Pat Burrell?

Former Tampa Bay Rays designated hitter Pat Burrell has signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants. Signing the former #1 overall pick is a mistake for the Giants organization. I have created a list of the Pros and Cons of Pat Burrell and what he brings to the Giants. There is also a poll on the right side of the page to voice your own opinion on the signing.

The Good:
- Because Pat Burrell was released by the Tampa Bay Rays, the Giants would only be responsible for paying the minimum salary. This would be less than $400,000. It would be the same financial situation as Brad Penny was last year.
- If not a starter, Pat Burrell would become one of the most feared pinch hitters in the National League.
- Pat Burrell went to high school in San Jose and would be coming "home" to play for the Giants
- Between the years 2001-2008 Burrell hit 21 or more homeruns. He averaged 29 homeruns during that span.
- Mark DeRosa will most likely not be able to finish out the season, and Burrell is a veteran presence that could help team in similar ways.
- Pat has a good eye, and walks a lot.
- Burrell is only 33 years old which isn't "old" in baseball terms.

The Bad:
- Pat Burrell owns a career .253 average.
- Last season, his first with Tampa Bay, Burrell batted .221 with 14 homeruns. By far his worst career numbers.
- This season Burrell was batting .202, with 28 strikeouts (33 K%), and hit only 2 homeruns
- Pat Burrell has never been good defensively. Spending the past 1+ year as a DH will have only lessened his defensive ability.
- Burrell is not fast, and isn't a great baserunner either.
- He would take a roster spot away and basically be used as a PH.
- In the Rays offense, Burrell was a bottom-of-the-order guy. With all the offensive talent around him in Tampa Bay, there was not much pressure for him to be the "big bat", but he still did not perform.
- He is widely known to be a streaky hitter
- His power numbers will go down playing at AT&T Park.

Overall:
I understand this signing is a low risk situation with not much to lose. However, I believe the negatives outweigh the positives. He's on the downside of his career and lacks consitency. Being able to pinch-hit in late game situations is nice, but he would be a liabilty on the base paths and with the glove. If he played in the outfield, he would be limited to left field. A streaky hitter that may get one at-bat per game is not worth a spot on the Giants roster.