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Best San Francisco Giants of the 2010s: 15. Angel Pagan

By Joel Reuter |
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - SEPTEMBER 7: Angel Pagan #16 of the San Francisco Giants prepares to bat against Diamondbacks against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the eighth inning at AT&T Park on September 7, 2013 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Stephen Lam/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - SEPTEMBER 7: Angel Pagan #16 of the San Francisco Giants prepares to bat against Diamondbacks against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the eighth inning at AT&T Park on September 7, 2013 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Stephen Lam/Getty Images)

Angel Pagan set the table for the 2012 World Series champion San Francisco Giants after coming over in a trade with the New York Mets.

The San Francisco Giants acquired Angel Pagan in exchange for Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez in a trade with the New York Mets on Dec. 7, 2011.

After a 4.0 WAR season in 2009 and a 5.3 WAR season in 2010, the veteran outfielder had taken a step backward in 2011, hitting just .262/.322/.372 for a 94 OPS+ and 1.0 WAR.

Nonetheless, the Giants flipped their incumbent center fielder in Torres and a quality relief arm in Ramirez in hopes he would return to form in his final year of arbitration.

That’s exactly what he did.

The 30-year-old batted .288/.338/.440 for a 120 OPS+ with 38 doubles, 15 triples, eight home runs, 56 RBI, 95 runs scored, 29 steals and 4.2 WAR.

His 266 total bases were a career-high and those 95 runs scored ranked seventh in the National League, as he was a dynamic table-setter for the eventual World Series champions.

He batted just .188/.230/.348 in 16 games during the playoffs, but scored 10 runs while hitting three doubles and two home runs.

Looking to keep their World Series core intact, the Giants signed Pagan to a four-year, $40 million contract during the 2012-13 offseason.

He had some issues staying healthy over the life of that deal, averaging 107 games per season.

However, he remained productive when he was on the field, hitting .278/.326/.384 for a 97 OPS+ while playing out the four-year pact before retiring.

He was limited to 96 games during the 2014 season, hitting .300 with a 110 OPS+ despite limited power production, and was out of commission for the postseason.

By the time the 2016 season arrived, he had moved into a limited role, going 3-for-10 with a double in the playoffs.

All told, Pagan was worth 5.7 WAR during his time with the Giants, and he played a role in three World Series winning teams.

Next. 16. Ryan Vogelsong

Check back here regularly as we count down the 50 best San Francisco Giants of the 2010s.

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