Well, that didn’t take long – though, Frandsen did have one minor league option remaining…so they could have sent him back to Fresno.
Anyway, the Giants traded Kevin to the Red Sox in exchange for the famous, PTBNL…or player to be named later. The Giants also agreed that they would take cash if the two sides could not come to terms on a prospect.

First off, the good news. Rod Beck, err, Brian Wilson and the Giants have agreed on a contract extension which will most likely buy out the last two years of his arbitration although right now we’re not 100% clear since terms of the contract have not been released. But rest assured, Wilson is locked up and will avoid arbitration for at least a little bit.
Onto the sour news of the day, Emmanuel Burriss who again injured himself early in Spring Training had surgery yesterday and will be out for at least 10 weeks. Burriss and the Giants debated if the [...]

It was reported by Bob Nightengale late last evening that the Giants and Jeremy Affeldt came to terms on a two year extension, locking him up through the end of next season. The deal, while reported as a two year, 9.5 million, actually breaks down like this – the Giants will give Affeldt a 500,000 raise this season in exchange for a 4.5 million dollar contract next season which has a 500,000 dollar buyout in case things go south or the Giants feel that Affeldt isn’t worth that kind of bank.
It’s a pretty large deal for a reliever, even if [...]

And in other news, the sky is blue.
The Giants, more or less announced for the world to hear, that infielder Kevin Frandsen and outfielder Fred Lewis are available for the right price. Actually, for any price. With Lewis out of options (and almost certain to be claimed) and Frandsen continuing to struggle with MLB level pitching, the Giants are fielding any and all offers for the one time “pieces” in the Giants minor league operations.
The Giants aren’t totally screwed with Frandsen as he does have one minor league option remaining, but, it appears their patience has worn thin with the [...]

And there we have it folks – the hammer has dropped. Earlier today, the Giants optioned Madison Bumgarner to Triple-A Fresno all but ending his hopes of becoming the 5th starter in the Giants elite rotation. With his demotion, ex-Cardinals pitcher Todd Wellemeyer will take over the fifth and final spot in the rotation. Bumgarner had control issues all Spring resulting in a 6.43 in 7 innings (a pretty small sample size IMO)…while Wellemeyer posted an impressive 1.20 ERA in 15 innings.
It’s only a matter of time before Bumgarner returns to the Giants – he has nothing more to prove [...]

The Giants are in quite a pickle. Maybe literally, if Bengie Molina has his way.
Giants catcher and uber-prospect Buster Posey struck again last evening, doubling home the game winning run in the eigth inning, but that wasn’t the fancy part. It was how he did it.
Down 0-2 in the count and Giants infielder Matt Downs bouncing around at first, Posey stepped out of the box, gathered himself, and promptly drove the next pitch (a tight curve-ball) deep into the left field ally – a feat usually reserved for calm and collected superstars. Okay, sure, maybe I’m exaggerating…but only a bit.
Posey [...]

For any of you traveling to Tuscon in hopes of seeing Tiny Tim – sorry to burst your bubble, but the two time Cy-Young winner is skipping the trip and will finish up the Spring schedule with his tilt against the Indians today. He’ll do a bit of training in Scottsdale and throw again versus Major League talent on the 26th of March which will be against the Angels.
In other pitching news, the Giants bullpen has got off to a strong start – a trend that the Giants expect to extend into the regular season. One time Dodger Guillermo Mota [...]

Eight games into the Cactus League season, the Giants are 7-1 and sitting atop the league standings. If only it was April and it meant something.
There isn’t too much to talk about in the land of Giants right now…many Giants are taking precaution this spring, some not by choice. Emmanuel Burriss is still walking with the help of crutches after fracturing his big right toe in the Spring opener on the third. The Giants expect him to be in a boot for about four weeks…but it’s a serious hamper to his idea of breaking camp with the big league roster.
Mark [...]

Hot damn, it’s baseball time – well, sorta. It’s not the crispy green grass and overcooked hot dogs of Opening Day, but, it’s getting there. Maybe it was getting there a little too much for Giants outfield prospect Thomas Neal. Neal, a highly regarded Giants prospect stood in against Mariners right-hander Ricky Orta in the sixth inning and ended up leaving the game within moments. Orta lost control of his next pitch, the pitch smashing directly into the helemt of Neal who collapsed in a heap. Thankfully, Neal was helped under his own power to the clubhouse where he was [...]

Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News believes Freddy Sanchez (knee, shoulder) will begin the 2010 season on the disabled list – something we’ve all expected even though the Giants refused to admit it.
Freddy isn’t expected to pick up a bat for at least another week and the Giants certainly don’t want to rush him. He underwent a shoulder procedure in late December and had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee back in late September. It’s expected that superman, err, super utility man Juan Uribe will man second until Freddy returns.

Of [...]