According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, Pat Burrell and the Giants are "in the 'talking stages' " about a minor-league contract for the veteran slugger. Schulman notes that nothing is imminent between the two sides because Burrell "does have other options he is mulling."
San Francisco was rumored to be a possible destination for the veteran right-handed slugger. Though Schulman reported last week that the Giants had "no serious interest" in Burrell, Schulman writes that the club's perspective has changed since Burrell is apparently now open to a minor-league deal. Burrell is said to prefer a return to the National League, which isn't surprising given his struggles with the Rays but it will mean that his below-average glove can't be hidden in a DH role.
Provided that Burrell greatly improves on the .672 OPS he posted in Tampa Bay over the last two seasons, his right-handed bat could provide some nice balance for the Giants. Of the Giants' current corner outfield options, Aubrey Huff, Nate Schierholtz and John Bowker are all left-handed hitters, and switch-hitting Andres Torres is experiencing a reversal in his career splits this season by hitting right-handers much better than he's hitting lefties. Right-handed hitting Mark DeRosa is currently on the DL with a wrist injury and visited a specialist about his wrist today, though Schulman tweets that San Fran's interest in Burrell isn't related to any concerns about DeRosa's health.
lol. The funny thing is, I’ve seen tons of giants fans who called this move as soon as he was dropped
yes they were. and with derosa like out for a while it does make a little sense. i mean he is older. but maybe he does need to go back to the NL. it won’t cost much to get him and there is huge upside to him. how much worse could he be than derosa right?
“huge upside”? You’re talking about the guy who has posted a sub .700 OPS over his last 500 AB’s?
He’s a streaky player, but he’s definitely got potential. People are nuts for writing him off.
Terrible 500 AB stretch…agreed. But a little historical comparison:
2003 G 142 AB 522 H 109 HR 21 BA .209
2009/10 G 142 AB 496 H 108 HR 16 BA .218
Learn your history. He’s back at .250s with 30 homer potential just like 04-08 if he gets the chance. His defense is another story.
He bounced back, yes. In Philly. 6 years go.
He is like a negative 2 tool player at this point.
in the american league. i can rephrase it for you. he has the potential of having a huge upside. look what he did in the NL prior to 2009. his average is crap, but he can hit around 30 HR’s over a season. and between 2005 and 2008 he didn’t have an OPS lower than .875
I didn’t mean to make it sound like he has no chance of coming back, and for the major league minimum he is definitely worth taking a chance on. I’m just saying it could just be a steep decline due to age and not a 500 AB slump.
you only mentioned a 500 AB slump. my original post was saying that he could have a huge upside for his price.
“and for the major league minimum he is definitely worth taking a chance on” yes I agree that he is worth the price to the SFG, all I’m saying is that there is a distinct possibility that his career is over, seeing as he hasn’t been good since 2008 and is 34 years old.
but I’m pretty sure everyone acknowledges that. we all know that if Burrell were 29 years old he would not be looking for a minor league contract right now (see: Garrett Atkins). obviously it’s possible – maybe even probable – that he has simply declined due to age, but he has shown enough skill in the past to warrant 50-100 at-bats to see if he’s got anything left.
Nowhere did I ever say the guy doesn’t deserve another chance, I was just trying to suggest that someone saying Burrell has huge upside should temper their expectations, based on his latest performance.
giant fail
Minor league deal….no biggie…
“Oh no, this is a terrible move! We are paying a guy who has 30 HR potential the bare minimum to give it a shot!” I can see a hundred of these coming.
30 HR potential you say? Yeah?
I don’t know how to tell you this, but … I’m from the future. May 2010, specifically. And Pat Burrel can’t even hit 15 homeruns in a full season anymore, let alone 30.
If you’re lucky though, his OBP might break .300 and sometimes you’ll be able to confuse it for a second with a batting average and think to yourself “hey, at least a good contact hitter!”
15 home runs you say? In that division and that ballpark? You, sir, are stretching it a bit too far =P.
In response to the guy you responded to, Pat Burrell is not the type of guy you take a flyer on. He’s 34 years old, and his “power” is largely a product of the ballpark he hit in. I’m inclined to say that it’s a pretty bad idea.
I think “potential” is a term that is too loosely used. It makes more sense when it’s attached to a young prospect, as in, “[insert young prospect] has the potential to [insert major skill].”
However, when “potential” is used in reference to a player who is in OBVIOUS decline, like Burrell, it doesn’t have the same affect.
Was Burrell once capable of hitting 30 HR? Yes.
Can he still do it? It would be utterly shocking.
I honestly still have a bit of faith in him. Me being a Braves and Rays fan, when he hit free agency, I was a bit surprised Atlanta didn’t attempt to sign him. And when I saw he signed with Tampa Bay, I though, “That’s what they were missing!” But alas, I was wrong. I believe the AL was just unkind to him. He will fare better in the NL.
i don’t mind its better than what Garko would’ve offered
Burrell is a good choice, because we don’t have a right handed power bat off the bench. If we pay him the minimum it doesn’t hurt the Giants, so pessimistic Giants fans can calm down. What other options would you guys like to do? Besides calling up Posey… because that won’t be an option until our offense stabilizes itself, they’re not going to put the fate of our offense on the shoulders of a rookie.
I’m not sure which is more telling–that I think Burrell’s toast or that I still think he can upgrade the Giants.