2012 MLB Free Agents: Giants Won't Return to Top Until Ownership Starts Spending

The San Francisco Giants are only one season removed from a World Series triumph. Getting back to that point won't be easy, however. The ownership group, including Bill Neukom, is unlikely to shell out big bucks to fix the team's needs.

Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle examined the sticky situation.

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Sabean already has hinted that these guys are out of his price range. That is true, but only because ownership sets a payroll limit and Sabean has to live within that figure. There is no law, as far as I know, that would prevent an ownership flush with cash after the 2010 World Series win from spending more to try to win another championship.

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The Giants offense could use a major boost after finishing 28th in wOBA and 29th in wRC+ as a team in 2011. In other words, their hitters were terrible. The front office tried to solve the problem by trading for Carlos Beltran at the deadline, but he struggled to stay healthy and couldn't save a sinking ship.

Schulman says San Francisco should chase a high-priced hitter like Jose Reyes or Price Fielder. A more helpful scenario would be going after two, three or even four mid-range free agents to bolster the entire lineup and add depth to a team that had virtually none this season.

Players like Reyes, Fielder or Beltran, who is also a free agent this offseason, would push the budget past its limits and wouldn't fix the problem anyway. The offense needs a complete overhaul over the next few seasons.

A player like Carlos Pena, who is likely to get lost in the shuffle behind Albert Pujols and Fielder, would likely come at a reduced price and would provide a much needed power boost at first base.

At other positions of need, Kelly Johnson is an underrated option at second base, World Series champion Rafael Furcal could fill the need at short and Josh Willingham would fill a hole in the outfield.

They wouldn't bring the massive fanfare of a Reyes or Fielder, but they would help solidify a lineup that struggled mightily this season. And all four of them would probably cost the ownership team less than one superstar in total value, which usually hurts the payroll in the later years anyway.

The bottom line is that one way or another, the San Francisco brass will need to open up the checkbook to get the team's offense competitive once again. Even though the Giants have good pitching, they need some semblance of an offense to be successful.