The Giants have announced the earlier-reported signing of outfielder Hunter Pence. Righty Luis Madero was outrighted to create roster space.
Pence will earn $3MM, according to Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter). There’s another $2.5MM available through incentives, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link). That includes $1MM in roster bonuses and another $1.5MM based upon plate appearances (beginning with his 450th), Crowley adds via Twitter.
Madero, you won’t be surprised to learn, was recently claimed off waivers by the roster-churning San Francisco organization. No doubt the team will be glad to have the 22-year-old on hand in camp as a non-roster player. He has shown interesting talent at times but was knocked around at the Double-A level last year, where he threw 89 2/3 innings of 5.72 ERA ball.
Wait, that’s if he makes the team right? Ir is this a guaranteed contract?
Yea, MLB deal per the original posting of this earlier today
Why not Domingo Santana? Surely more upside
I think he’s gonna play for Cleveland. That’s a whole different baseball team.
That .940 fielding percentage might have something to do with it. He belongs in the AL where he can be hidden at DH.
Possibly, but Pence’s final batting line through 83 games last year (.955 OPS) likely held more appeal to the team then Santana’s in 121 games played (.770 OPS).
Pence is also the better defender between the two (IMO), is a familiar face with the franchise, and gives Giants fans with Pence jerseys a reason to go see the team play at the stadium.
Santana is a DH, pence is a serviceable OF
It’s surely a PR ploy designed to placate disgruntled fans like myself, and to that end, as far as I’m concerned, it worked.
They clearly aren’t trying to win this year, which pisses me off, so at least give me fan favorites like Pence and Sandoval.
Although there is also the clubhouse persona factor, where Pence has a clear edge on Santana.
how would they possibly have been able to contend this year. they need a rebulid with the state their roster, payroll, and farm system are in. shame they didnt sell at the deadline.
They are rebuilding. they just aren’t tanking. The only other right handed OFers that might eventually compete with Pence for playing time, Davis and Slater, have options.
With this off season it looks like a tank job to me, which is fine in my book. Glad they didn’t hand out any long term expensive contracts when they don’t even know what they need to spend on yet when their window starts to open again.
Is it a guaranteed contract?
Congrats hunter play some magic on twitch baby
Yeah please do, and open a game store in San Francisco in addition to Houston.
Why the hell is Burch Smith still on the 40-man?!
I love ya and trust ya, Farhan, but W T F
He’s a lefty, they probably plan on letting him in for two bat-
Oh.
I think you’re joking about the three-batter minimum rule, but he’s not a lefty.
WeOof.
I feel like I hit a double that, after review, was ruled foul and was followed by an embarrassing strike out.
Thanks for the checking me.
Burch Smith may be the one on the move when the Wilmer Flores signing becomes official.
I hope Pence has a solid year. I doubt he gets to 450 ABs. Ought to be a valuable pinch hitter/veteran.
I’ll take the under on his 316 PAs last year. Still a great signing. I would think he starts the season with the team as a part-time player and they go from there. He most likely ends up on the IL at some point until September (I wouldn’t discount a phanton IL stint if the Giants need his roster spot for a prospect coming up). Or, he could get traded to Houston.
I’ll take the under on his 316 PAs from last year. Still a great signing. I would think he starts the season with the team as a part-time player and they go from there. He most likely ends up on the IL at some point until September (I wouldn’t discount a phanton IL stint if the Giants need his roster spot for a prospect coming up). Or, he could get traded to Houston.
Pence 2020
The Giants’ Reunion Tour rolls on. Hey, Big Time Timmy Jim is available! Sadly Gregor Blanco has accepted a position with MLB.
Underpants lol He runs like a girl.
What exactly is running like a girl?
FloJo for one.
Comment on Astros is they cheated from 17 through 19 and should lose picks for 3 years.
Liván Hernández’s agent is calling.
Now that’s funny.
The Giants fan base is very important…..they are very pissed about the Kapler hiring, MadBum not being tendered a strong enough offer, the nontendering of Kevin Pillar and Stephen Vogt, and the departure from solid baseball into the questionable world of metrics. The older knowledgeable fan does not care about the goofy numbers and formulas that have become the latest rage in baseball. They want quality baseball played if they are going to spend their $$$.
Historically siting math and science as “the latest rage,” “goofy,” and not cared about by the “knowledgeable” is not a good look.
WTF? What is wrong with a full stadium. MadBum, Pillar, Vogt were not Non-Tenders.
I’m an older knowledgeable fan azcrook. Ove 60. Fan since sixties.
Madbum should have had a reworked contract a long time ago. Old regimes fault and he has a ranch in Arizona.
Pillar plays regular and takes games away from youngsters. Pence et al are bench/depth, not pillar replacements.
Vogt deserves to be on a contender and a rebuilding Giants are not.
Ur “quality baseball” last year was not played by the core, but I’m guessing you believe they are the 2014 core and not the 2019 core. Statistical analysis shows they were not good last year. Belt posey Crawford I’m referring to.
I am the older knowledgeable fan. And you clearly don’t speak for me. Maybe they’ll make a movie about baseball analytics someday and you’ll see you are wrong. Hold on. They did.
OK Boomer…
azcrook:
I’m probably older than you. I’ve been a baseball fan since the mid-50s. Calling metrics “questionable” is merely your opinion. For those whose study of stats is much deeper than yours or mine they aren’t “questionable” in the least. Just because you don’t understand baseball metrics doesn’t make them the wrong approach.
They had Bum, Pillar and Vogt last year, and still finished below .500. Pillar is clearly in decline, and expensive. He also hasn’t found a job yet, so I’ll take the consensus of 29 other MLB teams over your opinion. Vogt also couldn’t find a job, which is why he’s working for MLB and not catching somewhere.
Whether not over-paying Bum to keep him in a Giant’s uni was the right decision or not is debatable. But clearly the Giants had a figure that they thought he was worth and the D’backs exceeded that. Time will tell.
Good post tad but I think you’ve confused Vogt with Hundley. Vogt is with dbacks
Cannot disagree with you more. As a long-time, “older knowledgeable fan” (I’m pretty sure), every one of those moves you reference, were the right ones for a Giants team going nowhere in 2020. Remember, MadBum and Vogt had their say in the decisions too.
“Comments are closed” why don’t you let the readers give their opinions after posting a story or report?
Your complaint was disclosed.
AJ Hinch is still not telling the truth. If they block comments there, I will put them here. He should b banned for life. The commissioner is so weak and so out of touch. Puppet for the owners!
Spending 3 million is a big deal for the Giants. After winning 3 World Championships
I like the Billy Hamilton signing. Given the slow-footedness of what might appear in LF and RF, Billy better have his track shoes at the ready.
If someone can just teach Billy to make more contact, he’d be a lock for 70 stolen bases. Who knows, maybe Gabe can get through to him?
Then again, Giants could have brought back Pillar. Would have netted the same Gold Glove defense in CF as Billy, but with more pop.
Hamilton is a pinch runner and late game defensive sub. Apparently the Giants think that’s worth a roster spot. I’m not sure it is.. He strikes out too much and can’t get on base enough to use his speed.
Pillar is OBP-challenged as well. And the days of his gold glove caliber defense is past. His defensive numbers have declined every season since 2016. Yeah he still makes some nice diving catches, but those are on balls he didn’t need to dive for in previous years.
Signing Billy Hamilton is a joke; as bad as signing Guyer and Rickard. Three guys who have never been able to hit. And Pillar, despite his preeminent season last year, is no longer Gold Glove, but certainly more valuable than Hamilton, Guyer or Rickard. Time to move on from all these hitless wonders and give the young guys a shot.
Come on Angels, claim Madero back again. Then DFA him.
I can understand the Pence signing, but Billy Hamilton?!! Hamilton, Brandon Guyer and Joey Rickard have proven time and again that they can’t hit Major League pitching. Even as “depth” pieces, these seem a waste of time.
It suggests they have very little faith in what’s coming up through the minor leagues. These 3 guys don’t even rate at placeholders – just very flawed roster filler.
Giants had a great run. But they never last and rebuilding is inevitable at some point. I’m a Mariner fan so you know we’ve been building and rebuilding since 1977. I did love those Giant teams though. Great characters, great players. Tim “The Freak” Lincecum was my favorite. The M’s could have drafted the local UW kid and paired him with King Felix but someone screwed up on that one.
I think this is the best news – of any kind – that I have heard in about a year…