San Francisco Giants Mailbag: Morse, Shields, Cain, Pagan
Oct 31, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants left fielder Michael Morse enters the stage during the World Series celebration at City Hall. The San Francisco Giants defeated the Kansas City Royals in game seven of the World Series. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Great questions. I’ll first address the Michael Morse question.
Morse might’ve been extremely hard to watch on the defensive end last season, but he provided a lot of other skills and intangibles, such as power and energy that translated into team chemistry.
As of now, the Giants haven’t addressed the reduction of power. Brian Sabean said that he believes that if they put the best lineup out there possible, then the power will show up. The Giants won the World Series last year after experiencing several home run droughts, so power doesn’t seem to be the Giants’ biggest concern right now, especially since they believe a healthy Brandon Belt will add more power to the lineup too.
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In terms of finding another left fielder, it seems as if Sabean isn’t too happy with the remaining options for left field in the free agency market. They missed out on Melky Cabrera, so they might have to assemble a trade to address left field. That’s easier said than done though, given the fact that Giants don’t want to give up a highly-touted prospect like Kyle Crick.
My guess is they’ll try to find someone with a fairly inexpensive price tag and someone who can platoon with Gregor Blanco.
The Giants might have trouble replacing the infectious energy and positivity that Morse and Pablo Sandoval added to the 2014 World Series Giants team though.
In terms of prospects, it’s clear that Joe Panik and Andrew Susac, former prospects and now official big leaguers, will impact this Giants team in 2015. I believe Matt Duffy will also find a place on the 2015 25-man roster, given his significant contributions off the bench in his shot time in the big leagues and his defensive versatility.
I also believe that Adam Duvall could potentially have an impact this upcoming season, as he can provide some extra depth at first base and he could potentially play some third base, which would add some power off the bench at that position.
Unfortunately, the Giants don’t have a lot of outfield depth in the farm system right now. There’s a possibility that Gary Brown could make some appearances with the Giants in 2015, but I don’t see him being a regular contributor.