The Giants won the 2010 World Series with an unspectacular offense and won 86 games in 2011 with one of the lowest scoring offenses in the game, but they're the exception, not the rule. Each of the five highest scoring MLB teams won at least 90 games in 2011, while the Giants were the only one of the five lowest scoring teams to avoid 90 losses.
Here's a look at what baseball's five lowest scoring teams have done to improve their offenses so far this offseason. Team name links go to a summary of the teams' moves on MLBTR's Transaction Tracker and 2011 run totals are in parentheses (for reference, the average MLB team scored 694 runs this past season):
- Mariners (556) - GM Jack Zduriencik has added a number of former Major Leaguers on minor league deals and traded for John Jaso. The Mariners can expect more offense from Dustin Ackley, Justin Smoak, Franklin Gutierrez and others in 2012 and they may make an addition or two before Spring Training.
- Giants (570) - The Giants traded for Angel Pagan and Melky Cabrera, who have both been above-average offensive players in the recent past. The Giants could improve considerably with a full season of Buster Posey and possible improvement from Brandon Belt.
- Padres (593) - The Padres traded for Yonder Alonso and Yasmani Grandal earlier this month. Both could conceivably add to the Padres' offense in 2012, and Alonso could have an impact from day one. GM Josh Byrnes has also added role players John Baker and Jeremy Hermida.
- Pirates (610) - The Pirates signed shortstop Clint Barmes, catcher Rod Barajas and outfielder Nate McLouth and traded for infielder Casey McGehee. However, none of the four acquisitions posted an OPS+ of 100 or better in 2011, so it would be unreasonable to expect a surge in scoring based on these additions.
- Astros (615) – Former GM Ed Wade added a handful of players on minor league deals and waiver claims and Jeff Luhnow traded for Jed Lowrie after becoming Houston's new GM.
The Giants are best-positioned to make a significant offensive jump in 2012, in my opinion. Not only do Pagan and Cabrera provide possible upgrades, Posey's return and Belt's upside will likely invigorate the offense that finished last in the National League in scoring in 2011.
Giants should win the west with the offense they have now. I wish they could get a better bat like fielder. Not gonna happen but one could dream right?
AZ might disagree with that, being that they are superior team in every way shape and form.
The Giants’ pitching is what kept them in the race for so long last year, despite their horrible offense. The D-Backs have only upgraded their pitching, but SF still rules in that domain, and since their offense has improved this year, the Giants certainly have a great shot at winning the division.
I’m pretty sure Kennedy, Hudson, Cahill can compete with Lincecum, Cain, and BumBum. Not taking anything away from the Giants, but the Dbacks have a great bullpen as well. And do they not only have the best offense in the NL West, but maybe the best offense in the entire National League. Stephen Drew will be back in the lineup, the development of future MVP Paul Goldschmidt will be a big boost, along with the addition of Jason Kubel. Arizona also has a pretty solid defense. Needless to say the Diamondbacks are still the favorites and rightfully so.
Eh, I’d say the Cardinals probably have the best lineup right now, even without Pujols. And Goldschmidts ceiling is probably the second coming of Mark Reynolds; scouts aren’t particularly optimistic on his ability to hit anything but a fastball. Kubel is a pretty lateral move, but replacing Saunders with Cahill is a pretty obvious upgrade.
Best move of the offseason within the division is probably the Padres unloading Latos, but it was a pretty lateral offseason for the whole division.
even if he is mark reynolds 2.0 thats still more run production than half the giants roster.
Cahill better improve noticeably from last year to survive in the desert, and even if he does, Arizona’s top 3 is still behind the Giants. Kennedy, Hudson and Cahill is far from a poor rotation, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The Giants still have a clear advantage in the rotation and ‘pen, which neutralizes a lot of that offensive edge the DBacks have
Without a doubt, AZ has great pitching all around, but the Giants rotation and bullpen is better, even if by a little bit. The Snakes are still a team to be feared, as they do have one of the best offenses of the NL(better than the Cards), but our pitching should limit them to one or two runs, and our improved offense should be able to get two or three runs now to win
On paper, the Giants are better..
Melky > Rowand
Pagan > Torres
Posey >>>>>>>>>>>>> Whiteside
F. Sanchez > the mixmash of 2B’s we played
There are many factors to ’12 for the Giants
– Health, health, health
– Huff regaining form
– Vogelsong matching last season
– Belt getting a real shot
Pagan CF
Sanchez 2B
Cabrera LF
Sandoval 3B
Posey C
Huff/Belt 1B
Schierholtz RF
Crawford SS
or
Cabrera CF
Sanchez 2B
Posey C
Sandoval 3B
Huff LF
Belt 1B
Schierholtz RF
Crawford SS
We will be very good pitching and defensively as usual, I’d still like us to pick up Theriot as a backup in case Crawford doesn’t hit.
Typical Pirates signings. Sigh.
It remains to be seen what the Giants will get out of Pagan and Cabrera- especially Cabrera, who has shrinking walk totals and whose success last year was probably at least somewhat BABIP-fueled.
However, the Giants should improve with Posey and hopefully Sanchez back in to the roster for an extended period, and production at shortstop has nowhere to go but up. Finally, their numbers with RISP last year was historically bad; one would suspect that this will regress somewhat as well.
I agree. But the biggest x factor is going to be Huff. He needs to perform like its 2010/2008 again. Considering it will be a walk year Huff might turn it up plus this will be his last season with the Giants. If Huff had just put up his 2010 numbers last season we would be talking about them in the playoffs.
Production from Huff but naturally be welcomed, but my suspicion is that the Giants will get production from one of him or Belt. If Huff does not produce, he will probably be relegated to a bench role.
In a perfect world, Huff, Belt, and Cabrera all hit, and Pagan hits enough to keep hold on CF. Trade deadline comes around, and Cabrera is traded for a piece that is a better fit for the organization (SS? RHH?), or at least someone who has more years of team control. Of course, that is the best case scenario, and will probably only exist in my dreams.
When they signed Huff for 2 I figured that they would keep him from one year and try to flip him before the deadline in 2012, even if they have to eat his whole salary. They made the signing look terrible immediately by giving Belt a shot in the majors.
Well, Belt wouldn’t have gotten a look at all if Ross didn’t pull up lame with a hammy injury in ST. Belt was never supposed to make the team out of camp.
True, forgot about that. Hindsight is 20/20, but look at the logjam we have at first (Huff, Belt, possibly Pill, Posey needs days off from behind the plate), and the hole at short right now that Uribe could have filled for the same price, with an extra year for free.
Pill’s mostly there to be a RH bench bat and keep a fire lit under Huff’s butt, but yes 1B is a logjam. As for Uribe, he completely cratered in LA last year; the Giants are better off without him, though they had better hope Crawford figures out how to be even marginally useful with the bat since no help is likely to be on the way.
“If Huff does not produce, he will probably be relegated to a bench role.”
Have you ever followed a Bochy-managed team?
The organization has made it pretty clear in the last three months that past a point they are willing to cut their losses, and that Huff will no longer be on nearly as long a leash. The fact that he will be gone after this year makes benching him that much easier.
They cut Tejada and Rowand last year.
It’s hard to see belt getting consistant AB’s with Huff at first and the outfield pretty much sealed up with Melk, Pagan, and Schierholtz. We could put him in RF, but I think Nate is perfect for right in at&t and showed alot of promise before he was injured last year, if you can remember it seemed like every night he was making a play to save or win us a game. Maybe we start Belt in AAA and wait to see if Huff can bounce back this year, we have to give him a shot if were giving him 11 million.
no more than 60 games, tops
Bochy has said that he expect Nate to be in RF, but with the way ST tends to go for the Giants, his job is hardly safe. I would expect to see him, Cabrera, Huff, and Belt split time between 1B and the outfield corners during the early part of the season until Bochy can decide who’s “hot” and start penciling his lineup cards affordably.
You are right that it’s possible Belt starts in AAA, but my hunch is that the Giants like his potential too much to keep him in Fresno when they’re looking to score runs. They’ll probably want him close at hand, even if it means he’s not playing every day. Hopefully he shows up in March with a chip on his shoulder and forces the issue.
i really hope huff never finds his way out into the outfield again. lol keeping belt on the roster if he’s not playing makes no sense in my opinion, if he’s not starting and getting regular ab’s then he should be in AAA getting more reps for his july call up or regular 1b job next year. it doesnt help him or the team at all sitting on a bench
I would agree, but my suspicion remains that the Giants aren’t going to let anyone who has a prayer of hitting out of arm’s reach. I don’t know if he’ll be an everyday player, but if I had to guess I would say that they still find a way to get him 400 PAs this year and move him into playing 1B full tome for 2013.
i hope he does find a starters role, maybe huff gets hurt in the spring who knows. all i know is i would hate to see his bat wasted on the bench
Giants winning the West? Are you kidding me? Hahaha! Its all Dbacks. Lol They have the giANTS killed in offense and their pitching will more than keep the giANTS hitters at bay! Lol at you giANTS fans
Uh-oh. They’re learning how to type.
Uh oh must be a sinking ship fan!
If you have anything intelligent to say, get back to me. I’m not in the mood to feed the trolls tonight.
its been seen over and over again..good pitching beats good hitting.
um how did that workout for the giants last yr? u have to have a good offense too.
whatd you say? i was too busy looking at my world series poster
however the rangers couldnt agree with you more
haha ur not the defending champs any more….i can say 01 champs but i don’t live in the past.
im saying we won it with pitching
haha ur not the defending champs any more….i can say 01 champs but i don’t live in the past.
I think something is wrong with your caps lock key. Either that or you can’t type worth poop.
I’m a braves fan and I thought we scored really low surprised we’re not in this list
Even if the Mariners, by some miracle, sign Prince Fielder, their offense is still too inexperienced. They need to fill other holes on the roster, too, and first base is the least of their worries…
I agree, the idea of them signing Fielder seems like a waste of money, with him they are still a average to mediocre team. If they were one or two bats away from a playoff team I’d be all for it, but they aren’t.
Everyone says the Giants will be better with a healthy Posey and Sanchez but no ones comments on how the offense was still missing before both were injured.
Horrible offseason by the club with maybe the best rotation in baseball. Sabean needs to go and there needs to be more articles calling out the Owners for pocketing their money
Giants just long termed Seabean and Bochy.
It was a one year extension.
the Giants defense is tremendously improved – Crawford, Sanchez, Posey, Sherholtz are all solid. That is how they improved
ARI fans talk smack now…I like it.
Yep!
I remember when everybody was calling Jack Z the best GM in baseball.
In due time. Takes more than a couple years to build a winner. Especially when ownership is handcuffing you with tight purse strings.
If you were Jack Z and given $30MM to spend on free agents right now, what would you do with it?
Soler, Cespedes, Jackson, and save most of it.
Interesting, but our outfield is crowded enough and I don’t think our rotation needs Jackson. Soler is also pretty far away from the majors…
Crowded, yes. But Gutierrez is no sure thing, Ichiro is getting older, Carp is not an outfielder. What does that leave two years from now? Wells?
Soler is more intriguing than Cespedes because he’s a few years away, where as many think Cespedes is ready now (and he would be cheaper). But if we sign him for 5 years and he spends 3 in the minors, what was the point?
If you signed him he would be under control for up to 12 years
two years from now,,, will be crowded with saunders, peguero, pimentel, johermyn chavez, chih-hsien chang, trayvon robinson, mike wilson, +wells, gutierrez, etc soo i say that’s pretty crowded
Not to mention guys like Catricala who could be thrown there at any time.
Out of those names, Guti, Wells, and Robinson have the possibility to stick. Maybe Pimentel in 4 or 5 years. Saunders can’t hit at the major league level. Peguero has the biggest hole in his swing of any Mariner in the entire organization. Chiang has gone back to whom he was the year before the trade. Chavez had a good year in a hitter’s park and nothing else. Mike Wilson is a good hitter in AAA – the protege for the AAAA player.
There’s no telling who we draft or acquire by then, either though. I think we have enough depth there to not have to worry about it too much. Same with third base — Catricala, Liddi, Seager and Francisco Martinez form some solid depth. Catcher is barren, though. We should start looking there.
Most of those guys will all be crowding the OF in Tacoma.
As for Jackson, who else is going to be in the rotation? The Mariners currently have Felix, Pineda, Vargas, and Beaven. Who is number 5? Paxton and Hultzen are close, but they’re not ready.
Exactly, which is why you don’t give someone $10MM+ on a multi-year deal. I imagine Jackson would have no problem getting a 3 year deal for $12MM annually, especially with what Buehrle got (4/$58).
It would free the Mariners up to deal Vargas and Pineda once Hultzen and Paxton are ready. Anyway, this whole conversation is silly because I would have done things differently during the whole offseason.
I have no problem with the Mariners trading Pineda or Vargas now and making a deal like that. However, I think somebody like Kuroda or Oswalt (better pitchers who are willing to take a one year deal) would help the team more in 2012. We’d get one strong season to bridge the gap, and they’d provide some leadership and maybe be able to mentor some of the younger players.
I like the way you think, though. I don’t agree with the posters on Mariners.com a lot — all they do is scream about signing Fielder and I wrote an article about trading Pineda because of the returns that people are getting for young pitching and they could not fathom to accept the idea.
Hope to see you around.
Somebody like Kuroda or Oswalt makes more sense to me. Willing to accept one year deals, better pitchers and could offer veteran leadership to the younger guys.
True. Sub either of those names in – though I’d be more interested in Kuroda because of Oswalt’s back problems.
The Giants do seem to be spending money, their payroll isn’t exactly small. I just think they are looking at the available players and thinking they aren’t worth what it would take to get them, while at the same time focusing on locking up Lincecum.
4 of the top 16 teams in the NL make the playoffs. Over 162 games. 25% chance of making it over that long is not luck. Are you new to baseball?
I realize that the Astros are trying to rebuild and thus are focusing on future talent, but it would be nice if we were at least able to score some runs next year.
Still am not convinced that the Giants have enough offense to return to the playoffs. In fact, I think they are headed towards another 3rd place finish without some added thomp.
We weren’t in 3rd place. Check your facts. Typical NY fan.
huffing and puffing over a second place finish – typical giants fan.
86 wins despite 25 separate DL stints, good for most in the sport in 2011? Heaven forbid we concern ourselves with the facts.
I’ll take the over.