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Post by Islandboagie on Dec 13, 2012 11:57:54 GMT -5
SAN FRANCISCO -- Outfielder Andres Torres is returning to the San Francisco Giants, reaching agreement Thursday on a one-year contract.
Torres still must pass a physical to finalize the deal, said Bobby Evans, vice president of baseball operations.
The 34-year-old Torres spent the 2012 season with the New York Mets following three years with the Giants. He hit .230 this year with three home runs, 35 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in 132 games.
Now, Torres gets to play alongside the man the Giants traded him to New York for: center fielder Angel Pagan.
A fan favorite and strong clubhouse presence, Torres could fit in as the left fielder if San Francisco considers Gregor Blanco a better fourth outfielder, or to give manager Bruce Bochy options. Pagan last week received a $40 million, four-year contract.
The news of Torres' return quickly spread via Twitter, and fans certainly appear thrilled.
The switch-hitting Torres was a key member of the Giants' 2010 World Series championship run, which they followed up with another title this season. He was even in the stands at AT&T Park this fall for a couple of games to cheer on his old teammates.
That year, Torres -- who had toiled through the minors for more than a decade -- became a regular in May as the center fielder and leadoff hitter. He batted .268 with 16 home runs and 63 RBIs in his first full big league season, then played through pain throughout the playoffs. He surprised the Giants and even himself with a rapid recovery to return from an emergency appendectomy late in the year to help San Francisco in the stretch run.
Torres had the procedure Sept. 12, 2010, in San Diego and played again Sept. 24 -- missing all of 11 games. His fitness level and determination helped him return so quickly. Bochy had all but ruled out Torres for the remainder of the regular season.
He then hit .276 with a home run and three RBIs in 15 postseason games. He hit four doubles and stole two bases.
Torres also has been open about his struggles with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In 2007, he began taking medication for the condition and it has made a huge difference.
He was recognized as the team's 2010 "Willie Mac" Award winner. The honor is named for Hall of Famer Willie McCovey and is voted on by the players, coaches and training staff to recognize the team's most inspirational player both on the field and in the clubhouse.
Torres' plight to reach the majors after a modest upbringing in Puerto Rico and his struggles with ADHD were the subject of a documentary. He spent parts of 12 years in the minors -- eight of those at the Triple-A level -- before getting his shot.
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press
This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index
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Post by rxmeister on Dec 13, 2012 14:08:49 GMT -5
Love Andres, but I was hoping we'd do better for a left fielder. If he hits lefties like he did last year this will work out, but he hasn't hit them well in the past. I'm assuming we're now out on Swisher, Ross or Hairston, and that's disappointing.
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Post by klaiggeb on Dec 13, 2012 17:11:06 GMT -5
Love Andres, but I was hoping we'd do better for a left fielder. If he hits lefties like he did last year this will work out, but he hasn't hit them well in the past. I'm assuming we're now out on Swisher, Ross or Hairston, and that's disappointing.
---boly says---
Yeah, me too, Mark.
I mean, we can live with a platoon of Andes and Gregor in LF... but that's not my first choice.
Then again, neither is Hariston. I've just never been a fan of his either at the plate or in the field. Unless, that is, when he's playing against us!
The huge upside in Torres and Blanco alternating out there, is that those guys can flat out PLAY defense.
And defense in OUR OF is a drum I continue to beat, and is the main reason I did NOT want Morse of Washington coming in, nor, in years back, Jason Bay.
Since Swisher was not an option, I would have preferred Cody Ross and Blanco, but from all I read, Cody still thinks he's a starting outfielder.
Interestingly I was listening to Chris Carter yesterday and HE said that the vast majority of NFL players over estimate their own abilities.
I contend that's true of likely ALL professiona athletes, especially baseball players, who don't:
1-Understand their own limitations
2-Recognize when age slows them down
3-Realize what they THINK they can do, and what they can ACTUALLY DO are often two different things.
Be interesting where Andres or Gregor hit in the line up.
7th? Please, not again. I had enough of that in the playoffs and WS.
Pagan
Scutaro
Sandoval
Posey
Belt/Pence
Pence/Belt
Blanco/Torres
Crawford.
I sure don't like the LACK of run producing ability in the 7 hole. Not at all.
Cody would have been a perfect fit there.
boly
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Post by sharksrog on Dec 13, 2012 19:16:34 GMT -5
Mark -- Love Andres, but I was hoping we'd do better for a left fielder. If he hits lefties like he did last year this will work out, but he hasn't hit them well in the past. Rog -- Over his career, Andres has a .743 OPS against southpaws and only .696 against righties. His OPS against southpaws last season was .763. Mark -- I'm assuming we're now out on Swisher, Ross or Hairston, and that's disappointing. Rog -- I think Swisher wasn't going to happen unless they missed out on Pagan and possibly even Pagan and Scutaro. Ross's asking price of 3/$25 seems way too high to me. Hairston should be more reasonable, but I think he will still receive too much. If Torres was signed as a platoon partner for Blanco, I would think any other outfielder might hit left-handed. Or perhaps it would be better if the final infielder hits lefty. Torres hits lefties better. Pagan and Blanco hit righties better. Pence has hit southpaws better over his career, but surprisingly hit better against righties in 2012. Let's not forget that if necessary, the Giants will likely trade for a left fielder (likely a right-handed hitter) at the trade deadline. Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1408#ixzz2EyplJnIj |
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Post by sharksrog on Dec 13, 2012 19:46:09 GMT -5
Boly -- Cody would have been a perfect fit there. Rog -- Cody would have been an EXCELLENT fit for 7th in the order (or probably even 6th) against southpaws. But against righties, he would have been only so-so. I believed the Giants would have re-signed Cody last season if he had come down to $2 million. Instead, he got $3 million from the Red Sox and had a very nice season for them. That said, Cody's OPS was 381 points higher against southpaws than against righties. It was 237 points higher at Fenway than on the road. It was 130 points higher in the first half than the second half. One could say that Cody built his good season against southpaws, at Fenway and in the season's first half. That doesn't seem to bode well for Cody's hitting well going forward against right-handed pitchers in a pitchers' park such as AT&T. If I were the Giants, I wouldn't pay more than half Cody's asking price. It's one thing to pay $5 million or more to the dominant half of a platoon, but quite another to pay that much for the minor side of the split. I'm not sure I see much value among most of the free agent outfielders this off-season. At the very top, I don't think Josh Hamilton was worth 5/$25. Way too many questions there IMO -- both on the field and off. Clubhouse Confidential showed today how Josh feasted on the poor pitchers but wasn't all that good against the better ones. By the way, here are the five warning signs CC gives regarding free agent signing of five or more years: . Wrong side of 30. . Wrong side of the defensive spectrum (1B/DH). . Misreading of the metrics. . Signing more for "branding" than baseball. There is one other criterion I can't remember. But while Barry Zito wasn't on the wrong side of 30, and the defensive spectrum doesn't apply to him, he didn't fare well on the criteria that did apply to him. Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=1408&page=1#ixzz2EysMksMS |
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Post by Islandboagie on Dec 13, 2012 21:34:33 GMT -5
Along with the Giants signing Torres today, they also signed Chad Gaudin to a minor league deal.
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Post by sharksrog on Dec 14, 2012 0:12:33 GMT -5
Gaudin isn't much, but I love almost any minor league deal. Very low risk.
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sfgdood
Long time member 
stats geeks never played the game...that's why they don't get it and never will
Posts: 90
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Post by sfgdood on Dec 14, 2012 14:11:41 GMT -5
Ross was never going to be an ideal option because he wants to be an everyday outfielder and he is looking to be paid like one. Unfortunately for him, his numbers show him to be more of a platoon player and the Giants don't seem to be wanting to pay a lot for outfield depth and they want Blanco to play against righties. I doubt they will sign another outfielder for more than a minor league deal and will instead give Peguero and maybe Brown the opportunity to compete for the 4th outfielder spot in Spring Training.
~Dood
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Post by rxmeister on Dec 15, 2012 7:27:45 GMT -5
I think they'll look for another reliever to add some depth to the bullpen, but I think they're done with the offense. It will be interesting to see if Torres or Pagan bats leadoff when Andres plays. I'll guess we'll find out early, since it will be the Dodgers and Kershaw on Opening Day.
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Post by sharksrog on Dec 15, 2012 9:47:34 GMT -5
Mark -- It will be interesting to see if Torres or Pagan bats leadoff when Andres plays. I'll guess we'll find out early, since it will be the Dodgers and Kershaw on Opening Day. Rog -- Because Angel had his greatest success last year when leading off, I think he -- not Andres -- will do so. But if the Giants do move Andres to leadoff, I would think they would also lead off with Blanco when Gregor starts in left field. When the Giants traded for Angel, there seemed to be a question as to whether he would agree to lead off, and indeed as to whether he was a bit of a bad apple. Right away, Angel said he would be happy to lead off. And lead off he did, until Gregor Blanco asserted himself ahead of Nate Schierholtz. Angel then batted mostly fifth until about the time Hunter Pence arrived, at which point he went back to leading off again. Angel started last season slowly, hit well through the middle of June, slumped again, and then took off about the time he went back to leading off. Last season, as well as over his career, Angel has done his best hitting while leading off. Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=1408&page=1#7968#ixzz2F8Ahd78E |
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Post by klaiggeb on Dec 15, 2012 13:41:47 GMT -5
I think they'll look for another reliever to add some depth to the bullpen, but I think they're done with the offense. It will be interesting to see if Torres or Pagan bats leadoff when Andres plays. I'll guess we'll find out early, since it will be the Dodgers and Kershaw on Opening Day.
---boly says---
I've been wondering the same thing.
In my mind, having watched both play a LOT of CF... that Torres is far and away a better CF.
But here's the kicker, and why I DON'T believe he'll start in CF over Pagan.
Torres is a role player now, and Bochy will want consistancy for his starters REGARDLESS of who is the better defender. That's why we never saw Blanco out their last year.
Secondly, Torres has played ALL of AT &T's outfield spots, and played them well, as has Blanco. Pagan has not.
Bottom line; be prepared for Pagan, and his flaws in CF next year.
Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. This not a bad CF, it's just that Pagan's above average and Blanco and Torres are outstanding.
boly
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Post by sharksrog on Dec 17, 2012 0:19:43 GMT -5
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Post by sharksrog on Dec 17, 2012 0:41:53 GMT -5
Boly -- Torres is a role player now, and Bochy will want consistancy for his starters REGARDLESS of who is the better defender. That's why we never saw Blanco out their last year.
Rog -- I'm almost certain that Pagan will be the center fielder, as the Giants won't want to upset chemistry.
However it would seem the Giants would be best-served if their Blanco/Torres platoon manned center field with Pagan in left.
Over his career, Pagan has been average in center and very good at both corner outfield spots. Surprisingly, Blanco's best efforts have come on the corners, as well, although I think he would be excellent playing center field somewhat regularly. Torres has just been an excellent fielder at all three outfield positions.
The one valid reason the Giants could have for playing Pagan in center is for continuity. Not only continuity from last season, but in case the Giants were to trade for a corner outfielder at next season's trade deadline, as they did this year with Hunter Pence.
An outfield of Pagan, Pence and either Torres or Blanco would be a very good one. One of Torres, Blanco and Pagan would be simply outstanding. In the latter case, I would go with Pagan in left, Torres in center and Blanco in right.
With triples alley being guarded by both Torres and Blanco on each's forehand, the coverage there should be outstanding.
Regarding Torres, remember how fundamentally strong he is in the outfield? He is one of the very few outfielders today who runs to the spot instead of gliding into the catch.
With Blanco it's his amazing range in right field. He showed with his historic catch that saved Matt Cain's perfect game how far he can go into right-center, and he also showed he was outstanding at going back on the ball over his head.
With the short wall at AT&T, he can play an exceptionally short right field. That not only chokes off hits, it also compensates for what is a below-average right field arm.
For Pagan, it was his his strong bounceback in center after a poor 2011 season and an unreliable start to the 2012 season.
Pagan is a good corner outfielder, Pence was considered as good as anyone in right field two or three years ago, and Torres and Blanco are Gold Glove caliber. The other outfielder the Giants add doesn't have to be great with the glove, but it surely would be nice if he were able to bang the drum with his stick.
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