The San Francisco Giants are known to be in the market for a free agent left fielder this offseason, and while most so-called analysts believe it’s a foregone conclusion that slugger Michael Morse will sign elsewhere, it’s not entirely far fetched for “The Beast” to sign a multi-year deal to remain in the City by the Bay.
The biggest reason why many are quick to dismiss the idea of Morse re-signing with the Giants is simple: he’s a defensive liability in the outfield, and AT&T Park is easily one of the most difficult left fields to effectively man in all of baseball. Morse owns a respectable .991 career fielding percentage over nearly 1,700 innings in left field, although that figure is somewhat misleading. His range is terrible; in fact, it’s practically non-existent.
For the most part, it makes sense that San Francisco would diverge elsewhere. After all, The team’s identity is built on pitching and defense. Morse certainly hinders the latter, but his hitting prowess proved to be a key element of the Giants’ most recent title run. The 32-year-old veteran memorably crushed a game-tying solo home run in Game 5 of the NLCS to help propel the Giants to their third World Series in five years. He also drove in the go-ahead and eventual winning run of Game 7 of the Fall Classic.
GM Brian Sabean has adopted a feel-good strategy in recent years, retaining the club’s core contributors. That strategy has proven to be ineffective in years succeeding a championship, though. The Giants finished 86-76 and failed to make the playoffs in 2011. To be fair, Buster Posey‘s season-ending ankle injury completely derailed any realistic chance the Giants had at defending their title that year, but they also finished in a third-place tie in the NL West with just 76 wins in 2013, their worst win total in six seasons.
Sabean faces several difficult decisions this offseason despite the “dynasty” vibe reverberating throughout the Bay Area. The most headline-happy decision Sabean faces concerns Pablo Sandoval, but whether or not to re-sign Morse is also on his to-do list.
Morse’s production stalled substantially after May. He hit just five home runs while driving in 23 runs over his final 75 games of the season while missing significant playing time due to a nagging oblique strain. To compare, he smashed 11 home runs while driving in 38 runs over his first 56 games in a Giants uniform. His early-season success was a big reason why the Giants surged to a 43-21 record before floundering in mediocrity for the better part of the season’s final three-plus months.
Injury concerns and defensive liability issues seemingly make Morse expendable, but it’s possible that Morse is the Giants’ best option from a financial standpoint. He would be much less costly than the likes of Alex Rios, Nick Markakis and Yasmani Tomas. He’s also capable of playing first base, and as he proved during the postseason, he has the game-changing home run power the Giants desperately need off the bench.
So while most fans and pundits alike seem to think that Morse’s one-year stint in San Francisco was just that, a 2015 reunion isn’t entirely far fetched.
John Shea is an MLB writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @real_johnshea. Like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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