Frankie's initial reaction? Despondent.
OK well, not despondent, but he generally assumes the worst on any player movement.
My first thought: "Man, if they had done with last year it would have been Jose Reyes."
Well, maybe it would have been. But instead, the Giants have received an emerging 27 year old outfielder for a pitcher who had so much potential, yet can't always seem to find the strike zone.
Cabrera played 155 games for the Royals last year, and will probably take over the everyday centerfield duties for the Giants.
More after the jump.
Frankie's next thought, after learning that he was not 34 and actually had 20 stolen bases last year: "He's Cody Ross v2.0." Again, Frankie is pretty down on life after watching the Steelers last night.
Well, only if Cody Ross put up this line last year: .305/.339/.470 with 18 HR and 87 RBIs. In 658 ABs, he had 201 hits. Hint: he didn't. And in this humble man's opinion, he's going to be a smidge better than Ross. For once, I get to cheer up Frankie with how good of a move I think this is.
Ross' numbers: .240/.325/.405 with 14 HR and 52 RBI. So let's see, at the cost of a pitcher who had been on Giants fans' last nerve, the Giants added a good defensive outfielder with a great arm whose numbers last year were only worse than Pablo Sandoval and late season acquisition Carlos Beltran? Cool. Oh also, in regards to Reyes, who will probably command something like a yearly 8 figure salary, the price tag on Cabrera: $1.5 million.
I'm not going to say that this is the guy who will lead the Giants to another pennant. But he might very well prove to be a huge piece of the puzzle in stabilizing a lineup that finished in the lower third of the league in almost every major offensive category in 2011.
Cabrera was a steal for the Giants. It was a situation where the Royals almost always seem to have a ton of great young outfielders and very few pitchers, so the trade was able to be made. To put in perspective what the Giants got, Cabrera had the fifth highest average of any OF in the majors last year behind Braun, Kemp, Ellsbury, and Pence. The 87 RBI tied him for 17th among MLB OF with a guy named Nelson Cruz. His .809 OPS was 24th among MLB outfielders. He's also entering his age 27 season, supposedly the peak of a baseball player's talents.
Is he the next Barry Bonds. Probably not. Is he a lead off hitter that the Giants need? No. But he is a guy that you haven't heard of because he's been playing in Kansas City, and you really should have, because he's going to be a big part of this offense.
Proposed lineup, assuming nothing else changes, and it will change:
2B Sanchez
CF Cabrera
3B Sandoval
RF Beltran
C Posey
1B Huff
LF Schierholtz/Belt
SS Crawford
P
Looks a bit stronger already....
On the pitching side, the Giants are going to have to pick up a couple young guys or older bargain bin journeymen in order to make sure they're deep enough to weather injuries. Timmy, Cain, Vogelsong, and MadBum will assuredly hold down the first four spots. Zito should begin the season as the number five guy, but past that, there might be some issues if someone gets injured or struggles early.
In short, fear not Giants fans, your team is reloading for another run.
Video for the post: Party All the Time. Because Eddie can do no wrong.
maybe this is the year zito finally steps up?
ReplyDeletehaha nevermind that's crazy talk.