Giants Offer Juan Uribe Arbitration

Just Tuesday night, within 24 hours of the Giants signed Aubrey Huff to that 2 year/$22M deal, the team announced they will offer free agent infielder Juan Uribe arbitration.

Not much of a surprise, and smart move by Sabean, as Uribe was the lone Giants' free agent I expected them to offer arbitration to. Uribe is one of the premiere left-corner infielders on the free-agent market, with the ability to play both SS and 3B at respectable levels, with a solid line of roughly .266/25/80/.770 per-500 ab's and a knack for the clutch hit over the last two seasons. Just go back and look at the 2010 postseason and you'll see what Uribe means to this team. He didn't have great batting average, but it seemed like everytime he did get hits, he made them count. There are some negatives though, as he's a bit of a free-swinger and as a side effect, not too patient at the plate (though he did have a career-high 45 BB in 2010) and he'll strikeout his fair share. However, all things considered, he's certainly a guy you want on your team. He's not a great defender, but has OK range with good hands, a great arm and comes up with that occasional great play. Now, if he's demanding some gaudy number like 3 years/$30+ million like I heard mentioned on the radio the other day, then the Giants let him walk and receive a high draft pick in comenstation. Kind of a win-win as he's surely to sign somewhere or the Giants would take him back with open arms.

Money wise, I think I'd try and go a little lower than what Huff got (Uribe plays tougher positions on defense, but Huff had the better numbers offensively). Maybe a little less, like 2 years and $18.5 million. Go read over the list on the free agent/arbitration eligible list for 3B/SS and it's pretty dismal. Outside of Jeter (who, again, if the Giants are going to spend 18 million on a player, it better be Crawford) and possible Japanese middle infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka (who I am very intrigued with and the Giants have shown some interest in), and $9 million a year for Uribe starts to make some sense. I don't have any doubts in his defensive abibilties and I think he'll easily keep both those and his offensive punch for another two seasons. It seems like he's been around for a while, but he's still just 31. Look what Sabes gave Edgar Renteria after the year he had just finished playing with Detroit in 2008, and there's no way Uribe's that bad, plus he plays two other positions unlike Renteria (who I will always have a place in my heart for based on what he did in the playoffs with a torn bisceps muscle for the Giants, that took some cahones)... Speaking of Edgar, who's apparently deciding to play again, I doubt he has a future here, but if he doesn't find a job elsewhere, why not give him an invite to spring training on a minor league deal if he'll it. Wouldn't guarantee him anything big (maybe a 1 year/$1-2M just to say thank you for playoffs 2010 if nothing else). Not talking about singing him as your opening day starter at short, but wouldn't be a bad, cheaper replacement to Mike Fontenot (due a decent raise in arbitration and likely to be non-tendered), and a great caddy to Uribe short, if the can get both back. We took a look at some FA/Arb. Eligible SS's here in our last post, and it's not an eye popping list, so an Uribe/Renteria or Uribe/TBA (Manny Burris if he get's his health and 2008 confidence back, or another strong defender) isn't looking like that bad off an option right now if they chose to go down the Uribe-rout at short. And he's a Type-B free agent, so the Giants wouldn't be getting maximum compensation for him anyway.