That pun sucked, I admit it. The NL West race is really down to two teams at this point in time: the Giants, and Diamondbacks. The Giants currently hold a four game lead over Arizona in the division, and are the defending World Champs. The teams are the exact opposite of each other. Arizona has a great offense and bad pitching staff, while San Francisco has a great pitching staff and an awful offense. It’s funny though…despite the teams having the opposite deficiences of each other, they have the same run differential of +19. So let’s take a brief look at each team, and decide what the best option for each would be.
San Francisco Giants
As I mentioned, the Giants need offense. And they need it pretty badly, as their 369 runs are the third worse in the NL. The 350 runs they’ve allowed however, are second best in the league. The Giants don’t need to worry about pitching. It’s all offense, all week. The team’s offense has struggled ever since Buster Posey went down at the end of May with a broken ankle. Since the injury, Posey has been replaced by Eli Whiteside, who’s been….not awful? Whiteside’s .690 OPS isn’t Posey-esque, but it’s not *that* bad considering he’s a backup catcher.
Nate Schierholtz has been a pleasant surprise for the team while in the lineup, putting up a .775 OPS in 261 at bats. He’s been playing nearly every day since June, and deserves to. Pat Burrell, who was a godsend for San Francisco last season, is also holding his own with the bat, despite the .233 batting average. But here’s the thing about Burrell: he’s currently injured. Burrell was shifted to a part-time role once June rolled around, and the team has suffered as a result. But with him on the DL right now, that point is moot. Cody Ross has been doing what Cody Ross does, which is essentially providing above average production and not being offensive.
That brings me to the three players who are draining the Giants offense. The main problem is that two of them are making a lot of money, which results in Bochy not wanting to bench either of them. First baseman Aubrey Huff has been terrible, with a .658 OPS on the season. He’s killing the team, and guess what? He’s under contract for next season. Center fielder Aaron Rowand has been even worse, with a .646 OPS. He’s also under contract for 2012. Both of these players are absolute banes on San Francisco right now, and neither should be starting every day on a contender. A phenom from last year, Andres Torres, is also having a bad year, with a .692 OPS. His overall numbers were shot to hell by an awful June, but expecting a lot out of Torres is risky. as he’s a 33 year old with one good season under his belt.
The middle of the infield has also been a house of horrors for San Francisco. Miguel Tejada has absolutely nothing left in the tank, posting a .609 OPS in 302 at bats this year. He’s an awful, terrible player. Jeff Keppinger, acquired last week from the Astros, will play second base in the absence of Freddy Sanchez. Keppinger is a decent player, but only when he’s on the bench. He’s not an every day starter, but that’s the position he’s been thrown into. Pablo Sandoval has been great at third base however, and that’s a position that the team doesn’t need to worry about.
So the Giants have a few holes right now. Some of these fixes can be internal, with Belt taking over at first base for Huff, and Ross and Schierholtz playing the outfield corners. But that leaves the team with a pair of holes: center field, and shortstop. The team COULD make do with Torres at center field, if they feel that he’d be able to replicate his success from 2010. Shortstop is the key position for the Giants, as Tejada is just an awful player at this point from time. But here’s the thing: there aren’t a ton of options on the market right now. With the Mets saying they’re not trading Jose Reyes, and Baltimore taking JJ Hardy off of the market with a contract extension, pickings are slim.
There are two options I can really think of right now, but I’m not sure if either would be a great fit for the Giants. Brendan Ryan of the Mariners will probably be available, as the team has lost 15 straight and looks completely hopeless right now. Ryan’s bat is completely anemic though, and I’m not sure he’d be a huge help to the team’s offense. He WOULD be an upgrade defensively over Tejada, but then again, a marble statue would be. Another possible option for the Giants at short is Ian Desmond of the Nationals, but the team has said they’re proabbly not looking into trading him. Desmond isn’t having a great year this season, but is overall better than Tejada in the big picture of things.
It doesn’t look like shortstop will be taken care of at the trade deadline. So let’s explore the center field option for a minute. There are plenty of great center fielders on the market, from BJ Upton to Carlos Beltran to possibly even Colby Rasmus. All three would be an upgrade over what the Giants are currently running out there, with Beltran being the biggest positive. Even if Beltran is wary of playing center field (which he said he was in an interview this week), the Giants could roll the dice and play Ross in center, and put Beltran in a corner. Rasmus would cost the most out of all of the three, and provides a more long-term solution at the position. I’m not sure this aging Giants team would want to trade the prospects required to acquire someone of Rasmus’s stature. That brings us to Upton, who can hit anywhere in the order and present the team with an excellent upgrade in center. I’d say that either him or Beltran would be the most likely, with the Giants being more closely tied to Beltran lately. At the end of the day though, I don’t think they make a move.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Offense isn’t a problem for Arizona. Justin Upton, Miguel Montero, and Chris Young are providing an excellent core for the team. The team did suffer a major setback offensively this weekend, as Stephen Drew broke his ankle and will miss the rest of the season. The team plans on starting Willie Bloomquist at short for now, but an upgrade would be justifiable when you’re looking at that as your solution. As I detailed in the section about the Giants, options at shortstop are slim right now. Ryan and Desmond are the only real options right now, and I don’t think either would provide that much of an upgrade over Bloomquist.
But let’s talk about the real issue with Arizona: their pitching. Four of the team’s five starters have ERAs under 4.00, with Josh Collmenter, Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, and Joe Saunders all holding the fort down real well. The fifth starter’s position though, has been a disaster. The team has given 24 starts to Zach Duke, Armando Galarraga, and Barry Enright. They’ve taken care of all three of those problems, as Galarraga was released, Enright was optioned to AAA (after a one start stint back with the Diamondbacks this past week, where he got absolutely hammered) and Duke was moved to the bullpen. The new fifth starter? Micah Owings, who was just shifted to the rotation on Sunday, and threw five shutout innings against the Rockies. He’s got a 2.36 ERA on the season, and could be the answer. But in case Owings ever reverts to his prior self, what options does the team have?
The Diamondbacks don’t need an ace in their rotation. A solid, mid to back end arm would help them out a lot. Jeremy Guthrie of the Orioles would be a good option, and an example of a guy who could use a move to the National League. But here’s the thing about Guthrie: he’s prone to the homer, and if he spends time in Chase Field, which is a very homer prone stadium, his numbers could get even worse. So maybe he wouldn’t be the best bet. Jason Vargas of the Mariners is the lone veteran in their rotation, and could draw some interest. But like Guthrie, he’s a little homer prone, and his overall numbers are aided by the spacious Safeco Field. The Nationals have a couple of veteran pitchers that could draw interest, in Livan Hernandez and Jason Marquis. Hernandez is having one of his typical league average seasons, and is very cost effective right now. Marquis on the other hand, is making a decent bit of change this year. Both players would be rentals, as they’re free agents after the year.
The bullpen is where Arizona could really use some help. David Hernandez, Sam Demel, and closer JJ Putz have all been very good this year, but the team hasn’t gotten much else from the other members. Joe Paterson is having a solid season in limited duty, while the team has gotten bad performances from guys like Juan Gutierrez (currently injured), Aaron Heilman (released) and Esmerling Vazquez (demoted to AAA). The team is now going with a younger crew in their bullpen to try to get some good times flowing, and are looking at guys like Bryan Shaw, Ryan Cook, and Alberto Castillo.
The best option for a bullpen upgrade comes within Arizona’s own division, as the San Diego Padres possess the two best relief chips in setup man Mike Adams and closer Heath Bell. Either guy would be a good fit in the bullpen, but is either available? Reports that surfaced last week indicated that Adams wasn’t available, and Bell would likely cost a king’s ransom as the best option on the market for a lot of teams. Adams is completely awesome if he was available, striking out a batter per inning while hardly walking any. Bell on the other hand….there is reason to be concerned about him. His velocity is as strong as ever, but he’s striking out a lot fewer hitters this season than he has over his career. Is there an underlying issue here, or what?
There are some other options for relief for the Diamondbacks. Even though he probably won’t get moved, Kerry Wood of the Cubs would make a nice addition to the bullpen. Another interesting guy to look at is the criminally underrated Koji Uehara from Baltimore, who is an excellent strikeout pitcher with awesome control. Most of the attention this summer is being focused on Bell and Adams, but I think Uehara could be the best option of them all.
I think the Diamondbacks are going to make a move for a reliever, but I’m not sure who. I have a nagging feeling that it could be someone that catches everyone by surprise. If they are able to add an impact reliever, and the Giants stand pat, I think Arizona will overtake them in the west. If the Giants are able to add a solid bat, be it at short or center, I think they’ll be able to hold off the Diamondbacks with their all-world pitching staff.
