The Giants activated Joe Panik from the DL yesterday, as Henry Schulman reports in his latest piece for the San Francisco Chronicle. That’s not even the most interesting news, however, as Schulman also reveals a flurry of insight into the clubs plans for utilizing their other players in the near future.
Perhaps chief among these tidbits is the confirmation that veteran Hunter Pence will play in a backup role when he returns from the disabled list, where he’s been shelved with a sprained thumb since mid-April. Skipper Bruce Bochy couldn’t have been more direct, making it clear that Mac Williamson is the club’s primary left fielder while stating that he’d like to get Pence in later in games, “like I would with a fourth outfielder.”
Although Bochy’s plans are hardly surprising considering how much injuries and the aging curve have slowed Pence’s production across the past few seasons, it’s surely disappointing news for the three-time All-Star. Pence was once one of the great players in the game, ranking 33rd in fWAR from 2008-2014 with at least 20 homers in every one of those seasons. This year, however, Pence kicked off the season by hitting .172/.197/.190 with just one extra base hit an alarming 22 strikeouts in 61 plate appearances. He’s in the final year of his five-year, $90MM contract and thus will reach free agency at season’s end.
The oddest thing to come out of Schulman’s piece is the news that Pablo Sandoval is taking ground balls at shortstop. “He’s got good hands and a good first step,” said Bochy. When the club activated Panik, they optioned Kelby Tomlinson to the minors in a related move, leaving Sandoval as the only reserve infielder on the major league roster. That’ll change soon when Alen Hanson returns from his hamstring injury (Schulman notes that this will probably happen early next week), but for the time being it would seem as though the club is prepared to turn to Sandoval as its emergency shortstop in the event that Brandon Crawford has to come out of a game for any reason.
At least one more move is coming, as Madison Bumgarner is slated to make his season debut against the Diamondbacks on Tuesday.
Not mentioned in the article, but Brandon Belt also had an appendectomy yesterday.
I thought he was only taken to the hospital and evaluated because of his symptoms? No one’s confirmed he had the procedure.
Judging by the picture on belts Twitter account. I think it’s safe to say he had surgery.
The pic on his twitter?? The one of him laying on a hospital bed? That’s, uh, what happens when you’re in a hospital under observation. He has NOT had the procedure as of yet.
Looks more like he’s prepped for surgery.
He had it last night
Sandoval at short would be a treat for all
How can anyone judge too quick. He played 2nd base perfect with a great diving play. He pitched perfect. My guess by end of season he will have played every position but center
It’ll be worth the price of admission to see Panda play center field.
Maybe the next story out of SF will be that the Giants have offered Sandoval an extension. Is everyone good with that?
No we like having a utility infielder paid for by the red sox
Bobby Evans will probably sign Sandoval to another 5 year contract. LOL.
This Giants team is an absolute mess. I’m not saying they have all bad players, it’s just a roster of expensive players that make zero sense together. In some ways, they look like the 2013 Yankees. The Giants have a lot of unmovable contracts right now and their farm isn’t producing much. I definitely feel like a full tear down and rebuild is on the horizon. Because of their contracts the rebuild is going to be a longer one. Like 2-3 years so they should start selling off their best assets now, get some young talent, and plan for the future when some of these contracts are gone. And the simple fact that I heard that “Sandoval was taking grounders at SS” in my lifetime means this team is toast.
“their farm isn’t producing much”
Understatement of the year.
If I were a Giants fan I would be apoplectic at the news that the Giants are going to use the #2 pick on a pitcher.
Do the Giants think they’re going to win another WS signing and trading for old men to create a lineup?
They are about to get Bum back, and Cueto isn’t far away. They just got Mac, Melancon and Panik back too. Let’s give them till the All-Star Break to see if they can get healthy enough to put a run together. They are only 3 games out of first place!
They didn’t want to do another roster move since they are getting Hanson back in a couple days. If someone goes down Sacramento is 90 miles away.
Man the Dodgers and the Giants are sure lucky to be in the West. Even if the Giants or Dodgers somehow make the playoffs, how far could they legitimately go? Cueto from what I’ve seen and heard is a huge question on his timetable. They “the Giants” play like a really old team, of which they are. Deal Bum while they still can. How would this team be able to add at the deadline, compared to the Brewers, Cubs, Phillies, Braves, Nats, Cardinals, Rockies, hell even the Dodgers.
they also play in what has been a pretty terrible division so far, so 3 games back doesn’t really mean anything.
I’m not sure 2-3 years is a “longer” rebuild. Seems average-to-fast to me.
That said, while I agree with a lot of what you said I also think they can turn it around quickly if they decided to sell because they have some really good trade pieces. MadBum, Crawford and Belt would all bring back significant hauls and all of their contracts would be expiring right around a 2-3 year window anyway. If Cueto can return to form, he could bring back something nice. And of course Posey could be around a little beyond that window, but if you could stomach trading him obviously he would bring back another haul.
The question is if the Giants are going to have the commitment to do a rebuild like that, or if they will continue to try to patch in around the edges like they have been for a while now. If they get healthy they could play around .500 baseball with this team for a few more years and hope that’s enough to sneak into the playoffs once in a while. If they rebuild, they’e going to have to cut deep into their franchise stars.
“I’m not sure 2-3 years is a “longer” rebuild.”
Two to three years is a “reload”. Five years is fast for a rebuild.
A reload is when your big club is old but the farm has some talent but the talent is not ready to impact the big club.
The Giants are looking at a six year + rebuild.
2 to 3 years? Yea! Ok! You are being very optimistic for sure in that assessment ! More like 5 to 7 years!
The Giants owe a great deal to the other teams in the NL West who are struggling to various degrees so far this season. I’m not sure the Dodgers will be able to get it together without going over the LTT. The Rockies are doing OK, but only 3 games over .500, though Ian Desmond is contributing nothing. The Padres are the Padres, and the Dbacks need only to kind of get their act together again to win the division. The Giants would need everything – and I do mean EVERYTHING – to break perfectly from today forward to win the division. Like the Dodgers they are up against the LTT and will not seek help outside of their own system.
Dodgers already have it together. Up 12-4 right now in Denver, looking like their 12th win in their last 16.
how many belts will Sandoval bust out of playing short? They better buy him belts by the case.
Reading some the comments makes me believe i am watching a different team. This is the best hitting team and bullpen Bochy has ever had in his time with the Giants. Second the Giants have the best hitting team in the NL West. So i would ask this question, if they had Bum or Cueto healthy would they be in first place or 4 to 6 game in front of .500??? The biggest problem with this team is starting pitching and thats because of the injuries. 1 – 8 this team can hit and they have a deep bench but when your starters cant make it to or past the 5th inning its very hard to win. The only reason why they are close to .500 is because of their hitting and bullpen. Now with Bum coming back in a few days and Cueto coming back in the end of June or beginning of July that would solve the starting pitching. The Giants will have everything in order. Now for someone talking about the farm system, if u look at the Giants for the next 2 to 3 years, the infield is set. The outfield was a huge problem for the future in the beginning of the year but now u have Mac, Steven Dugar who is killing AAA pitching, and Gorky. They are all young and cheap. I didnt even mention Chris Shaw or Heliot Ramos. So going forward their main goal should be starting pitching. I really question some of u Giants Fans.
Good post 777. I have heard 3 national baseball writers say that if the giants get everyone back they’ll be scary. They also have revamped how farm teams/system is developing players. The 4 four teams are currently 22 games over .500. Last year all the farm teams finished last.
These commenters keep rehashing last years criticisms. One guy said he can’t watch them. LAST YEAR it WAS hard to watch but this year has a completely different feel. I’m enjoying the games.
There’s the Evans complaint that keeps being used. At the beginning of the year people cried “dump Gorkys”. They’re the same people posting above.
Evans pickups:
Gorkys
Huntley
Hanson
Sandoval (he has contributed a lot)
Dyson
Watson
WSmith
Cueto was dominant before injury
Samardzija was hurt in spring training and hasn’t recovered and posters blame Evans for that
Dereck Rodriguez
Melancon when healthy will be great. Btw, his injuries apparently are Evans’ fault
Longoria ( hitting his norm, but fielding is worse than expected)
McCutcheon hitting rockets that will start falling
The only Evans move I didn’t like was Austin Jackson.
Farm system will soon be highly regarded again. And this team will be competing
all year. And in near future. Not 3 years
I’d give credit to Evans for the top of the bullpen this year but the starting pitching and bullpen depth has been so awful that it’s doubtful they can make the playoffs even if Bum and Cueto return to form.
The outfield is still questionable and it remains to be seen whether they will give younger players like Mac and Slater a chance or whether Bochy will keep giving over-the-hill guys like Pence. Blanco, and Jackson extra chances.
long relieve is a problem, i agree with that but how many teams have a long reliever with a great ERA that can eat up innings??? Mac is the starting outfielder until he screws it up. Slater is not the guy, Steven Dugar is the guy. And Jackson right now is the odd man out, too many SO. Plus in the bullpen he has five guys he can go to out of the pen. How many teams have that kind of depth in their bullpen in the late innings.
Their farm system is not revamped at all. Heliot Ramos is the only relevant piece they have and he is not close to ready. They have the #2 pick this year but thats TBD
Please look up what Steven Dugar and Chris Shaw are doing in the minors.
They are both 25 year olds playing in the PCL. Dugars numbers arent even that exciting. Come on man
Kenley you said dump Gorkys. And Sandoval was awful. Months ago you said that. You have no merit. Duggar is 25? What’s that mean?
Duggar is the centerfielder next year. Perfect age.
Sandoval is awful. His OPS + is 97 and OPS is .714. Duggar is 25 means he is not some big time building block prospect as your fellow Giants fan said.
Couldnt have said it better myself. Giants are in it to win it this year. May not win 90 games, but they can compete against any team in the NL come october, and a Bumgarner, Cueto, Stratton, Samardjzia front end of staff looks good, and should be set by the all-star break. They also have quality prospects, Duggar reminds me of Kiermaier, and Heliot Ramos reminds me of Marcell Ozuna from what ive seen of them in the Minors. Im proud to be a Giants fan, win or lose this year, im grateful for the memories and hopeful for whats to come.
The Giants are gonna be cellar dwellers for 5 years or more ! LoL
Ok
Offense ranks 22 and Bullpen ranks 23. This cant in any way be the best offense and pen Bochy has had to work with. The Giants dont have any significant young major league players and have a lot of bad contracts. Their long term outlook is pretty bad
Idiot. They have the third best batting average in the NL, and they play in an offensive nightmare of a stadium. Dodgers fans are starting to hit new lows these days.
Batting average? Oh god you really should get a clue. They are also tied for 2nd in the NL in strikeouts. Middle of the pack in OPS. You should learn to form an argument instead of name calling.
Your right about the SO, but it seem like thats where the league is. Its HR or SO. I miss the days when guys can hit opposite field and bunt. They have 4 hitters in their lineup that have above .300 average. Watching their games, it seem like they check out when the starting pitching isnt there. Now for u to say they are rank 23 for the bullpen tells me you dont watch any SF games. The only reasom why its ranked 23 is because of the starting pitching. Bochy is going to young garbage relievers to eat up innings when the starters cant go five innings
Your right about the SO, but it seem like thats where the league is. Its HR or SO. I miss the days when guys can hit opposite field and bunt. They have 4 hitters in their lineup that have above .300 average. Watching their games, it seem like they check out when the starting pitching isnt there. Now for u to say they are rank 23 for the bullpen tells me you dont watch any SF games. Bochy is going to young garbage relievers to eat up innings when the starters cant go five innings
Strikeouts are meaningless now.
A team that strikes out a lot and has a bad run differential is over achieving. Reality will set in at some point
If you watch the Giants your know why the run differential is bad for the moment. The Giants have to prove they can play on the road. If they do, they will be in the race at the end of the season.
run differential is bad for the moment because of the starting pitching. It will change very soon.The Giants have to prove they can play on the road. If they do, they will be in the race at the end of the season.
I left out holland who has been a decent fifth starter. And blanco has been good though struggling recently
The Shark is a wasted, paid him too much money to pitch like this. He was good for an half of year and thats it
I’ve said for years that Samarzdija is the most overrated SP in baseball, and he still is. When he was with the Cubs the excuse was he was a raw talent who just needed to harness his abilities. With the White Sox the excuse was he didn’t have enough run support. But with the A’s and Giants there’s no viable excuse why his results continue to suck.
His value came from durability. In his prime, a solid no 2 starter, no one considered him an ace.
His prime was what, 1.5 to 2 seasons?
Giants paid him like a 2. He wasn’t anywhere near a 2 when they did. They paid him on potential, which other than a brief stint with the Cubs, he hasn’t come close to reaching.
Some guys have all the skills and yet can’t figure out how to put it together. I’ll never understand how a guy with a sinker AND a splitter gives up so many homeruns.
He’s pitched hurt. He’s good. Dumb comments. Shark will be good again.
Holy hell, do you mindless dopes want to talk about younger pitchers with health problems, or who have regressed. Shut up with the age whining. Age issues affect more than just giants players.