San Francisco Giants: What to Do With the Outfielders?

Three positions. 

Seven worthy players. 

Two positions nailed down, with Winn starting in right field and Rowand in center. 

That leaves one position for five players. 

Rajai Davis, Dave Roberts, Nate Sheirholtz, Fred Lewis, and Euginio Velez are all scratching for the opening day start. 

Roberts is the veteren of the group, and probably has a head start after finishing strong last year.  But he has been known to roll over and play dead against lefties, so Davis is expected to platoon with him, starting against lefties.  That leaves Sheirholtz, Lewis, and Velez without a starting job, but able to make the opening day roster. 

But the question is, do the Giants really intend to keep a full outfield squad on the bench?  Lewis is out of Triple-A options, so he can't get sent down without being put on waivers first; allowing another team to scoop him up.  Velez is not necesarily a pure outfielder; its where he landed last year in minimal—and electrifying—playing time, and thus will most likely start at Triple-A Fresno to find a legitimate full-time position. 

Sheirholtz is half of the Giants hope for young power (the other half will be starting at first base, Dan Ortemier), but may end up being odd-man out, along with Velez.

One thing that has been talked about is trading one or two of them with relief man Brad Hennessey in order to get a third baseman.  Joe Crede of the White Sox is the leading candidate, but we will have to see how he recovers from back surgery. 

No matter what happens, someone is going to get hosed.  The Giants can't possibly keep more than 5 outfielders; not when their bullpen needs so much help and their infield in search of legitimate starters. 

Best Case Scenario:

Velez spends the first two months of the season developing as a middle-infielder, perhaps a replacement for Omar Vizquel.

Davis and Roberts platoon in left field; Roberts excels, Giants use him as trade bait and pick up a solid, veteran corner infielder to mentor Dan Ortemeir (and maybe Kevin Frandsen).

Sheirholtz comes off the bench and provides relief time for Winn, and prepares to take over next year when Winn's contract expires.

Lewis provides breaks for Aaron Rowand and whoever ends up in Left.

A positive outcome for the Giant's 2008 campaign is doubtful, but maybe, just maybe, they'll have a decent outfield in 2009.

-Gabe Erdozaincy ([e-mail])