Posts Tagged ‘trades for giants ahead of trading deadline’

Possible bats for the Giants

The recent signing of Pat Burrell to a minor league deal could mean the eventual addition of an extra power bat that San Francisco has needed all season. I continue to tell people the Giants look like a 90-win club, but I don’t know if that can happen on pitching and solid veteran presence alone. I think the Giants need at least a couple of 20 home run hitters to prevail in the National League West, which seems completely within reach, the last couple of depressing weeks not withstanding.

Here are a few sluggers who could be a fit in San Francisco:

Burrell: The 33-year-old has struggled this year, with two homers, 13 runs batted in and a .202 batting average, which prompted Tampa Bay to designate him for assignment. He never hit his stride (or managed above a .221 batting average) in two years there, though prior to that, he was a perennial 30 home run threat in Philadelphia with a batting average in the .250 to .280 range. The Giants could (and have) done worse than him.

Carlos Pena: This is the bat I want for the Giants, and another person Tampa Bay could make available ahead of the July 31 trading deadline. Pena and Carl Crawford will both be free agents this fall, and it will be difficult if not impossible for the Rays to resign them both. My money says they opt to keep Crawford, who’s three years younger and offers an all-around package of skills. The left-handed, pull hitting Pena seems ideal for AT&T, perhaps the biggest threat on McCovey Cove since Barry Bonds.

Lance Berkman: My Dad suggested Berkman yesterday, and I agree. The Astros are in last place in the NL Central at 17-33 and look like they could start rebuilding at any moment, with top pitcher Roy Oswalt having requested a trade. Though Berkman has played his entire career in Houston and is a franchise cornerstone, he is also 34 and making $14.5 million this season. Though he’s only hitting .234 thus far, his five home runs would tie him for second on the Giants and his .358 on-base percentage is 31 points above what San Francisco is managing collectively.

Graham Womack is a writer in the San Francisco Bay Area and the author of Baseball: Past and Present