Bargain Shopping

Here’s the list of non-tendered players now available at bargain prices.  The Blue Jays have already swooped in and signed former Royals catcher John Buck to a one-year $2 million deal.  However, there are a lot of other players now available who could help a team, and they’re priced to move, so many of them won’t last long.  In fact, the Indians have already resigned a couple of guys they just non-tendered.

Matt Capps, who will only be 26 next year and has a career Ks-to-BBs ration of just better than 4-to-1, will  certainly draw a lot of interest, as will Jack Cust, given his power and high on-base percentages.

The player who captures my attention as a potential Giant is former Red Jonny Gomes. According to Peter Gammons, Jason Bay has no interest in playing in SF, even though the Giants may be willing to offer him the five year deal that the Red Sox and Mets haven’t been willing to do so far.  Gomes could be a much cheaper alternative, who could provide the Giants with the right-handed hitting power bat they need.

Gomes is a Bay Area boy, born in San Francisco, and attended high school in Petaluma and junior college in Santa Rosa.  You’d have to think he’d jump at the chance to come back to the Bay Area.  He had an excellent season in 2009,  posting an .879 OPS, but he will be 29 next year, and he still has trouble hitting right-handed pitchers (career OPS against lefties is .885, as opposed to .758 against righties), which means he could probably signed to a one-year deal in the $2.5 to $3 million range.

Because of his trouble hitting right-handers, he wouldn’t be an everyday player, but the Giants still have left-handed hitting outfielders in Nate Schierholtz and Fred Lewis, who could start against righties.  In the right role, Gomes could definitely be a useful player, although I could see him signing with a team like the Pirates if he’s set on starting full time.

If the Giants can’t swing a major deal for a Jason Bay or some other true star,  their best bet would probably be to sign Gomes and 1Bman Nick Johnson to short-term deals, and then sign another pitcher or two to make sure their pitching staff is as good as it was last year.  Even just a little more hitting from the left field and first base positions, and the Giants could realistically get their 2010 total up the low nineties, which would certainly give them a chance of making the post-season.