URL is behind EPSN pay wall, but here's what mlbtraderumors.com had to say:
Within a piece which focuses on yesterday's non-tender decisions, ESPN.com's Buster Olney mentions that a handful of clubs are interested in Brian Giles, including the Yankees and Reds. It's still up in the air whether teams will be willing to offer Giles more than a minor league contract.
Petey sez:
Minor League deal w/ ITST sounds delicious to me for a potential low-risk/high-reward candidate like Giles. I think he's done, but in 147 games in 2008, he had an OPS of .854 while playing in very pitcher-friendly Petco Park.
Park Factor stats:
Over 100 favors batters, under 100 favors pitchers.
multi-year: Batting - 88, Pitching - 88;
one-year: Batting - 88, Pitching - 89
He's gonna be 39 in 2010, and his SLG took a dive in 2003 JUST BEFORE his trade to the Padres. But the man has gotten on base to the tune of a career OBP of a cool .400 in 15 seasons, which is reason enough for me to see if he has any left in the tank, despite a horrible 2009 campaign in which he hit .191/.277/.271 for an OPS of .548 in 61 games. He's only a year removed from finishing 6th in the league in OBP with 56 extra-base hits. He's no perfect fit, as he's a lefty RF'er, not a righty LF'er. But his upside intrigues me enough to see if he can look sharp in Goodyear.
But, WOW, that 2009 line was weak. So I checked it out. The man got off to a TERRIBLE slump, even against righties, whom he normally CRUSHES to the tune of a .950+ OBP. In mid-June, he had a right-knee strain that he has since recovered from...but by the time he had healed in mid-July, the Padres were in full youth-movement mode, so he rode the pine. Yes, career stud can fall off a table like that at age 38. But he almost only slumped in a pair of 12-game stretches of his 225 AB's last year. Here's how it went down:
goes 1-for-4 int the 2009 Season opener
hits .143 for 12 games
hits .261 for 5 games
hits .093 for 12 games
cranks up a .967 OPS for 6 games
goes hitless for 3 games
cranks it again to a .899 OPS for 12 games, hitting in 9 straight starts
goes 2-for-14
hits .313 for 4 games
ends the season with an 0-for-11 streak (strained knee?)
So if we discount the final 0-for-11 to injury, then really the only gripe we have with Brian beyond his age is a pair of 12-game slumps last year? That's all
Sign him up. Let's see what he can do, and send him immediately to the Mexican Pacific League to work out with their active teams for rest of the month and into the playoffs.
Whatchathinks?
