The Giants have agreed to sign free agent infielder Ryan Theriot, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports on Twitter. The Beverly Hills Sports Council client obtains a one-year deal worth $1.25MM that includes $750K in incentives.
Theriot spent the 2011 season playing shortstop and second base for the Cardinals, who non-tendered him in December. At the plate, the 32-year-old posted a .271/.321/.342 line in 483 plate appearances. He will join middle infielders Freddy Sanchez, Brandon Crawford and Emmanuel Burriss in San Francisco, where he'll also be reunited with former Cubs teammate Mike Fontenot. Theriot owns a .282/.344/.353 line in seven MLB seasons.
Lets get this out of the way … I certainly wasn’t losing my mind over the signing of Ryan Theriot nor was I raving about his defense in my previous comment. I simply offered a rationale as to why he filled a need for the club.
Theriot’s defense at short is abysmal, even worse at third, but he can actually pick second fairly well(career UZR/150 of 6.5). So, Fontenot backs up Sandoval and Crawford and Theriot backs up Sanchez and we have a workable situation. I understand that the Giants can’t afford to give away runs via shoddy defense but they also can’t give up offense by starting guys like Burris as well.
I think we can both agree though, if the Giants find themselves starting Fontenot/Theriot/Burris regularly on the middle infield, its going to be a very long season.
I feel bad talking crap about any team that makes Bartolo Colon it’s #2 starter.