Giants Acquire Hunter Pence from the Philadelphia Phillies

By Vince Cestone
Twitter: @vintalkingiants

Hunter Pence taking his at-bat with
the Philadelphia Phillies.

The San Francisco Giants made a big splash today, acquiring outfielder Hunter Pence from the Philadelphia Phillies.

Answering the Los Angeles Dodgers, who acquired shortstop Hanley Ramirez from the Miami Marlins and Shane Victorino from the Phillies, the Giants sent right fielder Nate Schierholtz, catching prospect Tommy Joseph, and Single-A right-hander Seth Rosin for Pence and cash considerations.

Pence is hitting .271 with 17 home runs and 59 RBIs this season. He has a .336 on-base percentage and 37 walks. Pence is 4-for-11 this season at AT&T Park, including a home run and two RBIs.

The Giants' new right fielder also owns a career .329 average at AT&T Park.

San Francisco expects to bat Pence number five in its batting order. Giants' number five hitters have combined to hit just .259, with seven home runs and 52 RBIs.

Pence improves that spot in the order with better numbers, including slugging percentage. Giants' hitters combined to slug just .386 from the number five spot, and Pence is slugging .447.

Pence owns a career .290 average, with 131 home runs, 471 RBIs, and a .342 OBP.

Schierholtz was hitting just .257, with five home runs and 17 RBIs.

The Giants were said to be after Royals' closer Jonathan Broxton, but he was traded to the Kansas City Royals.

Unlike last years deadline deal in which the Giants acquired Carlos Beltran, Pence is not a free agent after this season. He is eligible for arbitration after this year and is expected to make between $13-15 million.

Pence will not be a free agent until after 2013.

Just in: Talking Giants Baseball has learned that "Sabean said there is room for Pence and Melky. Also said deal was a partial reaction to losing streak, Dodger sweep and Dodger moves," according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle via Twitter.


Update (7:16 p.m.): Giants' broadcaster Duane Kuiper just reported Pence will not be activated tonight since he is still en route to San Francisco. Pence wanted to be with the Giants before first pitch, but it looks like that will not happen. He will be activated tomorrow, and he is likely to start.


...


The Giants made an excellent statement by acquiring Pence. They told the Dodgers and baseball they are in it to win it.


Pence is a dynamic player who can do a lot of things. He can hit for power, run, steal bases, and give you solid defense in the outfield.


The Giants, so desperate for a spark as they sleepwalked through the Dodgers series, picked up someone with flare and energy. Even when he takes his at-bat, he has a lot of moving parts--but he still keeps enough focus to put together a quality at-bat.


He may have only hit .271 with 17 home runs at an offensive paradise in Philadelphia, but being in the thick of a pennant race will motivate a baseball player to succeed. 


 Pence hit .300 on the road, and 10 of his 17 home runs came away from Philadelphia.


Looking at the Giants' lineup, they now have a formidable middle of the order with Pence:

• 3 - Melky Cabrera, .353/10 HR/51 RBI
• 4 - Buster Posey, .315/13 HR/60 RBI
• 5 - Hunter Pence, .271/17 HR/59 RBI
• 6 - Pablo Sandoval, .299/8 HR/33 RBI (but has been injured).

The numbers do not lie. The Giants will be just fine offensively.

The Giants are also picking up somewhat of a hot hitter. In his last seven games, Pence was 6-for-18.

It will be interesting to see how Pence does at pitcher-friendly AT&T Park, but he has hit well in San Francisco. Will he be the Giants' offensive savior, or will he be another Aaron Rowand?

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Information from ESPN.com contributed to this article.

Check out my NBCBayArea.com article on the San Jose Giants' Joe Panik.


Photo Attribution: By MikeSheridan89 on Flickr (Original version) UCinternational (Crop) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Giants, Schierholtz avoid arbitration; Lincecum submits record bid (From FeedCrossing.com)

By Troy Nelson

The Giants’ list of arbitration-eligible players is now down to three.

San Francisco avoided arbitration with right fielder Nate Schierholtz today as the two sides agreed on a one-year, $1.3 million dollar contract that includes a $150,000 performance-incentive bonus, per Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News.

Schierholtz, who turns 28 on Feb. 15, batted .278/.326/.430 (0.756 OPS) with 9 HR and 41 RBI in 362 plate appearances last season for the G-men. He earned $433,000 in 2011.

Tim Lincecum, Pablo Sandoval and Sergio Romo still remain eligible for arbitration after all players and teams submitted their figures today.

According to Jon Heyman at CBS Sports, Lincecum submitted a record arbitration figure (for players with six or fewer years of service) of $21.5 million dollars (besting Derek Jeter‘s 2001 bid of $18.5 million dollars) and the Giants submitted a $17 million dollar contract offer. That makes the midway point $19.25 million, which is where the two sides will start to negotiate.

If an agreement can’t be reached, the case will go to arbitration. Hearings are set to begin Feb. 1st in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Be sure to check out other great articles at 22Gigantes.

The torture continues--Giants hang on to beat Diamondbacks 6-5 in Sandoval's return

Chris Stewart congratulates Brian Wilson, as he records his 19th save of 
the year. Wilson struck out Stephen Drew looking to end the game.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images


By Vince Cestone

The San Francisco Giants squeaked out another one-run victory, edging the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5.

The Giants' offense was jolted by Pablo Sandoval's return from the disabled list. In his first game back in the lineup, Sandoval went 1-for-4 with a walk, including an RBI single in the first inning which put the Giants on the board first.



With two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the ninth inning, Giants' closer Brian Wilson walked Kelly Johnson and Justin Upton, who both moved up a base on a wild pitch. Wilson struck out the next batter, Stephen Drew, looking on a backdoor cutter with the tying and winning runs in scoring position. Wilson earned his 19th save.

The Giants jumped out to a 5-0 lead by the fifth inning.

They scored their second run in the fourth inning on a squeeze play with Matt Cain at the plate. The Giants tacked on three more runs in the fifth inning with two of them driven in by Cody Ross, who went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

The Diamondbacks roared back in the bottom of the sixth inning. With the score 5-1, Miguel Montero laced a three-run home run to right off Matt Cain, cutting the Dbacks' deficit to 5-4

The Giants and Diamondbacks scored one more run each in the game. Nate Schierholtz drove in the game-winning run for the Giants in the seventh inning with a double that Dbacks' outfielder Chris Young bobbled, allowing Huff to score and Schierholtz to get to third base.

Starting pitcher Cain was less than spectacular tonight, pitching 6 2/3 innings and giving up five runs on eight hits. Cain earned his sixth win of the year.

The Giants' bullpen picked Cain up, throwing 2 1/3 scoreless innings of no-hit ball.

The Giants roughed up Josh Collmenter (4-2, 1.86 ERA), who came into tonight's start with a 1.18 ERA. The Giants touched him up for five runs and eight hits in the five innings he pitched.

Game Thoughts

By Chris Bissell

With offensive injuries comes lower production, which means less runs, combined with great pitching, means close games. We all know the formula, and we're all accustomed to the type of wins the Giants pull out.

Besides the pitching staff, there's nothing pretty about this team anymore--except the fact they continue to win games.

There's still one freshly-polished offensive gem on this team, healthy of course, and that's Pablo Sandoval. At this point, the offensively-challenged Giants understand how detrimental Sandoval's bat was before the broken hamate bone injury on April 29.

Sandoval hit the disabled list with a .313 average, five home runs, and 14 RBI after a hot start, fresh off an off-season of strenuous workouts, and a 38-pound drop. Sandoval led the team in average all the way up to his return tonight, and he certainly picked up where he left off.

After beginning the season in the bottom part of the order, hitting from sixth to ninth on several occasions, Sandoval had established his 2009 presence all over again, and you can guarantee that's not changing.

Sandoval has an irrefutable impact on this lineup, and you can see just from tonight how vast a difference it is. Aubrey Huff had 2 walks, Cody Ross went 2-for-4 with 2 doubles, and every starter except Matt Cain had a base hit.

The Giants since the beginning of last season have simply never been about one hitter, one individual, or one player in general, but at this point, you can't deny the importance of Sandoval's bat in the lineup and presence in the dugout.

This team has certainly caught the injury bug, and with Freddy Sanchez going out, there was almost nothing left in that lineup to be optimistic about. Huff was seeming to have his "off year," Crawford was coming down to earth, etc, etc.

The Giants won six out of ten on the last home stand, scoring a mediocre 2.4 runs per game. As I said, there's nothing pretty about this team, except the fact that they... yeah, we get it.

Nate Schierholtz continues to show up when it matters, driving in a run off Aaron Heilman in the 7th inning. Despite only being at a .261 average and a decent 4 home runs, Nate "the great" is certainly coming up in the clutch, with a line of .313/.361/.406 (.767 OPS) with runners in scoring position.

Giants' Health Notes

By Chris Bissell

• Freddy Sanchez will get a second opinion on his right shoulder tomorrow and will try to rest the shoulder to have it heal on its own, despite labrum damage and a loosened capsule.

 

• Mike Fontenot will resume his rehab in a few days after suffering a minor groin injury.

• Brandon Belt will have his cast removed Friday after suffering that right wrist hairline fracture a few weeks ago against the Cardinals.

Giants Blurbs

By Vince Cestone

The Giants are 5-1 against the Diamondbacks this season. The Giants have not scored six runs in a game since June 2 against the St. Louis Cardinals, where they won 12-7. The last time the Giants and Diamondbacks were 1-2 in the division standings in mid-June was 1999. Tomorrow, the Giants' Madison Bumgarner (2-8, 3.23 ERA) will face the Diamondbacks' Joe Saunders (3-6, 4.56 ERA) at 6:40 p.m.

Vinnie Cestone is a blogger/reporter for The Talking Giants Baseball Blog. Unless otherwise noted, all information was obtained first-hand or from official materials from ESPN or the Major League Baseball website.

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Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Francisco Giants 4/11 Preview

Once again, the Giants will be severely handicapped defensively. Aubrey Huff will patrol right field with Aaron Rowand in center and Pat Burrell in left. Let's see how the tri-water buffalo defense works out tonight.

Here is tonight's lineup.

Tejada SS
Sanchez 2B
Huff RF
Posey C
Burrell LF
Rowand RF
Belt 1B
Sandoval 3B
Bumgarner P

With the injuries to Cody Ross and Andres Torres, this is the best offensive lineup that Bruce Bochy has to work with. Defensively, not so much.

I would have liked to have seen Nate Schierholtz in there against the tough lefty Clayton Kershaw. Schierholtz did well against the St. Louis Cardinals' left-hander Jaime Garcia and seems to hit lefties better than righties.

Mychael Urban of CSN Bay Area said it best -- "Bruce Bochy loves him his veterans." That said, it is not a surprise that everyone in the outfield is in their late to mid-30s

Will Bochy's reliance on proven veterans backfire? Tune in to CSN Bay Area at 7:15 p.m. to find out.






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San Francisco Giants Roster Predictions: Sorting Out the Crowded Outfield

The San Francisco Giants may become just a little less crowded in the outfield on Opening Day.

The Giants suffered a big blow during Wednesday's spring training contest against the Los Angeles Angels, who won the game 8-0. The score and Matt Cain's atrocious start were the least of the Giants' concerns, as
Cody Ross pulled up lame coming in on a line drive to right field.

When healthy, Ross is a good right fielder.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Ross left the game in the first inning with a strained right calf muscle. According to MLB.com, his immediate playing status remains uncertain, pending the results of an MRI Thursday, but playing on Opening Day against the Los Angeles Dodgers may be questionable.

Bochy has some interesting options in filling Ross' spot. Will rookie Brandon Belt or the maligned veteran Aaron Rowand benefit from Ross' injury?

Assuming Ross is unable to start the season, here is the current state of the Giants' outfield as the Giants break camp next week.

Andres Torres
It seems as if he is penciled in to be the starting center fielder, even if Rowand replaces Ross on the field. Bochy has inserted Rowand in the corner outfield positions this spring to prepare for a change from his native center field position.

Pat Burrell
Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com said he believes Burrell was the front-runner to start in left field before Ross' injury. Urban also said that Brandon Belt may start at first base with Aubrey Huff moving to the outfield.

Aubrey Huff
With Ross' injury, Huff just might be patrolling a corner outfield position in next Thursday's opener. Urban added that the Giants like Belt's bat and are confident he can handle first base. This appears to be the likely scenario if Belt continues to play well for the rest of spring training.

Aaron Rowand
His hitting is atrocious, but he has a decent glove. He will have a shot to prove himself with Ross' injury, as the Giants will probably move people around until Ross comes back.

  Brandon Belt could start at first base next week at Dodger Stadium.
  Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Nate Schierholtz
He is an exceptional fielder with a great arm, but he is out of options. Because of this, Urban said he might be given a shot to start right field. From an offensive standpoint, Huff in right field and Burrell in left make the most sense.

Mark DeRosa
He played some left field for the Giants in 2010, but the team would rather have him bounce around the infield. However, DeRosa has hit the ball hard this spring and could force himself into the lineup, whether in the outfield or the infield (with Huff moving to the outfield).

Cody Ross
Do not completely rule out Ross. If Thursday's MRI goes well, he might patrol right field on Opening Day after all. However, given how the injury looked, this probably will not happen.

Predicted outfield on Opening Day
LF: Pat Burrell
CF: Andres Torres
RF: Aubrey Huff (with Belt at first)

The bottom line is the Giants are a versatile team who are well-equipped for a situation like Ross' injury. If Belt can contribute and continue his good plate approach, the Giants might not miss Ross all that much while he is healing from his calf injury.




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