Giants hot-stove update, Velez and Ray free agents, Giants re-sign Pat Burrell

Got some news off the wire to pass along...

The Giants have non-tendered Chris Ray and Eugenio Velez. They are both now free agents. For Ray, it appears he fell victim to a crowded bullpen. The Giants already have Javier Lopez, Brian Wilson, Sergio Romo, Jeremy Affeldt, Ramon Ramirez, and Santiago Casilla set in the bullpen for 2011. Dan Runzler is planned to be a factor as well as Casilla's brother Jose. As for Velez, they gave him ample chances to succeed, but his career .256 average, career .300 OBP, and his countless defensive lapses were too much for the Giants to give him a contract.

On the other hand, Cody Ross, Andres Torres, Javier Lopez, Jonathan Sanchez, Santiago Casilla, Ramon Ramirez, and Mike Fontenot were all tendered contract. In addition, Pat Burrell was re-signed by the Giants for a discounted price. The official dollar amount is still unknown. Re-signing Aubrey Huff might have had something to do with this.

I guess the Giants are sticking to the "don't fix it, if it aint broke" mentality. The vast majority of the 2010 championship team remains in tact so far, with the exception of Juan Uribe, Edgar Renteria, and Guillermo Mota. Not to mention, the signing of Miguel Tejada brings that Uribe-like leader type into the clubhouse who can mentor the Latin players, such as Pablo Sandoval. If they couldn't have Uribe, why not sign someone who is almost like him attitude-wise?

I also heard from KNBR that Uribe said he didn't decide he wanted to go sign with the Dodgers. Does this mean his agent made the decision for him? I thought the player had the final say over where to sign.

Here's another note to pass along. The Dodgers non-tendered Russell Martin tonight. He is now a free agent. I think the Giants should pick him up as Posey's backup catcher. He can also play first or third, which gives the Giants another option in case Pablo Sandoval cannot get his act together. Plus, he can still contribute and a change of scenery might do him well (it worked for Huff after all). He is only 27 years old and gets on base (.365 career OBP), which is something the Giants struggle with. The Dodgers took one of the Giants' players, why not return the favor?

The hot stove will continue to sizzle. Check back for more updates.