FanNation - The Republic of Sport

By Dugout Staff Adam White: Keeping Giambi is a No-Brainer If someone replaced your Lexus LS with a 2006 Honda Accord, you wouldn???t throw the Accord out, would you? Of course not. You???d make the necessary adjustments and accept (and appreciate) the fact that you have a solid performer in your driveway. That???s what the Yankees need to do with Jason Giambi. They need to be okay with the fact that he???s just a solid performer and lower their expectations accordingly. No need to throw him out, especially when you???ve got a Ferrari at third and in the bullpen, and a couple of Lexus in the rotation and at short. Giambi is not the old Giambi of the Athletics. We all know that. He won???t put up 40 home runs and 120 RBIs with averages of .330/.450/.600. He isn???t the guy you want protecting Alex Rodriguez in the line-up. He isn???t the guy you want coming up late in the game against a hard-throwing reliever. And, you know what? That???s fine. There aren???t many players who have those characteristics. Here???s what Giambi is. He???ll hit .250. He???ll get on base almost 40% of the time. He???ll slug around .500. He???ll hit around 30 home runs over a full season. He???ll take a lot of pitches. And he???ll play adequate defense when he???s needed at first. Assuming the return of a healthy Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui, you bat Giambi seventh or eighth, where his production would be far about the league average. And it???s not like there are a bunch of better alternatives. Mark Teixeira is the sexy free agent of 2009, but he???s slugging .506 this year compared to Giambi???s .511. He???s great with the glove, but is there enough of an upgrade overall to justify a six-year, $130M or so contract? After Teixeira there isn???t much available in free agency. Kevin Millar anyone? There???s also no immediate first base help in the minors. Baseball America projects Jesus Montero to be the Yankees starting first baseman in 2011, but he???s just 18 and in Single-A. The Yankees best bet is to retain Giambi???s services. They need to go to him and work out a new deal for significantly less than the $22M he???s owed for 2009. Something around $25M for two years might work, and after considering the sunk cost of the $5M buyout, the price would effectively be $20M for two years. In today???s game, that???s a fair price for a dependable Honda, and it would give them the financial flexibility to buy another Ferrari in CC Sabathia. Chuck Johnson: Time to Say Farewell to Giambi The Yankees need to exercise Giambi???s option, ship him out and find a replacement that can be counted on to produce in clutch situations. Giambi has shown, more often than not, his skills and effectiveness as a legitimate power option in the middle of the Yankees lineup have all but disappeared. Some of his surface numbers (.391 on-base percentage and .511 slugging percentage) appear good, but a look inside his splits reveals why Giambi is best suited to be elsewhere in 2009. Consider: When batting fifth this year, he???s hitting .207 with five home runs and 35 RBIs He???s hitting .206 with runners in scoring position ??? with a .304 slugging percentage In 16 plate appearances with the bases loaded, he???s hitting .071 with one home run and 11 RBIs In late game situations (seventh inning and on), he???s hitting .217 and slugging just .413 He???s hitting .183 against power pitchers, with almost 36 percent of his balls in play being to the left side ??? an indication Giambi has trouble getting around on the fastball Simply put, Giambi is not someone you want up at the plate in important situations, especially late in games. Throw in the fact that Giambi???s days as a contributing defensive player are long gone, and it???s difficult, if not impossible, to justify $22M for a designated hitter with declining hitting skills. Even if Giambi is willing to come back at a lower price, it???s difficult to justify spending much more than his buyout. So what???s the alternative to Giambi? We all know the big fish on the free agent market is Angels first baseman Mark Teixeira. He won???t be cheap, but he???s worth the money. He???s a legitimate middle of the line-up guy to go along with Alex Rodriguez ??? and he brings gold glove defense. If it???s not Teixeira, then the Yankees could re-sign Ivan Rodriguez and permanently station Jorge Posada at first. Xavier Nady is also an option, as he???s played 79 games at first in his career. As for what happens to Giambi? He won???t have a big pool of suitors. Maybe he takes a swan song in his original stomping grounds in Oakland. He???ll need to take a big reduction in salary, of course. Maybe a Kansas City will see value in Giambi as a part-time DH/pinch-hitter. Oh - and don???t worry about him taking the trip north on I-95 to Fenway. Despite Red Sox GM Theo Epstein???s apparent love of on-base percentage (the one thing Giambi can still consistently do), he???s got David Ortiz firmly planted at DH. With neither Ortiz nor Giambi competent in the field, only one of them could play at a time. And what???s the point of that.