Giants Bolster Bullpen; One Objective Down, One To Go

Coming into the off-season, San Francisco Giants General Manager Brian Sabean had two objectives; improve the bullpen and solidify the offense. So far, just a couple weeks in, he has accomplished one of those things.

The Giants became the first team to make a free agent signing when they signed lefty reliever Jeremey Affeldt who spent last season with the Cincinnati Reds and went 1-1 with a 3.33 ERA over 78 games. The Giants desperately needed a lefty who could throw hard and is still young, and they get that with him.

Then just yesterday the Giants completed their bullpen retooling with the signing of veteran righty Bob Howry. He spent last season with the Chicago Cubs and went 7-5 with a 5.35 ERA through 72 games. Career wise, he has over 600 games to his resume and an ERA of 3.68, a very respectable number. With a very young team, and bullpen, Howry will most definitely become one of the leaders in the locker room due to his experience.

With those two acquisitions and the reconstruction complete, the Giants now have two solid set up men to get to lights-out closer Brian Wilson. Also, combine the youth with flamethrowers such as Sergio Romo, Alex Hinshaw, and Billy Sadler, the bullpen goes from a grade D to a grade B in just two short weeks.

Now it is Sabean's time to focus on his second offseason objective, improving what was one of the worst offenses in all of Major League Baseball last season. Just today, veteran short stop Edgar Renteria signed a two-year deal for just over $18 million with the Giants—although I feel he is washed up and old, he is no doubt an offensive improvement over Omar Vizquel, who spent his entire last season struggling to bat over .200.

But the Giants still lack power, and there is one obvious option they could take, and another one by making a trade. The first would be to sign Mark Teixeira, who is the most heralded power hitting free agent this offseason.

He could easily command over $20 million, and with the Giants' piggy bank running short on funds, they would have to put all they have and a little more into getting him. Possible, but unlikely.

The trade the Giants could make was mentioned by their official Web site yesterday afternoon. It alluded that a trade may be close but nothing is settled. The Giants would send left starter Jonathon Sanchez (9-12; 5.01 ERA and 157 K) to the Florida Marlins for first and third baseman Jorge Cantu (.277; 29 HR and 95 RBI).

The trade is all but fair, considering the Marlins' purge of all young hitters seems to be continuing. Sanchez is a fireball pitcher who would thrive in Florida while the Giants would get their desperately needed power hitter. Cantu is a righty who would have no trouble reaching left field, because the lefty hitter experiment in the post-Bonds era has subsequently failed.

Overall, I'm happy with the way this offseason has gone, as I wasn't expecting much from Sabean. But if the Giants are able to get one of the aforementioned power hitters, and Noah Lowry is able to return to form and replace Sanchez, the Giants immediately become NL West contenders.