Just a quick note — via Ken Rosenthal,the Giants have expressed interest in bringing back Mark DeRosa. There isn’t much to expect from him at this point. Projections are hardly a be-all/end-all, but I think the ZiPS projection for DeRosa in 2012 tells the whole story: .244/.300/.277. He’ll probably get a minor-league contract with an invite to Spring Training, and I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if it’s SF that hands him such a deal.
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6 Responses to Giants have expressed interest in re-signing Mark DeRosa
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Minor league deal and spring training invite, sure why not. He plays good D at multiple positions and is solid in the clubhouse. Probably be a pretty good coach in the future. I think that projection is a bit low, but he is strictly a singles hitter with the wrist. Better than trotting Manny Burriss out to pinch hit though.
I wonder how the wrist problems have affected his defense. When he came back, he was mostly limited to playing first base.
How many WAR does a guy like DeRosa contribute with clubhouse leadership and mentoring? I understood his tendon sheath to have completely torn rendering him a singles hitter for eternity. I just don’t understand the purpose of even a minor league spring invite. He doesn’t offer anything beyond the intangibles. Giants rumors are very uninspiring of late.
True. And though I do believe mentoring to be essential on some level, it isn’t to my liking to think that DeRosa might get the call up when Belt struggles the first time. At this point, the new blood needs to take over, even if it means some difficulty in the process. Lectures on ‘veterans need to mix with the young guys’ are moot, and if the brass is significantly dedicated to such a statement, they should grab a player like Fielder or Reyes, regardless of cost. Of course, this will not happen.
.244 single hitter: The Giants may as well keep Burriss instead. At least Burriss has speed.
You have to get to first base to use that speed. Burriss put up a .253 OBP last year. DeRosa the flappy singles hitter put up .351, roughly in line with his career obp of .341.
I’d say he offers excellent defense at multiple positions. If they want to pay more for Jerry Hairston Jr they’d get faster, a bit more power and improve on the SS defense. We have to have somebody who pitchers respect a little bit coming off the bench. The Giants do need to get somebody with some power, which is why bringing back Cody Ross has its appeal. But DeRosa is a cheap fix if there is room for him.