San Francisco Giants bring Hunter Pence back to the Bay Area
By Doug Brown
The San Francisco Giants have signed Hunter Pence to add to a much more quality outfield as he begins scootering back to Oracle Park.
Hunter Pence is heading back to the San Francisco Giants. His greatest asset for this rebuilding team might be his personality. He is full of energy, going all-out on every play. He loves to have fun and is quite knowledgable on how to be a winning teammate.
NBC Sports broke the story this morning based on an overheard phone conversation from Pence talking about his future.
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The 36-year-old hit an astounding .297 last year for Texas. That was his highest average since 2011 before he even played for the Giants. Pence made the American League All-Star team last year before his season was cut short with a back problem.
To go along with his improved batting average, Pence also cranked 18 long-balls and stole six bases in under 300 at-bats.
Pence came to the Giants late in their 2012 World Series run. In his first two years, he played in all 162 games. Since then, injuries have come with his aging. But it was only as recently as 2017 when Pence logged nearly 500 at-bats.
The Giants outfield is far from set. Mike Yastrzemski had a very nice first year in the majors at age 29. But there is some trepidation about him as his minor league career was less than stellar. Yastrzemski played in left last field year but he could shift to center.
Alex Dickerson is semi-set in the outfield also. He looked quite good when healthy but he is also a lifetime minor-leaguer and at age 29 is far from a lock.
Steven Dugger, 26, is another outfielder the Giants may utilize. He showed excellent defensive skills but his bat may not be major-league ready.
The Giants also have Mauricio Dubon who started at second base for the Giants once he was acquired from the Brewers. He has been talked about as a possible center fielder after the Giants have brought in multiple players at second.
Next. San Francisco Giants: Breaking down the signing of Wilmer Flores. dark
Hunter Pence seems the most likely of the Giants outfielders to put up good numbers and will likely get all the at-bats that he wants. He is a great pick-up to help put an interesting team on the field.