San Francisco Giants Submit Offer to Carlos Gonzalez: Is he a Fit?

As the Hot Stove freezes over, the San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and Houston Astros have submitted offers to Carlos Gonzalez.

According to ESPN, former tormentor of the Orange and Black, Carlos Gonzalez has received an offer from the Giants, and is on their radar with every other outfielder on the market.

Gonzalez, coming off a terrible year with the Rockies should come fairly cheap … except for the fact he probably wont.

Sportrac.com has the former Rockies slugger’s market value at around $15 million annually. From what we saw in 2017 from Gonzalez, he should be nowhere near that kind of money.

In 2017, Gonzalez put together his worst season since his injury year in 2014 (which held him to only 70 games). Playing in over 130 games with over 530 plate appearances, Carlos Gonzalez batted .262/.339/.423 with 14 HR’s and 57 RBI’s.

Gonzalez, a hitter capable of putting up 30-plus home runs and 100-plus RBI’s (Like he did in 2010 and 2015), left Rockies fans scratching their heads all season.

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The Giants, who are in need of not one, but two outfielders are pretty much in on everyone right now.

A team that was so adamant about improving their outfield defense and shedding payroll, while also getting younger, this move does not make a lot of sense.

Gonzalez has been a fantastic fielder throughout his career, winning two gold gloves. If the Giants can find a solid defensive center-fielder, while also getting a good deal for Gonzalez, then this move might actually make sense.

Baseball Reference has Gonzalez projected at .270/.335/.476 with 20 home runs and 72 RBI, which probably is not accurate for AT&T Park, but with an increase in offensive production from last year, Gonzalez could fit pretty well in the San Francisco Giants current lineup.

If the Giants can get Gonzalez for a reasonable price, stick him in right field and have him produce and play average defense at the very least, then this could be a good, short-term deal.

Next: Are the San Francisco Giants Contenders with McCutchen and Bruce?

Also, with the signing of Hector Sanchez to a minor league deal, the Giants could swoop in and grab two of the guys that hurt them the most in their division. That ought to be good for a few extra wins next year, right?