| Authored by Christopher Reina - 12th December, 2007 - 4:57 pm
 The Giants have been bracing for the departure of Barry Bonds for several seasons, mainly by developing a young corps of pitchers, but in their first move to reshape their lineup, they signed centerfielder Aaron Rowand to a five-year, $60 million.
Rowand played to a $9 million contract in 2007, good for a +107 Reina Value, though he'll have to improve significantly to make up that extra $3 million he's worth on the field annually.
Out of the big three free agent centerfielders, Rowand is clearly the best value and is most suitable to San Francisco's needs.
Signing a bat via free agency instead of trading one of their young starters is another win with this deal.
Rowand, who is expected to bat fifth, is by no means a franchise offensive player, but lost in all the reports about him being ?gritty? or ?hard-nosed? is the fact that he is a very talented player. He will become an excellent cornerstone in this transitional period for the franchise before they find that perennial All-Star third or fourth place hitter.
As I dismiss the excessive use of the ?gritty? label, Rowand does bring the Giants that element which harkens back to the Jeff Kents, Will Clarks and Matt Williams of yesteryear.
Since 2004 Rowand has an .822 OPS, 6th best amongst all centerfielders, slightly ahead of Torii Hunter, Johnny Damon and Vernon Wells.
Rowand has just 93 career homeruns in 2,664 at bats, but he hit 27 in 2007.
Citizens Bank Park unquestionably favors hitters, and it favored Rowand. He hit 17 of his 27 homers there, and he had a home slugging percentage of .557 compared to .475 on the road.
In 32 career plate appearances at AT&T Park, Rowand has a .737 OPS. It is a ballpark that favors right-handed hitters and as he was last season, he should be amongst the MLB leaders in doubles because of the expansive outfield.
Rowand has hit over .300 twice in his career (.310 in 2004 and .309 in 2007). Since 2004 he and Grady Sizemore are the only centerfielders to have batting averages above .280 (Rowand?s is .289) and to have also hit at least 75 homeruns.
In centerfield, Rowand has very good range comparable to Sizemore and Torii Hunter. He also had a staggering 11 assists in 2007, despite making just two errors. Unquestionably, he will make the Giants far better defensively.
In 2007 Rowand had 23 win shares, the same as Carlos Lee (who spurned the Giants last winter) and Michael Young and more than players like Alfonso Soriano, Carl Crawford and Justin Morneau.
Grade for Giants: A- |
