The Giants are in negotiations with Jeff Baker, according to Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area (on Twitter). Baggarly tweeted earlier that the Giants have "developed a couple pivot points" to add a left fielder, possibly as soon as today. As Baggarly notes, Baker could form a nice platoon with Gregor Blanco.
Baker had a strong .279/.360/.545 slash line in a small sample size of 175 plate appearances in 2013. The 32-year-old, who also has experience in the outfield, has a career slash line of .267/.321/.440 over parts of nine big league seasons. The Rangers designated Baker for assignment in October.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
I think Baker would do well in SF. I see him more as a utility player though
I’d rather have Jeff Francoeur!
He hits lefties really well… outside of that… eh
That’s why he’d be the right handed hitter of a platoon with lefty Gregor Blanco.
Not sure I’d want Blanco as the strong side of a platoon myself, but… I’m not sure I want Andy Dirks as the strong side of the Detroit platoon either
This is a classic Sabean “huh?” signing.
Why?
More times than not-Sabean makes a move for a player that is understated and a bit puzzling. But later on after success, we realize how important that small piece was to the bigger picture. For me-Chad Gaudin was that piece last year. For most of us it was Scutaro or Vogelsong the year before. In 2010 it was Casilla, Torres, Huff & Cody Ross. I didn’t think any of those moves were going to do anything spectacular for the team.
They were small, low-risk, under the radar moves, that produced huge results.
Carlos Beltran, Aaron Rowand, Barry Zito were big splashy deals but they were counter-productive. and hurt the team in the long run more than they helped.
Gregor Blanco strikes me as a similar situation
Absolutely. He was another one of those great winter ball discoveries.
Gregor Blanco strikes me as a similar situation
Exactly, he is the master of the under the radar move. He does tend to make mistakes in over-valuing existing talent (like that Huff extension) but is good at adding undervalued talent that helps the team.
Why?
And with that the Giants guarantee finishing third or worse. In what warped reality do Gregor Blanco and Jeff Baker equal a left fielder? See you in 2015.
Gregor Blanco equals a left fielder by himself. He would benefit from a good platoon partner, but doesn’t require one strictly speaking.
Because that worked so well last season, right?
The problem wasn’t Gregor Blanco. The problem was that the Giants went into opening day with 4 OFs, and when Pagan got injured suddenly you had Andres Torres, Kensuke Tanaka, Jeff Francoeur, Francisco Peguero, Brett Pill, and Roger Kieschnick taking reps in the OF. Blanco spent half of the year play center, not left.
The Giants need a decent 4th outfielder of any description. Blanco’s a league average player for his position for people bother to consider baserunning and defensive value.
Gregor does best as a platoon player, and a 4th OF, He knows his role. It’s not fair to blame a guy who doesn’t produce like Angel Pagan when he doesn’t have the same skillset. That isn’t what he was hired to do. Bochy had to use him more than he wanted to last year and in different ways than he wanted to because there was no better option. Gregor was a team player and did what he could when called upon. I commend him for trying to step up.
I agree with what you said about him doing best as a 4th OF. He would be more than capable of handling that role. He plays good D and can run the bases. Text book 4th OF stuff. And I understand that with injuries last year he ended up playing more than was originally planned and did his best. That being said, the Giants have made zero effort to address the fact that left field is a glaring weakness this off season, and that is why I am incredibly frustrated. As fans who fill the stadium game after game, we deserve better out of the front office.
So you blame the front office because the right player & the right circumstances aren’t available right now?
Just because he hasn’t acquired someone yet doesn’t mean he isn’t working on it.
If the right fit isn’t available right now then wait.
LF is the last part of the puzzle,
you can’t just sign anybody to play @ AT&T. The FA OF options sucked from the get go, that is why he stated in October after he locked Pence up that he would acquire a LF bat through a trade. Unlike the market, trade possibilities open up all the time especially when certain GM’s decide to sign 2 more outfielders when they already had 7, or when GM’s sign 2 new 1B when they already had 2 on the roster, or when GM’s sign a new Catcher for 7 years when he already had 5.
Btw, being a Giants fan and/or ticket holder entitles you to torture, even in the off-season. If instant gratification is what you are looking for then maybe you should become a Yankees fan.
.278 avg, 13hr, 52 rbi, 15sb, and a .357 obp
As far as I’m concerned, that’s a big league outfielder for many teams.
Pence, Sandoval, Posey, Belt are guys that can put up 4 WAR or better. If 3 do that, it’s a pretty good core.
Let’s review what other teams have that. You first.
Great, bad LF production again.
maybe gary brown will surprise the heck out of us?
maybe gary brown will surprise the heck out of us?
Cards need him, stay away
Cards can have him, we’ll back off.
The Jays need him more. Nobody understands how much of a monster Baker is vs left-handers, we’ll gladly take him off your hands.
Baker + Lind platoon would be excellent.
Cards can use some left handed hitting help and depth at second, although baker isn’t much of a 2b
Nice seeing you here
The Jays need him more. Nobody understands how much of a monster Baker is vs left-handers, we’ll gladly take him off your hands.
Baker + Lind platoon would be excellent.
Cards can have him, we’ll back off.
This is the splash that we were looking for…..
Whatever bat he gets, it won’t be the splashy, sexy, marquee move that everyone seems to think is out there waiting on Sabean’s call. If the right player/situation isn’t available-then it just isn’t available right now. He might have his eye on something more perfect that will be available at the trade deadline.
oh boy….The new platoon partner.
Imagine a bakers toque next to the panda hat at AT&T. Touché Sabes.
Imagine a bakers toque next to the panda hat at AT&T. Touché Sabes.
Am I the only one who really likes this idea? He mashed lefties last year, to the tune of an OPS over 1. What’s not to like? People don’t give Blanco enough credit, he provides consistent value with the glove and is super cheap. Sure a platoon isn’t ideal but it’s not nearly as bad as people think.
No, you’re right and everyone else isn’t paying attention. Blanco is awesome. Baker’s a solid platoon choice: 128 career wRC+ vs. lefties.
LF is pretty important, and this is the most underwhelming “splash” I could think of.
We all know that. Which is why they have to be excellent defenders first, to catch all those “almost homeruns”.
If “player X” isn’t a solid defender, I don’t care how good his offensive numbers are-I don’t want him standing on the field. Especially since the pitching isn’t what it was in 2010.
LF is pretty important, and this is the most underwhelming “splash” I could think of.
I’d rather have this platoon than Corey Hart or any of the other guys that have been connected to the Giants thus far. Baseball is more than just home runs and RBI’s, and a Baker/Blanco platoon could yield well above average production for a team that should be, at least, league average offensively next year.
Another 500 PA’s coming for Blanco, sigh.
A Blanco/Baker platoon combined for a .278 avg, 13hr, 52 rbi, 15sb, and a .357 obp. I’ll take that any day as my number 8 hitter.
I don’t care what you’ll take. Blanco should not be getting 500 PA’s.
That stat line is literally better than Drew’s, Saltalamacchia’s, and Infante’s. In what way is that stat line not a big league starter?
Because what Jeff Baker did last year is totally sustainable in a pitchers park at AT&T park, right?
Anyway So glad we signed Mike Morse. Morse > that mediocre platoon.
With only 60 gms started in the outfield, and most of his production coming in Col, & Tex. both poler opposites of SF.
John Shea is now reporting that this rumor is inaccurate, and that the Giants are not, in fact, negotiating with Jeff Baker.
Just heard. Shame on Baggarly.
good bench guy, prob best on a NL team.
If they go that route I would rather pick up Kevin Youkilis. 20 career games started in the outfield, and CA resident.
I’m still offended by the Yankees no facial hair below the lip policy that forced my eyes to witness a beardless, bald Kevin Youkilis on my tv. They should have been required to display a caution the public with an advisory that they won’t be able to unsee that image.
Sabean said he wasn’t interested in ANY of the LF options available on the FA market. He said he would hopefully obtain one through a trade. If that failed he said the worse case scenario would be that he would find a platoon partner for Gregor.
I’ll settle for the Baker idea.
Some people covering the team are now saying the Giants didn’t make Baker an offer and are not going to sign now.
I think the mistake here is thinking that the Giants will be average offensively without a clear upgrade in LF. It took career years from several players in 2012 to be 12th offensively, and career years from several guys in 2013 to be 21st.
If everyone stays healthy and plays their best ball, you’re looking at maybe 15th in runs scored? Might fly if we had the 2010 staff, but we don’t. We desperately need more production out of our 3rd outfielder (and for Pagan to have another career year).
I watched him in Tx last year, he was fantastic. Can’t believe all the hate from SF people. Would love to see him back in Tx
Nice! This would be great to shore up the bench.
He’d be a good option to shore up the bench…. just hope that’s all he’s intended for. If he’s the only bat we add to address LF and our bench depth, we’re in trouble.
so now that they have michael morse are they still in it for baker? if not, why morse over baker? obviously SF wasn’t going for D, choosing morse. i don’t know about baker’s D.