What to do with Brian Giles
June 25th, 2009 | Published in Daniel Gettinger, Padres, baseball | 5 Comments
by Daniel Gettinger
A few days ago, Brian Giles was placed on the disabled list. Yesterday, Scott Hairston was activated from the disabled list and took Giles’ place on the roster. It is possible we may have already seen Giles’ last game in a Padre uniform.
Much has already been written about Giles’ struggles at the plate this season. But in case you missed all those stories, here is all you need to know: in 2009, Giles has been the worst every day player in the major leagues. Early in the season, many experts (and also non-experts such as myself) preached patience. The theory was there was no way Giles could go from being a 4.7 WAR player in 2008 to being the worst player in baseball in 2009. His poor start was attributed to a combination of bad luck and a small sample size.
But here we are in late June, and Giles has not turned things around. Maybe his performance has been affected by an injury. Maybe the sample is still be too small. Or perhaps age is just taking its toll. I don’t know. And I don’t really care. Giles has played poorly, has not shown signs of improvement, cannot do much to salvage the team’s season, takes up a valuable roster spot and an inordinate amount of playing time, and is not a part of the Padres’ future. Brian Giles should be granted his release.
By releasing Giles, the Padres do not save any money. They are still required to pay him in full. What the Padres do save is a roster spot. They will also able to give their other outfielders more playing time. As it stands, the Padres employ Chase Headley, Scott Hairston, Tony Gwynn Jr, Will Venable, and Kyle Blanks. All outfielders. Blanks will probably be sent back down once interleague play ends, but that still leaves three players (Headley, Hairston, and Gwynn) who should play every day, and a fourth (Venable) who probably deserves a chance at the major league level. Toiling away in AAA is Drew Macias, another guy that should benefit from an extended stint in the major leagues.
None of these guys are great. But they are all young, and consistent playing time in the majors should help their development. At the very least, the team will have a better idea about which of them will be able to contribute in future seasons.
Brian Giles is not young, and will not be back with the team next season. Even if he were to return and play at an MVP level, his contributions would not push the Padres into the playoffs. It is too late for that. Considering it is more likely Giles will continue to struggle than play at an MVP level once he returns, there is no good reason for him to remain on the roster.
I appreciate Giles’ contributions to the club over the past six seasons. He never performed at the level he did while in Pittsburgh, but he was still very valuable, and helped the Padres reach the playoffs a few times. Unfortunately, he can no longer help the Padres. Even if he was guaranteed to play well the rest of the season, there is still a very valid argument for releasing him. His roster spot and playing time is too valuable to waste on a sendoff tour.
June 25th, 2009 at 1:22 am (#)
I think you’re right. I appreciate what Giles has done in his time here, but I think his time here is up because of the reasons you mentioned.
Somewhat irrelevant, but if we release Giles and another team picks up, I think the other team has to pay him a prorated salary of the league minimum (around $400,000), which comes of the Padres books. Meaning if he gets picked up in two weeks or so, the Pads save around $200,000, assuming i understand the rules correctly
June 25th, 2009 at 8:37 pm (#)
It’s amazing how much that blocked trade to the Sox last year hurt the Padres. His trade probably would have returned one or two decent prospects, and allowed the team the budget room to resign the all-time saves leader.
Instead we get neither, and the wort player in the majors. Not that many people, myself included, expected it. But it’s still hard to take.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:10 pm (#)
Melvin-I actually had not even thought about that, but you’re right. Nothing the Padres could have done about it, but still a bit annoying.
June 26th, 2009 at 1:38 am (#)
If the Padres release Giles they are responsible for all of his salary owed and he becomes a free agent.
If another team then picks him up they only pay a prorated portion of the major league minimum of $410k.
Whether or not he is picked up or not would not impact in any way the amount the Padres would have to pay him.
June 26th, 2009 at 2:09 pm (#)
Daniel, there was something the Padres could have done BEFORE that failed trade. They could have traded him to one of the teams that needed OF help and wasn’t on his no-trade list. They could have offered up to 3 million in addition to an outfielder in the midst of a great season, since the 3 million was sunk if he stayed. According to Paul DePodesta last year, the trade returns for Giles weren’t good enough before the deadline, but that means there was interest.
Not saying it would have been an easy decision. A lot depends on when the front office found out about the need to slash payroll for 2009. If they knew before the trade deadline, then you have to make the deal even if it’s not great.