San Francisco Giants: 3 Free Agents They Need To Add for 2012, 3 They Shouldn't

With the 2011 season all but over, it’s time to take a long, hard look at the free-agent market and decide which players merit inclusion on the San Francisco Giants’ 2012 roster.

While the offense has been exceptionally anemic this season, despite their recent offensive liberation, the free-agent market is not particularly conducive to the Giants’ needs.

Given the (hopefully) likely re-signing of key bullpen members, and assuming everything goes well in arbitration for key starting pitching cogs, the Giants seem to be well staffed for the upcoming season.

2012 will also feature the return of Aubrey Huff at first base, who will likely see competition from both Brandon Belt and Brett Pill. Jeff Keppinger may be offered arbitration, which would allow him to fill the “Mike Fontenot” role while Freddy Sanchez plays second base.

With Giants stars Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey filling out third base and catcher respectively, the most gaping holes in San Francisco’s offense are the outfield positions (where there are no clear-cut favorites) and shortstop.

It seems that the front office’s strategy is to build the farm in hopes of assembling a competitive team with homegrown talent. While this philosophy is admirable, there are still some necessary holes that need to be filled. Here are three free agents the Giants should sign...and three they should avoid. 

Sign Jose Reyes

The case against him

Jose Reyes is injured often. This is the most common complaint against Jose Reyes. Some corners of baseball also report that he is “not a team player.” Also, underachieving rookie Brandon Crawford has a great deal of support from fans.

The case for him

Reyes, while often injured, is still a game-changing shortstop. Granted, he is not as proficient as Brandon Crawford on defense, but his offensive prowess is unmatched at his position.

This season, Reyes has only played 113 games. In those 113 games, however, he has a slash line of .329/.372/.485, including 16 triples! Imagine Jose Reyes smashing line drives into “Triples Alley” at AT&T Park. At least a few of those triples would become inside-the-park home runs, and more than a few of his 29 doubles this season would have been extended into triples.

Add to this equation 35 stolen bases in 42 attempts, and you have a consummate leadoff hitter. Reyes currently has a Wins Above Replacement value of 4.4. With the Giants, the true measure would likely be much higher.

The price tag will invariably be high. Do I think the Giants should offer Jose Reyes $20 million a year? No. I am suspicious that they even could offer such a contract. Do I think that the Giants should potentially offer Reyes a three-year, $50 million deal? Yes. I doubt he would accept such a deal, however.

Ultimately, I doubt that the Giants will acquire Jose Reyes. That being said, I do not think he will get the massive payday that many speculators anticipate this offseason due to his injury-plagued past.

Sign Carlos Beltran

The case against him

Carlos Beltran is advancing in age. His skill set has somewhat deteriorated, and at the age of 34, he is unlikely to match the production levels of earlier in his career. He received some negative publicity for taking Bruce Bochy’s uniform number and his nagging phantom wrist injury.

The case for him

Beltran is also an extremely good hitter, which is exactly what the Giants need in their outfield. Consider that Beltran’s slash line since joining the Giants is .304/.339/.491. His OPS for the entire season hovers around .900.

Some might fear that Carlos Beltran could become another Aaron Rowand signing. I would counter that argument with the statistical fact that Rowand was never the hitter Beltran was or is. Free agency is always a gamble, but this gamble does not seem merely sensible; given the paucity of outfielders, this gamble seems necessary.

Sign Lance Berkman

The case against him

He is 35 years old. He is slow. He is enjoying a resurgence that may be all too temporary.

The case for him

Lance Berkman is indeed enjoying a resurgence, and while his skills may be in decline, his numbers still exceed production levels of other Giants outfielders.

Berkman has 30 home runs this season and a staggering slash line of .290/.405/.551. For those who are not mathematically inclined, this translates to an MVP-caliber .955 OPS (due to decimal rounding).

While Brandon Belt and Brett Pill may one day provide slash lines this impressive, the Giants currently have no hitters who can regularly perform at this level. More importantly, there certainly is no current Giants outfielder who can be counted on to provide these numbers, save for the also-free-agent Carlos Beltran (whose slash line is not as good as Berkman’s).

Berkman received a one-year, $8 million deal from St. Louis this season. A two-year deal worth a total of $15 million to $20 million could prove to be an outstanding move by the San Francisco front office and would satisfy the need for middle-of-the-order power.

Do Not Sign Prince Fielder

The case for him

It’s easy to fall in love with Prince Fielder. The 27-year-old slugging first baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers has 31 home runs and 108 RBI and is regularly at or near the top of the league in walks.

The case against him

Where would you put him? The Giants have so many first basemen that Abbott and Costello’s routine would take on a new level of complexity were they to comment at this time. Some people have speculated that Mark DeRosa may be offered a token contract similar to Pat Burrell’s this year to remain with the team.

Whether or not DeRosa returns, the Giants will have Aubrey Huff, Brandon Belt and Brett Pill to choose from when it comes to deciding who will play first. Prince Fielder will likely be more comfortable in the American League as a designated hitter, and there simply is no available space for him on the Giants.

He will also be extremely expensive. Simply put, the Giants already have one overweight slugging infielder. San Francisco has no use for two pandas.

Do Not Sign Albert Pujols

The case for him

Albert Pujols will go to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. With 443 career home runs at age 31, there is a legitimate chance that he will end his career as the all-time home run king. And it might not even be close.

The case against him

Pujols has a lot of money coming his way—and it won’t be from the San Francisco Giants.

This is a tragedy, as Pujols has a career OPS of over 1.000 and is arguably the best hitter in the game today.

Regardless, there are not many places one could put Albert Pujols besides first base. Were the Giants to have any reasonable chance at signing Pujols, the contract would be to the tune of $(tons) for (many) years.

It would also require “handling” the Aubrey Huff situation and finding new positions/homes for Brandon Belt and Brett Pill. But let’s be real here: Brandon Belt will never be Albert Pujols, and if the Giants have any type of chance to acquire Pujols, they should.

They don’t, though, and they won’t. Frankly, he isn’t worth the massive paycheck ($25 million-plus) he will invariably command.

Do Not Sign Starting Pitchers

The case for them

Jonathan Sanchez has been a “space case” of sorts. Barry Zito has been underwhelming. Neither Dan Runzler nor Eric Surkamp looks to be of the quality of the other Giants pitchers at this early stage in their careers.

The case against them

Barring the unforeseen, which happens quite frequently in baseball, the Giants’ starting pitching staff in 2012 will consist of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Ryan Vogelsong and (fifth starter).

This “front four,” equalled perhaps only by the Philadelphia Phillies’ lethal combination of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt, is strong enough to get the Giants into the postseason.

I have heard it argued that the Giants should acquire another starting pitcher in order to “improve” the rotation. Rotation depth is extremely important, I agree, but to acquire an excellent starting pitcher (C.J. Wilson, etc.) with designs to name Vogelsong the fifth starter would perhaps not be the wisest allocations of funds.

Would it be nice to have a situation like the Phillies, where the No. 5 starter is 11-2 with a 2.91 ERA? Yes. Is it necessary to get into the playoffs? Of course not. Of the teams presumably headed to the postseason this year, the only other team with a semblance of true rotation depth is the Atlanta Braves.

The Giants simply have too many other holes in their team (not to mention the massive hole of the Zito contract) to make the pitching staff an offseason priority.