He slipped up again, except this time it wasn't Romo and not so accidental. According to Paul DePodesta, the Giants removed Travis Denker from the 40-man roster and the Padres picked him up for free.
Cue obligatory "what was Sabean thinking?" picture.
First, let me quickly address the other victims of what OGC calls "the purge of the 40-man roster."
- Tyler Walker: Good guy, but expendable in light of Romo's success.
- Kevin Correia: Will probably be sent back to the bullpen once Lowry returns, unless he is signed by another team as a free agent.
- Brad Hennessey: Ditto.
- Eliezer Alfonzo: Expendable, thanks to Sandoval and Posey coming down (up?) the pipes.
- Geno Espinelli: He looked okay in the bigs, though he could use more time in the minors to improve his stuff.
- Scott McClain: The Giants will probably renew his contract.
- Ivan Ochoa: Should have been Vizquel's replacement instead of Bocock. He did a fine job defensively and didn't look lost at the plate.
I won't lose sleep over the fact that Denker is gone. What is befuddling is the lack of any benefit for the Giants from dropping Denker.
The Giants dumped a middle infielder who wasn't an outstanding prospect, but who did show signs of being a capable major league player. His MLE's (243/.332/.381) are below average, even for a second baseman, but all he did during his short stint as a Giant was show patience at the plate and hit for power. Denker might well turn out to be a AAAA player, and even so, he still has more value than the remaining 2B's and seven empty roster spots.
So where's the benefit? If the Giants had a legit 2B waiting in the minors, then I have no problem with dropping Denker from the team. But they don't. Instead of strengthening an organizational weakness, this move is just another item in Sabean's laundry list of personnel mistakes. If the dumping of Travis Denker is the start of the offseason, I'm not exactly confident in the moves-to-come during the rest of the winter.
2 comments:
FYI, I took the title from the official sfgiants.com title for the news.
Ochoa has never showed that he wasn't lost at the plate when he was in the minors, while he hit nicely in AAA this season, he's never hit well in any season previously plus it was only for part of the season, which suggests that it could have been a fluke.
Nice 2008 stats, yes: .316/.396/.444/.840. However, the quality level of pitchers in the majors is exponentially higher than the AAA and AAAA pitchers mostly found in AAA. His MLE for 2008: .272/.351/.362/.713. And he's never hit this well before, so it could all be a fluke. Plus, he's horrible stealing, 11 CS in 31 tries is horrible.
His glove is what brought him this far professionally but his bat has always been lacking, though obviously improving while with the Giants.
We do have a legit 2B in the minors, Nick Noonan is as legit as they come. In addition, we have Kevin Frandsen, who is not in the minors, but very legit as a 2B prospect, though obviously he has to prove he's over his injury. Eugenio Velez is also a legit choice at 2B, though I would not want that to happen, he's best spread around the field, I think, or in a utility role, but still legit.
I like Pat Misch, look at his stats in 2006 and 2007, they are very good. I would love to see him in the #5 starter's position.
I agree that the drop of Denker is puzzling, but like you, I won't lose any sleep over it. Still, really, when it comes to prospects, Sabean has been pretty good in deciding who to keep and who to jettison (or think is not worth keeping around), so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt on that.
And the start of the off-season was his press conference where he made it crystal clear that the Giants consider Cain and Lincecum untouchables, which, frankly, I think will be the most important move (or non-move) of the off-season, that Vizquel will not be back, meaning Burriss and others will get chances to start at 2B and SS, and lastly re-arfirms the Giants intention to play Lewis in LF, Burriss at SS, and Sandoval will play, currently most probably at 1B.
But Cain and Lincecum untouchable? That makes me very confident in the moves to come during this winter.
Not that there will necessarily be any moves, you have to have another team ready to trade with you or free agent willing to sign with you, before you can make any moves.
Hi Martin,
Thanks for commenting!
I agree about Ochoa. The optimist in me wants to believe that Ochoa somehow figured it out during his stint in AAA, but given his track record, that's probably not likely. If the Giants decide to bring him back up as the starting SS or as Burriss' backup, I doubt he can come close to touching his 2008 MLE's, even though his bat improved late into the season.
While the Giants do have options at 2B, the quality and depth of the crop concerns me. I definitely agree about Nick Noonan; he's the best option that the Giants currently have, but he's a bit down the road, and I don't think rushing him to the majors will have any benefit. I'm rooting for Frandsen to make a comeback, especially after his August-September hot streak in 2007. However, he's 27 and one can't bank on him fully recovering and playing well. Velez is, well... His speed is an asset. On the other hand, his defense at 2B, LF, etc. is mediocre if not downright terrible. I suppose Burriss is an option at 2B, but I like his bat and defense better at SS.
All in all, not a great bunch. I think Denker, though not outstanding by any means, was more valuable than the 2008 2B young guys. He had upside (only 23) in a position where the Giants could use a little help. At the very least, he could have plugged a hole until Noonan/Gillaspie comes up. I don't think that dropping Denker was a prudent move, especially when the Giants have about only 4 potential 2B, two of whom are for the future and the other two are fringe-ish.
Keeping Cain and Lincecum is a no-brainer, I think, so Sabean doesn't get too much credit on that one. I hope he does make some shrewd and forward-thinking moves this winter, however.
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