San Francisco Giants Offseason Checklist: Who's Next To Put on Orange and Black?

The latest news on the Giants has them in contact with many of the top free agents from this year’s class. Former Dodger’s shortstop Rafael Furcal’s camp has reported “mutual interest” between the club and the speedy infielder, as have other Dodgers Joe Beimel (LHP) and Casey Blake (3B).

There are also rumors linking the Giants with relievers like Juan Cruz (D-Backs), Bob Howry (Cubs), and Jeremy Affeldt (Reds). The Giants are still considered dark horses in the chase for big fish CC Sabathia, and are expected to reach out to other big names such as Edgar Renteria and Kyle Farnsworth.

I think that the Giants have a couple things locked down for the near future. First, Tim Lincecum has become the face of this franchise, and he and Matt Cain are going to anchor this rotation for a while; in addition, Zito’s contract isn’t going anywhere, and Noah Lowry’s return seems eminent, so the rotation is set.

Jonathan Sanchez seems the likely odd-man out if the Giants do decide to use the trade market, but Lowry and youngsters Tim Alderson, Kevin Pucetas, and Madison Bumgarner are pushing to fill the spot he would leave behind.

Also, they have a very solid future at the catcher position. The drafting of Buster Posey, the year of Bengie Molina’s contract they have left, and the emergence of Pablo Sandoval as a consistent backstop have pretty much filled the need at catcher for the next few years. There just aren’t enough good-to-great catchers there who can fill the gap until Posey is ready, and Molina isn’t exactly washed up either.

The outfield is locked down, too. Fred Lewis emerged last year as the real deal, and, before being shut down due to injury, was a focal point of the Giants youth movement. Aaron Rowand, last year’s big free agent splash, had a great first half but faltered in the second, because, I believe, he was expected to be THE big bat in the order, which he isn’t.

And Mr. Consistent, Randy Winn, should be just as consistent in 2009 in right field. On the bench we have Nate Schierholtz, who basically gets the short end of the stick because he’s too good for the minors, but has nowhere to play for this Giants team. Adding another big-name outfielder would just complicate things, displacing some while inhibiting homegrown talent to get valuable playing time.

Now let’s get to what the Giants DO need. They need one more infielder to make it work. Furcal seems like a great fit. He’s a top of the order threat with some pop, and has a rocket arm at short. He may be a bit of a downgrade range-wise from Omar Vizquel, but then again, who isn’t? His signing, though maybe a little overpriced, would help the Giants greatly.

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