(Photo: Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports)
It looks like Ryan Vogelsong will remain with the San Francisco Giants for another year. This is according to Hank Schulman who’s tweet rolled across the timeline this afternoon. It’s possible that we have more details later tonight or tomorrow.
There had been reports over the last few days that linked Vogelsong to both the Rangers and Astros. He was rumored to being close to a deal with Houston before we heard of any talks with the Giants. Suddenly it seems as if he’s coming aboard for another run.
The main concern I’ve seen and heard from fans is why a move like this gets made if the rotation is already set. The most common themes have been…
- Matt Cain and Tim Hudson are both recovering from a surgery.
- Tim Lincecum has been shaky as a starter the last 3 seasons
- Will Jake Peavy find a renaissance under Bruce Bochy and Dave Righetti
- Madison Bumgarner is coming off a long, wonderful season and postseason
- Also, can’t Yusmeiro Petit start some games?
It sounds crazy but I thought more pitching was a good thing. To think that Vogey chose to come back to San Francisco and give what he has left as a pitcher without the promise of being a starter. Those Texas teams would have put him in the rotation right away. He has no idea how many starts he’s gonna get this year.
That’s 7 starters for 5 spots. I don’t see that as a bad thing.
The Giants are going to need some good pitching this season. There’s considerably less thump in the lineup than in year’s past. It looks like Brandon Belt, Buster Posey, and Hunter Pence will be asked to carry the bulk of the load.
Nori Aoki signed earlier this week for $4 million. He has incentives to bump that to $5.5 if he has more than 600 plate appearances. He’s averaged 604 in his 3 seasons in the majors. He’s a contact hitter that can take over at the top of the lineup if (when) Angel Pagan goes down.
I keep talking myself in to really liking this signing because the way the lineup could be constructed he would be like another leadoff guy in the middle. Brandon Crawford could have a field day driving Aoki in.
Here’s how I’d draw it up right now.
- Angel Pagan
- Joe Panik
- Buster Posey
- Hunter Pence
- Brandon Belt
- Casey McGehee
- Nori Aoki
- Brandon Crawford
- Madison Bumgarner
Last season McGehee and Aoki hit 5 HR’s combined in over 1200 combined plate appearances. That’s a far cry from when Pablo Sandoval and Michael Morse used to drop bombs during some really great hot streaks.
That’s where we are with about a month to go until Spring Training. We’re focused on Ryan Vogelsong coming back to help the Giants defend their title. It’s not sexy or shiny, but it’s a move to help the ball club compete for a playoff spot. After that, as we well know, anything can happen.
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–Eric
The TortureCast 