Possible Guillen deal.....

[filosofy29]

What do you guys think about it if it happens? I can't say I'm really pumped about the deal unless they didn't give up anything to get him and he's used primarily as a pinch hitter (and possible spot starts/injury backup).

Seems to be well liked wherever he goes though.....

 

[filosofy29]

Deal is 100% complete now per Baggs.....at least per the Royals side.

UPDATED: Giants acquire Jose Guillen from Royals | Extra Baggs

The Giants haven’t announced it yet, but the Kansas City Royals confirmed earlier reports this morning that they’ve traded OF/DH Jose Guillen to San Francisco along with cash considerations for a player to be named later.

Guillen is expected to travel from Miami to San Francisco today and it’s been reported that he’ll be available for tonight’s showdown game against the San Diego Padres. UPDATE: I’ve confirmed he will be active tonight. Doubtful to be in the lineup, though Bruce Bochy wouldn’t rule it out against left-hander CLayton Richard.)

Some quick analysis…

Really, the biggest question isn’t where Guillen will play. (He’ll almost certainly be a bat for the bench, although like Pat Burrell, his role could expand based on how he does.)

It isn’t the corresponding roster move. (I’m guessing Emmanuel Burriss, one of few guys with options, will return to Fresno. His speed is useful off the bench, but Mike Fontenot covers the club in the middle-infield positions.)

It isn’t the amount of cash the Royals will pick up or the player they’ll get. (It won’t be any prospect of note, and I’m guessing the Giants will pay little more than the prorated minimum of the $3.9 million still owed to Guillen this season.)

No, the biggest question is how Jose Guillen will fit in the Giants clubhouse.

As Pat Burrell said last night, the Giants have a good thing going right now. They hope it doesn’t end. This is hot team that has won 25 of its last 35 games. Usually, those kinds of teams have developed some pretty incredible chemistry. The Giants are no exception. They police themselves very well and they take their work very seriously while also having a lot of fun.

Guillen, well … there’s a reason he’ll be playing for his 10th major league team. But when we spoke to Bruce Bochy about Guillen on the last road trip, he was a huge proponent to add him to the roster. The skipper must feel he can keep Guillen in line, with help from his veterans. That’s good, because that’s exactly the challenge he has now.

Guillen, 34, was hitting .255 with 16 home runs and 62 RBI in 106 games before Royals DFA’d him on Aug. 5. They were coming to the end of their 10-day window to trade or release him.

One other new thought on Guillen: I’m assuming the Giants see him as primarily a weapon against left-handed pitching, and don’t forget that the Padres are pitching two lefties in this weekend series. The Giants haven’t touched Clayton Richard or Wade LeBlanc this season, and Bochy has mentioned on more than one occasion that the Giants just need to figure out how to score on this unsexy but effective Padres staff. So there’s no coincidence at the timing here. Guillen is a right-handed bat acquired to give the Giants a new option against the Padres’ lefties.

But, uh, there’s just one problem with all that. Guillen’s platoon splits are almost identical throughout his career (.270 vs. .271). And he was hitting .217 with one home run in 83 at-bats against left-handers this season (including .188 vs. lefty starters). He also was in a 4-for-48 slide when the Royals DFA’d him.

Check back for lineups, reaction, roster moves and more when the clubhouses open this afternoon.

 

[ElJimador]

I'm glad Baggs noticed Guillen's platoon splits. For a guy who mashed lefties in his prime you'd think that his splits this year were just a one-off. Except in the lousy season he had last year he was even worse against lefties then too. So I'm not really seeing how he's a better option vs LHP than Rowand at this point.

Anyway I've been posting a bit on this on the ESPN board and I don't mind having an extra bat for the bench, particularly when I'm sure they're not giving up anything to get him. I just don't see how he's much of an upgrade and my concern is if Bochy starts giving him ABs over someone he shouldn't, like Ishikawa.

 

[sfsportsfan]

im not really liking this move. however, it may spell the end of Rowand, which im all for. start guillen in right, torres in center, burrel in left, huff at first. poor ishi, but eh. hes been shit on by this team so much whats one more time?

 

[gp956]

I hoping Velez is the PTBNL - just to see the Tito explosion....


As for Guillen, I'm reading he might be installed as the everyday rightfielder. He's a -4 UZR/150 player there, compared to Nate's +27. I'm going to guess it's Ishi who loses most of the playing time in this deal.

 

[gp956]

@JeffFletcherAOL Bruce Bochy confirms Guillen will be the everyday RF and Aubrey Huff will play 1b.

Jeff Fletcher (JeffFletcherAOL) on Twitter

 

[gp956]

With Belt's emergence, Ishi is pretty much done as a Giant.

 

[filosofy29]

I hoping Velez is the PTBNL - just to see the Tito explosion....


As for Guillen, I'm reading he might be installed as the everyday rightfielder. He's a -4 UZR/150 player there, compared to Nate's +27. I'm going to guess it's Ishi who loses most of the playing time in this deal.

LOL, oh to be a fly on the wall in the house built on all of that anchorage that is Tito's, if Velez were the PTBNL. Definitely would be worth a trip to the ESPeeN board for that one.

That's what I'm afraid of right there.....and you've just confirmed it.....well, I'll keep an open mind to it. I wonder who will be heading down to the farm?

 

[gp956]

LOL, oh to be a fly on the wall in the house built on all of that anchorage that is Tito's, if Velez were the PTBNL. Definitely would be worth a trip to the ESPeeN board for that one.

That's what I'm afraid of right there.....and you've just confirmed it.....well, I'll keep an open mind to it. I wonder who will be heading down to the farm?

Seems like the best guess is Manny Burriss.

 

[ElJimador]

@JeffFletcherAOL Bruce Bochy confirms Guillen will be the everyday RF and Aubrey Huff will play 1b.

Jeff Fletcher (JeffFletcherAOL) on Twitter

Bummer if it's true because swapping Ish for Guillen is definitely a downgrade in my book.

 

[ElJimador]

I expect the PTBNL will either be some non-prospect or entirely nonexistant like the PTBNLs the Giants got for Lewis and Frandsen.

Purely a salary dump for the Royals, who had already DFA'ed him and their 10 day window running out.

 

[tzill]

I expect the PTBNL will either be some non-prospect or entirely nonexistant like the PTBNLs the Giants got for Lewis and Frandsen.

Purely a salary dump for the Royals, who had already DFA'ed him and their 10 day window running out.

I think the Royals are picking up almost all of JG's remaining salary...they just wanted him gone.

 

[filosofy29]

I think the Royals are picking up almost all of JG's remaining salary...they just wanted him gone.

Makes you wonder what is up with the guy when a team wants him gone that badly.....

 

[tzill]

Makes you wonder what is up with the guy when a team wants him gone that badly.....

Best case scenario: dude's a headcase and a bad influence on a young clubhouse in KC. He comes here, Huff/Row/Burrell say "Jose, STFU and play ball" and he does, mashing and earning a nice contract and is happy b/c he's on a vet club in a pennant race.

Worst case scenario: dude implodes and we cut him.

 

[gp956]

Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said that Jose Guillen would get regular playing time in right field, probably four or five games a week.

“I’d say for the most part, yes, he will be out there,” Bochy said. “How many days a week, four or five, it really depends. We didn’t acquire him to be on the bench.”

The Giants’ plan for Jose Guillen | Extra Baggs

 

[ElJimador]

So it turns out that Guillen didn't even want to come to the Giants and Sabean had to talk him into it by promising him the starting job. First note this comment from Schulman in his blog:

From everything I've gleaned about his personality, [Guillen] can be a driven player who only gets real upset when his team is losing or when he doesn't play, especially if he's not told in advance.

Guillen to be the everyday right fielder, more or less : SFGate: San Francisco Giants : The Splash

Then Schulman again from his story on the trade:

"I am going to play every day. I'm going to play right field," Guillen told The Chronicle before boarding a flight in Miami that was to arrive in San Francisco late Friday night. Guillen based his statement on a conversation with general manager Brian Sabean after the deal was sealed.

...

Sabean spoke to Guillen at length on the phone. That conversation changed Guillen's thinking about the trade. He was not enthusiastic at first.

"I talked to Sabean for an hour. (San Francisco) was not my favorite choice, but he convinced me. In the AL, I knew I'd be able to DH more, but now I'm totally healthy" from a left quadriceps injury he incurred last month.

...

Had the Royals not traded him, Guillen would have become free to sign with any team - probably not the Giants.

Guillen wanted to sign with Tampa Bay. Also, when he signed his three-year deal with Kansas City before 2008, he got a partial no-trade clause and listed the Giants as one of the teams to which he would not accept a trade.

That was not a factor because the Giants were on no such list this year. But his happiness is best for all involved.

Giants acquire Guillen to bolster offense

Also of note is that I had read earlier that Bochy lobbied for this trade yet here he doesn't seem entirely on board with Guillen starting every day, saying 4-5 times a week and that Ishikawa will still get some starts too.

So I'm seeing a few problems here. Can I say again I really don't like this move?

 

[gp956]

Definitely has some blow up potential. Who knows, though - might get Bochy fired....

 

[ElJimador]

Definitely has some blow up potential. Who knows, though - might get Bochy fired....

Bochy is the one who's going to get blamed if Guillen doesn't produce and is still in the lineup every day (or nearly every day). However it sounds to me like Bochy only wanted him to be one more guy in the mix and it was Sabean who promised him the starting job.

Naturally. Because a low OBP diva on the downswing of his career is exactly the kind of guy you want to make that promise to. The Giants missing piece... for anyone who was missing Molina.

 

[filosofy29]

ugh, what a horrible thing to say before even joining the "team". I hope this guy can still play, but if he can't, I hope they cut him really, really quick.

Does he at least have any speed? I think he used to back when he was young, but I can't remember and I don't know much about him now.

 

[tzill]

I think he's a feast or famine type acquisition. He'll either start mashing right away or we'll cut him Sept 1.