The Hot Stove is officially starting to warm up and with that come the trade rumors and speculation of great players being moved or signed. Unrealistic trades are debated among baseball fans across the country and all reason is thrown out of the window.This morning I read an article on Fox Sports by Jon Paul Morosi asking the question, "Is the Giants' best hope trading Lincecum?" You can read that article here:
From what I have read following that article, Morosi has managed to anger many Giant fans. I don't think that was his intent, and he did bring up several points to argue his case. So, let's take a look at the uproar.
It is a fact that after next season 3 of the Giants top 4 starting pitchers will be free agents: Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez and Ryan Vogelsong. Lincecum is a free agent the following year. Looking back at the previous handy work the Giants have done signing pitchers (*ahem* Barry Zito anyone?) it may be wise to think about trading one of your stars now so that you can sign the other three back.
Morosi argues that trading Lincecum would also allow the Giants to spend on a big bat - something that the 2011 team could have used badly down the stretch. Do I think that the Giants (even if they trade away Lincecum) have a shot at Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder? Not unless they are willing to break the bank for them. I guess you can't entirely rule them out, as they did have the 8th highest payroll in MLB in 2011, but an important factor to remember, the Cubs had the 6th highest payroll, and have a need for a first baseman.
Other free agent bats are out there and available for the Giants to scoop up. For example, there is a good chance they could re-sign Carlos Beltran. Bringing back the veteran coupled with a healthy Buster Posey could provide just the offensive pop the Giants lacked last season.
The funny thing I find about the Morosi article is that he does not initially say to trade Lincecum. He talks about trading one of the starting chips, though Lincecum would prove to be the most attractive to many teams if the Giants are looking to acquire offense. It makes sense, financially to explore this option, but it brings up a whole separate argument; do you consider Tim Lincecum to be a Major League "Ace" and if so, how many actual "Aces" are there in baseball?
Think about that for a second. What is an "ace" these days? He is a stopper. A guy that you know is more than likely going to get a "W" for you every five days. These guys are few and far between. CC Sabathia, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Felix Hernandez, Justin Verlander, Tim Lincecum... other than that - you have a lot of good pitchers out there, but there are many that are hard to label "aces."
So my question for the Giants fans, do you really think trading your "ace" is something General Manager Brian Sabean takes lightly? IF he explores it, which there are no indications of that at this point, it would bring about a slew of young talent and would free up cap space to make another splash in free agency.
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