Giants Trying to Move Rowand?

Joe Cowley writes in the Chicago Sun Times that, "The San Francisco Giants are looking to unload the $44 million they still owe Aaron Rowand through 2012." Cowley adds, "The one problem? The Giants would have to be willing to pick up a big chunk of the deal to even get [White Sox GM Ken] Williams on the phone."

Tim Dierkes at MLB Trade Rumors adds, "I'd venture to say the Giants would have to assume at least half of Rowand's contract to make it viable to the White Sox."

Rowand spent five seasons in Chicago and was a member of the 2005 World Championship team. He signed a five year, $60 million deal with the Giants before the 2008 season; not a bad move at the time, but looks worse in lieu of all the name players who signed for much cheaper this past offseason.

Giants After Sabathia, Maybe Lowe

Regarding C.C. Sabathia, MLB Trade Rumors reports that, "the Giants are considering making an offer to C.C. Sabathia. It'd be more than $100MM but far less than $140MM. I imagine the Giants are trying to determine how much money Sabathia would leave on the table to come to San Francisco."

I've been hoping for the Giants to sign Derek Lowe, and it is believed the team is one of the pitcher's many suitors. While Lowe will still command a high price, he comes cheaper than Sabathia and would be a solid addition to an already strong staff.

Jayson Stark weighed the pros and cons of signing Sabathia yesterday:

Imagine a rotation of CC, Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Barry Zito and Jonathan Sanchez. Looks like potentially the best rotation in baseball, assuming Zito can just rebound to mediocrity and Sanchez more closely resembles the Sanchez of the first half (8-5, 3.97 ERA) than the second half (1-7, 7.47).

Of course, assembling a rotation like that would create its own set of problems. For one, it wouldn't address the offensive issues of a team that got outscored by every team in baseball except the Padres. Then again, CC did have the same OPS this year (.627) as Austin Kearns. So maybe it would.

But it also would create the opportunity for the Giants to soften on their refusal to deal Cain, then explore whether trading him could land a middle-of-the-order bat. And our guess is: It could.

Even more complicated, though, are the payroll reverberations of adding a $22 million-a-year pitcher to a team already weighed down with five more years and $101.5 million worth of obligations to Zito.

Renteria Announcement Coming Shortly

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

The Giants have been the most aggressive team in a slow free-agent market and should make more news as soon as today by announcing a two-year contract with shortstop Edgar Renteria. A deal appears to be done after Renteria underwent a Giants physical Wednesday.

Jorge Cantu?

MLB Trade Rumors reports that the Giants have an interest in Jorge Cantu:

12:58 PM: According to Yahoo's Tim Brown, the Giants "believe they are closing in on signing shortstop Edgar Renteria." Brown also says the Giants have discussed trading Jonathan Sanchez to the Marlins for Jorge Cantu. That'd be a steal for the Marlins, who plucked Cantu off the scrap heap in January for a half-million bucks.

Renteria Speculation Continues

Despite last weeks rumors that were denied, the Giants still seem to be looking at Edgar Renteria as their leading candidate for shortstop in 2009 according to ESPN:

A source told ESPN.com that Renteria is looking at a contract in the two-year, $18 million range with San Francisco. WFAN radio in New York reported 10 days ago that Renteria had agreed to a deal with the Giants. But [Renteria's agent Barry] Meister had characterized that initial report as untrue.

Giants Linked To Edgar Renteria

A report surfaced on Monday (courtesy of WFAN) that the Giants had signed Edgar Renteria to a two-year, $18mm contract. This report was quickly denied, though the Giants are reportedly maintaining an interest in Renteria, as well as Rafael Furcal. Still, the Giants may want to take note from the comments section of MLB Trade Rumors:

"Dude, why. If anyone at all giants should have signed Furcal. Lose a draft pick? How could that be a good idea when rebuilding"

"It's the Giants dude. They are destined to fail."

"So the Giants decide the best way to rebuild is... by signing a terrible 33 year old SS. Brian Sabean is a complete and utter moron."

"What a ridiculous move by the Giants. Just when you thought Sabean was getting it together, he goes out and does what he's always done... throw too much money at a declining vet in order to add to a very poor ballclub. Unless they go out and land CC and another power bat, this move makes no sense at all."

Perhaps that was the plan all along - leak a false report to gage fan reaction and go from there. You know, Kanye West leaked "Love Lockdown" three times, rerecording each time based on listener feedback.

Mild Giants Trade Rumors

Scan through the latest MLB Trade Rumors and a few Giants come up - but nothing too exciting. The Marlins are reportedly interested in Bengie Molina. Brian Sabean is not eager to trade the veteran catcher, but "the price is said to be a young power hitter." Jack Taschner's name is floating around, while talk of Randy Winn going to a New York team now seems unlikely. Rich Aurilla appears to be staying put as well.

Yanks Don't Want Bonds, But Maybe Winn

Chances are the Yankess won't sign Barry Bonds, but apparently it is still worth writing an article just to say:

Steinbrenner wouldn't say if the Yankees are interested in Bonds, but it appears unlikely the team will pursue him — partly because it's so late in the season.

Let it die, folks!

The Yanks may have an interest in Randy Winn, though. Also, the Rays have an interest in Tyler Walker.

Would Cain Be Dealt?

From Sports Illustrated's Truth and Rumors - "Phillies eye Giants pitcher":

The latest has the Phils hoping San Francisco, an NL West pretender, will shop 23-year-old right-hander Matt Cain. Word is the Giants might part with Cain, who is 5-7 with a 4.06 ERA in 20 starts, if offered an intriguing package of young talent.

UPDATE: Despite this report coming from SI today, Jayson Stark found little truth in any such rumor just last week, stating:

We keep hearing people speculate about the Giants trading Matt Cain. But we can't find a team that has gotten anywhere in its attempts to even get the Giants to discuss him. "I don't know who got that rumor rolling," said an official of one club. "But they told us, emphatically, no."

Omar to Boston?

Peter Gammons launched this rumor the other day and it has since been making the rounds (I first saw it on MLB Trade Rumors. Nick Cafardo writes in the Boston Globe that Vizquel could...

solve Boston's shortstop problem if Julio Lugo's defense doesn't settle down. Vizquel is quite fond of Boston but would be interested only if he were a starter. He has a close relationship with Manny Ramírez from their Cleveland days. Vizquel still has a terrific glove and can hit.

Vizquel is batting .310 since returning this month from the disabled list.

Dan Johnson? Nope

The Giants are looking for a left-handed-hitting first baseman but have no interest in Dan Johnson, whom the A's designated for assignment.

That settles that. Thanks Chronicle.

Dan Johnson to the Giants?

This rumor has been floating around since Spring Training and has come back into play with the A's designating onetime prospect Dan Johnson for assignment. The Giants are looking for some left-handed help at first base, and Johnson could be an option. Other names that have floated around: Nick Johnson from the Nationals and Scott Thorman from the Braves.

Rumors Are More Fun

As you can probably tell from the lack of posts over the last few days, I'd rather not talk about the players that are actually on the Giants' roster. Instead, I thought I would take this opportunity to discuss some of the latest rumors surrounding the club.

Joe Crede trade rumors have started to die down in the last week or so. One reason is Crede's .080 Spring batting average in 25 at-bats. Another is that White Sox GM Kenny Williams seems to be insisting on getting something of value for Crede, who he still sees as the club's potential opening-day third baseman. Now, as anyone who's talked to me knows, I've advocated a Crede trade since before the rumors even began. But at this point I'm kind of happy Brian Sabean hasn't pulled the trigger yet. Scouts have reportedly been looking at Tigers' third baseman Brandon Inge, who has been out of a job since the Miguel Cabrera deal and has publicly asked to be traded. While Inge doesn't have the upside of Crede, a trade for him may be a better logistical move for the Giants. Inge still has three years and $19.1 million left on his contract. That's pretty bad, but perhaps the Giants could swap a similarly bad contract, say, that of Dave Roberts. Roberts could have some value to Detroit as a late-inning pinch-runner and defensive replacement. Dumping Roberts would give Fred Lewis an everyday job, and Nate Schierholtz a roster spot. A 1-for-1 swap seems fair to me. Who knows, maybe Inge could return to the 27-homer, 83-RBI player he was for the AL champs two years ago.

One of the worst signs of a horrendous Spring has been the performance of Dan Ortmeier. In 37 at-bats, the projected opening-day first baseman has hit .189 with two extra base hits (both doubles). While Spring Training numbers may not mean anything, Ortmeier's performance seems to play into many Giants' fans doubts about whether he is deserving of an everyday spot. One name that has been thrown out as a potential trade target is Oakland's Dan Johnson. The A's plan to start rookie Daric Barton at first, and Mike Sweeney has had a good spring, seemingly making Johnson expendable. Johnson has never quite been able to put it together at the major league level, but he's shown some power and on-base potential, and could give the Giants something resembling a legitimate cleanup hitter. Jonathan Sanchez is too much to give up. Brad Hennessey?

In summary, if the Giants make these deals, the everyday lineup, once Omar Vizquel comes back, could look something like this. We're probably still a last-place team, but at least we dump some dead weight and give our young outfielders a shot. I've penciled in Durham and Inge, but Kevin Frandsen would likely still see plenty of at-bats at second and third.

Fred Lewis/Rajai Davis, lf
Randy Winn, rf
Aaron Rowand, cf
Dan Johnson, 1b
Bengie Molina, c
Ray Durham, 2b
Brandon Inge, 3b
Omar Vizquel, ss

Odds and Ends

Lots of small news items today, nothing that I think merits a whole post.

- Barry Zito looked much better yesterday, allowing just one run in three innings. The Giants lost to Kansas City, however, 3-1.

- Kevin Frandsen is out as the starting shortstop, after looking completely lost there for the first week of Cactus League play. He will go back to competing for time at second and third. According to the Chronicle, the competition for shortis now between minor-leaguers Brian Bocock, Emmanuel Burris, and Ivan Ochoa. I would like to see if Eugenio Velez can fare any better than Frandsen, as he is more major-league-ready than any of our other options. I think at this point we have to hope Omar makes a speedy recovery.

- Ken Rosenthal (who, until recently I thought was just Fox Sports' annoying sideline reporter, but is actually a pretty reliable baseball writer) reports that the Giants are willing to discuss trades for about a dozen players, including Ray Durham, Rich Aurilia, Randy Winn, and Steve Kline.

- SI's Jon Heyman says the White Sox are not happy with what the Giants are offering for Joe Crede, and that they may wait until the trade deadline. Could this be code for, "Noah Lowry walked nine fucking guys in one inning"?

- Bullpen Update: After a series of poor outings, Scott Williamson was released and Randy Messenger was re-assigned to minor league camp. While I'm a little surprised Messenger was sent down so early, it's a sign that management is willing to give someone else a chance. Speaking of which, Merkin Valdez struck out all three hitters he faced yesterday and has thrown four scoreless innings this Spring. He is out of options. The Giants need to find a spot for him.

- As expected, 17-year old super-prospect Angel Villalona will play first base rather than third for Augusta, the Giants' Class A affiliate.

Really?

Henry Schulman reports that the Giants offered pitcher Byung-Hung Kim a minor-league contract. The former closer is said to be waiting for someone to offer him a major-league deal. Kim doesn't make much sense in the bullpen, as the Giants seem to have plenty of arms available. Maybe this is a sign they are looking to trade a starter, in which case Kim could provide some depth to the rotation, or be a long reliever.