5:57pm: Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle was told that the Giants "have no serious interest" in Burrell, while the Padres apparently "have no interest at all," according to a tweet from MLB.com's Corey Brock.
5:22pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Burrell's preference is to return to the National League. Rosenthal also notes that Jermaine Dye's chances of finding a deal close to his asking price will be greatly diminished given that Burrell is now on the market and available at the minimum salary.
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe pretty much eliminates the Red Sox from the Burrell sweepstakes, adding that the club "wouldn't have a space for another one-dimensional player" at DH what with Mike Lowell and David Ortiz currently filling the position.
3:48pm: The Padres and Giants are interested in Pat Burrell, according to the chatter that Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News hears (Twitter link). Burrell, who will cost a pro-rated portion of the major league minimum now that he's a free agent, may be considering offers.
The Giants (14th in the NL in runs) and the Padres (13th in the NL in runs) could both use offense. Andres Torres, Nate Schierholtz and Aubrey Huff are hitting well enough for the Giants in the corner outfield spots and at first. Kyle Blanks has not produced so far for the Padres, but it's hard to imagine the Padres letting Burrell loose in the outfield, since he has played just nine innings there since 2009.
Burrell, who hit .202/.292/.303 for the Rays this year, is not necessarily a candidate for an everyday job on either team. They may be eyeing him as a potential source of bench power. The Padres could look to replace one former Phillie with another if they don't expect Matt Stairs to emerge from his early-season slump.
Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said yesterday that the Phillies are not interested in bringing Burrell back to Philadelphia.
…………..
That is all.
Sabean going for an aging veteran?
Surprise surprise.
Meets Giants criteria: Used to be able to hit, and remembers when 8-Track tapes were all the rage.
This is a different case for the Giants…
Would cost minimum and would be a late innings pinch hitter. Much different that Renteria, DeRosa etc…who were expected to produce everyday.
I’m ok with it.
Late innings pinch groundballer.
I am not, he woulda be taking up a spot on the roster that a rook coulda been utilizing, and for what? A .202/.292/.303 line? No thanks.
Keep in mind that Burrell’s screaming decline coincided with both a change in leagues and a move to DH. There’s a long trend of production dropoffs associated with players who only made one move or the other; Burrell did both. At the same time. it’s not much of a stretch to suggest that a move back to the NL and a return to the field would make a more useful player of him.
Just make sure it’s a really small field, for both offensive and defensive reasons…
Maybe this is fishing by the Giants to sign Jermaine Dye? Who am I kidding, Sabes just wants to sign Burrell for his experience and potential power. Regardless we need a right handed bat off the bench.
The Giants never really had any interest in Burrell, not even when his agent came out and suggested it.
And if the Giants were so tied to vets, they would not have saved spots for young players at LF, 1B, 2B, 3B last season, 2B and 3B in 2008, and RF this season, nor would they have continued to start Lewis in 2008 when Roberts came back off the DL.
Once people become biased in their opinions, they just look for any and all reasons to support their position.
Baggarly is writing that Burrell HAS drawn interest from the Giants and Padres. And could be weighing offers.
“Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle was told that the Giants “have no serious interest” in Burrell”
i’m not sure, but sense burrell did play his best years in the steroid era, did he do roids? this might be common knowledge that i am uninformed about.