Giants Sign Randy Johnson

Would've been a perfect fit for a lot of teams...

Nice move by the Giants assuming it's for a reasonable price.

Damn. Now I'm going to have to root for the Giants every 5th day.

Lincecum
Cain
Randy
Zito
Sanchez

Is that a top 5 rotation in baseball? Maybe not, but it's close.

You think they try to trade Sanchez for a bat now? Last time I heard they had a very solid rotation.

Agree with Ben. A nice fit for several teams. He indicated that he wanted to stay on the West Coast early on and that is where he is going to play. A good move and fits Sabean's age requirements all in one.

Could be a dangerous team with some offense.

Giants rotation >>> Dodgers Rotation

Great fit for the Giants. Hopefully he can reach the 300 wins total with them. Does this signing either propel the Dodgers to pursue Pettitte or will the Giants look to trade a Noah Lowry or John Sanchez for some hitting?

if randy and zito can find another gear, giants have a shot at the title this year. unless the dodgers secure manny and a good starter, as of right now, the giants are better on paper now

Awesome move by the Giants.

Damnit. I wanted the A's to sign him.

If Noah Lowry is healthy, that means Zito goes to the pen.

This could be entertaining.

yeah now maybe we can dangle Sanchez for a Bat to get some damn RUN SUPPORT for these pitchers...

Nuschler's News-

The Giants should NOT sell low on Jonathan Sanchez. Any trade made this year would probably be a sell low, simply because his ERA was significantly worse than his peripherals indicated. In other words, he pitched like a 3, but ran into some bad luck/bad defense.

If Noah Lowry shows he's healthy come spring, I think the Giants make him and Sanchez available but that's a big if. Even if he is healthy, his Trade Value is low due to the injury. He'll need the first half to show he can still pitch and then may be attractive come the trade deadline as his contract is expiring.

I think the FA market needs to dry up some before the Giants make a trade involving Sanchez so they can better assess the other teams actual needs and what they would be willing to give up.

Melonis Rex- I totally agree with you. The Giants should not trade low on Sanchez at all. His Value will be much higher after 1 more season, as will Matt Cain's and the Giants will probably looking at quite a surplus of starting pitching (is there really such a thing) come next winter as both Madison Bumgarner and Tim Alderson will probably be pushing close to a major league job, if they haven't already got a september callup. Kevin Pucetas and Jose Martinez might also be in the mix.

Noah Lowry and Randy Johnson will be FA next year so on paper the Giants will have only 1 open spot. And really, this team is built to win next season and the year after so anything they do this year is a bonus.

All I'm saying is if the Giants do get an offer they can't refuse, like Zimmerman or Davis, they might have to take it. That wouldn't be selling low this year. Now, I don't really expect that to happen but both those teams are in dire need of pitching and they have a lot of young hitting...

melonis rex

there's absolutely NO WAY Zito starts off the 2009 season in the bullpen even if Lowry is healthy

Now, if Zito has a horrible start to the season like last year and Lowry is pitching decent (if healthy)then maybe Zito gets moved to the pen

Defense might stop Sandoval from playing 3B. That guy is huge.

"All I'm saying is if the Giants do get an offer they can't refuse, like Zimmerman or Davis, they might have to take it. That wouldn't be selling low this year."

Oh yeah. If the offer is right, take it.

Why the hell would the Nationals trade Ryan Zimmerman? For ANYBODY! He is one of the best, if not the best, defensive third basemen in the league and has huge potential at the plate. Oh, and by the way, he's only 24 years old. And he's the face of the franchise.

Just because Sandoval has played 3B doesn't mean that's where he should play or they want him to play there. I know Sabean has said it's his spot but he's said that about others recently as well. In October he said SS was Burriss' and now we have Renteria! Last offseason he said 1B was Dan Ortmeiers' and come spring it was Rich Aurulia.

I don't think 3B is Sabean's first choice for Sandoval and would rather have him at 1B but the market is thin right now. We'll see how the rest of the winter plays out but it may change.

hte giants rotation is great
but not top 5 in the league
timmy is a freak
cain is good
but...
sanchez is wild, but can improve
zito is a name, he not that good. he only look good on paper because of his history
and johnson..is a nice pitcher and an great mentor
(i think) to Johnny boy. but not as good as made out to be, lately.
the rotation is not as reliable depth-wised as you think. but on paper, they look good

Best rotation in baseball.

Sandoval will play, but I'd rather see him play 3rd and have Ishikawa play first. Ish is strong defensively, and you'll need that anchor is Sandoval at 3rd is a stretch, over a full season, and Renteria has lost a step, and a rookie is playing 2nd (Frandsen).

$8 million is more than I thought Randy would get. A possible $12 million is about twice more than I thought possible for him. Maybe Sabes convinced the new guy that he'd put fannies in the seats. Because it seems like the Giants are on a spending spree.

HELLAVU SIGNING!!!

RANDY RANDY!!!

NedCollettiClueless, you have to have the most perfect name on mlbtr, because it is always an accurate statement!

Signing RJ was a guh-duh for the Dodgers, but as someone insinuated the other day, I guess Colletti was out on Xmas vacation. Or still on Thanksgiving break...

Gvelta- I think it would take a lot for the Nats to trade Zimmerman but I don't think he is untradeable. He may be now after missing out on Teixeria but he fact is they still need pitching, bad. Zimmerman could fetch an ace, and a young one at that. Like a Matt Cain, or maybe a Jonathan Sanchez AND pitching prospects, which the Giants have.

I know it's not a popular idea around Nationals fans but the fact is he is arbitration elegible now and what if he decides not to sign that extension this off season? He could bring back the best return for them

2B Eugenio Velez/Kevin Fransden

For all of those throwing Chris Davis's name out there, keep dreaming.

Rolling...

2B - Burriss / Frandsen

Velez has zero chance beating them out.

"Hopefully he can reach the 300 wins total with them."

I think health and all it is safe to say Johnson will win 300 with the Giants.

ill take the marlins staff before the giants.
but i do have a man crush on tim

Honestly, I think if they can get Wiggy on a 1-2 year deal, they would be better off than trading for Beltre. I can't imagine the Mariners are going to let him go very cheaply and he isn't worth any of the top pitching prospects or Sanchez for 1 year.

Cantu, Blaylock, Encarcion, and Crede all should be out of the question no matter what as none are a 3B upgrade overall to Sandoval when you factor in what the Giants will have to also give up to get them.

I really think they should take it slow and unless a team gives them an offer they can't refuse, they sit tight until at least close to the trade deadline and reevaluate then.

can he hit cleanup or play first?

marlinsman1120

lol what are you smokin on?
SF 1-5 STARTERS are WAY BETTER then marlis 1-5 starters

"Cantu, Blaylock, Encarcion, and Crede all should be out of the question no matter what as none are a 3B upgrade overall to Sandoval when you factor in what the Giants will have to also give up to get them."

Uh... Crede is a free agent.

"If the Giants do this....

Step 1: sign Manny
Step 2: trade either Lewis or Winn for a reliever
Step 3: sign Trevor Hoffman to sure up the pen.

Then they are pretty much the best team in the NL."

They still would have a hole at 2B and either 3B or 1B (whichever isn't manned by Sandoval). Zito is still garbage, Sanchez is wildly inconsistent, Johnson is a major health risk.

They'd be much improved, and probably the best team in the West... but FAR from the best team in the entire National League.

The Giants should look hard at making a trade for Nick Swisher from the Yankees. I'm not sure what it'll take to get him but it can't be too much. They need some relief help, backup infielding, a fifth starter, and to restock the minors. Maybe something along the lines of Jose Martinez, Jack Taschner, and Eugenio Velez plus maybe the last year of Dave Roberts for Swisher and Cash.

Yeah, I know Crede is a FA. I just meant to throw him in with the "Stay the Hell away from this player" no matter what. Signing him is not an upgrade to giving the job to Sandoval

People are getting a little crazy here.

Johnson is a nice back of the rotation starter. Gives you a near 4 ERA and most likely 130-150 IP. The real question will be his motivation once he hits 5 more wins.

Until Sanchez can put up a WHIP under 1.45 I'm not quite ready to anoint him as a top starter. Cain is a nice #2 and Lincecum is sick. Lowry and Zito ... at this point they are nothing more than warm bodies.

And for those saying Zimmerman is untouchable ... please. There are about 30 players right now I would rather have than Zimmerman. We are 3 full years into his career and he has exactly ONE season where he posted an OPS above 800. He MIGHT turn out to be great. However, I know other players that are already great.

Good sign for the Giants. I'm not sure why so many teams took this long to sign the guy. He's a good #3-4 on any team. I think the DOdgers need to take a look at both Pettite and Sheets now.

Billingsley
Kershaw
Huroda
Sheets
Pettitte

That's pretty damn good on paper.

Ken Rosenthal was right? Must be Armagaden...

bjsguess- you are right, Sanchez still needs to prove himself. Period. He needs another season of experience. He is more valuable to the Giants than anyone else right now.

What most people don't know is he was bounced between the bullpen and spot starts, and the minors and majors, for a few seasons and never found any consistency. Now that he has settled into a starting role, he has begun to shine. I think last year was very telling, the difference between his first half and second half was remarkable and showed all signs of being tired as a factor. the guy had 8 career starts before last season, when he had 29. In 2006 he had 55/40 minor/major league innings, in 2007 he had 23/52 innings. Last year he more than doubled his total to 158 innings. I think he still has a lot to prove but has shown the ability to be very affective.

Between his natural progression, the Randy Johnson signing, and Cain and Lincecum, Giants fans have every reason to be excited that the rotation is shaping up to pitch with anyone.

I say Big Unit goes 12-10 3.70 ERA

AT&T Park should be able to lower his ERA a bit

anyone agree?

still the fish have
3 starters in mid 3era
sanchez will improve because he stuck coming off TJ and cant be any worst
miller is in th same boat as john sanchez we both know the potential, and they need to develope to harvest it

if the giants can score then johnson will get 12, but they wont score. trade for cantu!

yeaah the wins are distorted but they have the same era.
and the marlins play in a smaller park, and an better divison.

or some of your top pitching prospect with sanchez

there an or!
and there been talk of it too
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/10/giants-discussi.html

Uggla could be a centerpiece but ugh itl take more than that. Cain has ace like stuff.

at t is bigger and that has been reports of uggla/cain trade so stop pmsing it possible, it a rumor

I still can't believe Rosenthal was right lol. And if I were San Fransisco I'd hold onto Cain and Lincecum for as long as I could.

don't be surprised by the dodgers failure here. after all, the dodgers suck and johnson said he wants to play for a contender :-)

I think the Giants should look more seriously at Wigginton.

Here is what I think the giants should do:

1. Keep their rotation as is going into spring trading (don't trade sanchez for EE or cantu)

2. I like the competition at second base (burres, Frandsen, velez) because it gives us more infield options if more than one of them performs well, meaning NO melonis rex we should NOT sign Orlando Hudson.

3. I've been thinking about it, and I've decided power right now is in the outfield so I think we should move Lewis, Rowand, or Winn (Fred will probably be easiest) and sign Burrell or Manny to play Left Field.

Trade Lewis for a couple of unproven players for our farm system, sign manny and next year's team looks like:

Winn RF
Renteria SS
Sandoval 3B
Ramirez LF
Molina C
Isikawa/Phelps 1B
Rowand CF
Burres (my favorite)/Frandsen/Velez 2B

Lincecum
Cain
Johnson
Zito
Sanchez

ok so after looking at how much they were projected to have to spend burrell and dunn look to far out there...but i like the wigginton ideas, crede, nomar? millar?sexson?all may come cheap with some potential?