.

Bill Hall, signed off the waiver wire after being released by Houston, has been a flop (if you consider batting .158 with one RBI and a .935 fielding percentage floppish).

Even Miguel Tejada has been used at second base a couple of times (after something like 1,900 games in the majors without a single inning at the position).

We've already identified catcher and center field as positions needing an upgrade. Now, second base.

What is it baseball folks say about needing to be strong up the middle? 

Priority #5: Righthanded Situational Reliever

This need might surprise you. It requires a closer look at the 2011 Giant bullpen's performance.

Of its seven core members, only Jeremy Affeldt has better numbers in 2011 than 2010. Set-up men Sergio Romo and Javier Lopez have remained solid, and Brian Wilson is......Brian Wilson.

The problem is with the situational righties. Guillermo Mota, Ramon Ramirez and Santiago Casilla all are performing (slightly) less effectively than a season ago.

The biggest issue, as I observed in a recent story, is command. The Giants staff has issued more walks than all but two of 16 NL clubs. 

But it goes a bit farther than that. Two games this month are illustrative.

With an opportunity to sweep the Tigers in Detroit, the bullpen blew a 3-2 late-inning lead. Casilla surrendered the go-ahead runs; Affeldt took the loss.

The next day, in the July 4 opener of a three-game against San Diego, Ramirez and Mota each surrendered late inning runs in an eventual 5-3 loss charged to Tim Lincecum.

In what likely will be a tight playoff race, losses like these might come back to haunt the orange and black.

In 2010, Javier Lopez was a late-inning weapon against dangerous left-handed bats. He arguably was Brian Sabean's most valuable in-season addition via trade.

This year, anticipating similarly critical late-season at-bats against the likes of Troy Tulowitzki, Matt Kemp and Justin Upton, strengthening the bullpen with a situational righty should be part of Sabean's plan.