Giants Appear Content With Roster

I knew the Giants got most of their big moves out of the way early in the offseason this year, but I'm still surprised Sabean has stayed so quiet over the last 5 weeks.

The World Series trophy tour is currently taking place, so that will be getting the headlines over the next few weeks, but I still think the Giants should be focused on improving their roster anyway they can. Sabean made it no secret that he was pursuing a few different "depth" options for the Giants, in the infield, outfield and even looking at starting pitching. At the very least, I was expecting another infielder to be added to the mix, preferably someone adept at playing defense up the middle, but after Edgar Renteria's deal with the Reds, it appears as though the Giants have decided to stand pat. I was keeping tabs on Cesar Izturis, as I thought he could be a viable late-inning defensive replacement for Tejada, as well as a solid pinch-runner, but he just finalized a deal to return to Baltimore. Now that we're closing in on Spring Training, the free agent list has minimized and there just aren't many options out there for the Giants now, so at this point, I doubt they make another move to add someone from outside the organization this offseason.

It looks like it will be Mike Fontenot backing Tejada up at short, at least to start the 2011 season, and the Giants will be returning the exact same outfield and pitching staff that won the Series in '10. Manny Burris could get some consideration too depending on how well he plays this spring. Again, I said it after they signed Burrell, that they could essentially start the season right then and have a team that was identical to the one that just won the World Series a month prior, and I still feel that way, just would have liked to see them be a little more aggressive. The Giants lost Renteria and Uribe, and only gained Tejada, so unless Mark DeRosa is 100% healthy and playing effectively (something his Zips Projection doesn't support), the Giants will need another infielder in the organization to step up, or they'll have to go outside to get someone else. The same thing can be said about the starting pitching rotation if one of those guys get's banged up during the spring. After Barry Zito, the Giants have a huge fall-off before they're next major league-ready starting pitcher (Todd Wellemeyer or Henry Sosa appear to be next in line). I think they could have added another viable starting candidate who they could have used in long-relief and done so without breaking the bank. Again, this is me being greedy of course, I really like the roster right now, and I think they're easily the NL West favorites coming in. However, anytime a perennial contender can add depth to their roster, they should do it, and I think the Giants had a few options to do so over the last month and didn't act on them.

GBB's 2011 Top-20 Giants Prospect list Coming Next!!!