On the first day of the winter meetings, the Giants were in on a surprise. Brad Penny has reached a 1 year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals for 7.5 million dollars.
Early this week Brian Sabean had said he planned on trying to re-sign Penny this offseason. I'm pretty sure the money from both clubs were competitive, so I think Penny would rather be a Cardinal. However, the loss of Penny may be a good thing.
With Brad Penny out of the picture, it leaves Madison Bumgarner an opportunity to be the #5 pitcher in the rotation. He is one of the best prospects in the major leagues and this his chance to show what he has. Last season Bumgarner pitched well in limited action. In 10 innings pitched, he only allowed two earned runs (1.80 ERA) and he also struck out 10 batters.
The Giants should now shift their focus on getting a long reliever who could start in case injury or problems with the rotation. Two seasons ago Barry Zito struggled and was moved to the bullpen, the same thing happened to Jonathon Sanchez this past season. In case one of these pitchers, or Bumgarner struggle and are sent to the bullpen, or minors in the case of Bumgarner, the Giants will need a pitcher who can keep them in the game.
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