The Giants need another frontline starter to complement ace Madison Bumgarner and there is no one out there who fits the bill like Zack Greinke. Thirty-two-years-old, 19-3 last year with a 1.66 ERA ! Plus he can hit (best hitting pitcher in the NL after Bumgarner), field his position (won a Gold Glove in 2014), what more do you want? Oh yeah, the double-whammy of stashing him next to Bumgarner while taking him away from the rival Dodgers. Alex Pavlovic over at csnbayarea.com does a great job at enumerating the pros and cons of San Francisco signing Greinke.
Do the Giants have to overspend to get him? Of course! But you’re gonna have to overspend to land any pitcher, why not get the best one out there? The Giants have Bumgarner on a bargain deal ($28 million for the next three years), with two newly minted starters in their infield, Duffy at third, Panik at second, on rookie deals. They are a contending team with an artificially low payroll in terms of the actual value of the talent on the roster. Take advantage of this bubble and sign Greinke now.
David Price is not gonna do it for them, Johnny Cueto is a big no-no, Jordan Zimmerman is decent but you’ll have to add another starter of higher value than Mike Leake (who I’d be okay with them signing if they get Greinke). Rumors have linked the Giants to Braves SP Shelby Miller (via trade) and reliever Yoakim Soria (via free agency. [Update: Tigers have signed Zimmerman for 5 years, $110 million, pending a physical]
The other position of need is leftfield. Aoki was great in the leadoff spot last year, he helped propel the league’s number one offense so I’m a little troubled the Giants didn’t re-sign him (yet). If they don’t re-sign Aoki, then I have just the name for them: Gerardo Parra. Twenty-eight-years-old, Gold-Glove type fielder with a cannon arm, can hit for average (.291 last year for the Brewers and the Orioles), power (14 HRs last year), used to kill the Giants when he was with Arizona. Just a scrappy, hard-nosed player who’s vastly underrated. Sounds perfect for the Giants.
I think if the Giants sign Greinke, they win two more titles. That’s gotta be worth whatever’s Greinke’s asking.
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