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December 6, 2012

Transaction Analysis

Sabean Keeps the Gang Together

by Ben Lindbergh

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Team Audit | Player Cards | Depth Chart

Signed INF-R Marco Scutaro to a three-year deal worth $20 million. [12/04]

Here’s a list of free-agent position players age 37 or older who have been signed to contracts three years or longer since 2005:

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9 comments have been left for this article.

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Richard Bergstrom

(36532)

I'm not sure why Sabean would overpay for an older second baseman like Freddy Sanchez er... Marco Scutaro.

Dec 05, 2012 12:08 PM

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bigdonut

(13511)

Giants starting 2b in the Sabean era all have that "veteran grittiness" that he so values: Kent, Durham, Sanchez, Theriot, Scutaro. I don't see the better alternatives though. Is Keppinger at 3/$12 million a better deal? Would the Giants be better off punting with Arias / NRI and wish-casting on Panik before they have to make another mid-year deal? If Scutaro goes .275/.340/.385 for 2 years, that seems like a decent deal with all the new TV money around.

Dec 05, 2012 12:45 PM

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Richard Bergstrom

(36532)

.275/.340/.385 should be easier and cheaper to find especially at 2B

Dec 05, 2012 12:54 PM

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bigdonut

(13511)

Here's the list of 2b from last year (minimum 350 PA).
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/sortable/index.php?cid=1369860
14 of 28 got to the .725 OPS. It should be easier to get there in theory, but I don't think there are that many available 2b alternatives without getting lucky on a NRI or getting really creative in a trade.

Dec 05, 2012 13:31 PM

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Richard Bergstrom

(36532)

Thanks for the chart. Even though 14 of 28 got an OPS better than .725, I'd like to think the Giants could cobble something together for cheaper. Maybe, offensively, it's a reduction to the .675 OPS range but I'd like to think the difference is no more than half a win in value and six million dollars a year cheaper.

Dec 05, 2012 16:27 PM

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rweiler

(21660)

Panik had a pretty terrible AFL triple stat line and Nick Noonan wasn't a lot better at Fresno, so the Giants were pretty limited for in house options other than Scutaro. The guy I might have considered giving a shot would have been Brock Bond but he got hit in the head a couple of years ago and took a long time to recover. He managed a 332/422/398 line at Fresno last year and has been a 400 OBP guy his entire career in the minors and while he is old for AAA at age 27, that still makes him 10 years younger than Scutaro.

Dec 05, 2012 21:27 PM

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jimcal

(24946)

Google search: new market inefficiency baseball

Return:

Sabean: secret of new Giants dynasty : Aging baseball player

"behind the (aging) curve" helps aging rosters clinched WS twice in 3 years

a deep look of attrition rate of prospects and turnover rate in rosters of SF Giants

33yrs is not old, neither is 37.

Forever 33

Dec 06, 2012 12:17 PM

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gobraves123

(32387)

I know there is plenty of debate these days about the merits of the minimum wage, but I daresay even the staunchest naysayers would object to Omar Vizquel's three-year contract that paid him $12.25.

Dec 06, 2012 13:24 PM

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Ric Size

(42432)

"Then again, if Scutaro had gotten two years and $20 million, this might not have raised quite so many eyebrows. There’s a decent chance that he’ll be worth the four wins or less it would take to justify the total expenditure over the life of the deal..."

That's the take-home point. Nice job, Ben.

Dec 06, 2012 15:27 PM

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