28-year old righty closer Brian Wilson just keeps getting better with age like a fine wine. He has pitched in 53 games (0 starts) for the Giants this year and he is 3-1 with 35 saves, a 1.94 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He has whiffed 75 batters in only 55 2/3 innings which gives you an idea of what kind of stuff he has. Wilson also keeps the ball in the yard as he has only given up 2 homers this year which makes it really hard for teams to mount a comeback against him.

The Giants have placed 36-year old righty reliever Guillermo Mota on the 15-day disabled list due to a knee problem. He has pitched in 51 games (0 starts) for the Giants this year and he is 1-3 with 1 save, a 4.78 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. Mota’s probably not injured too bad but the Giants needed his roster spot for Cody Ross.

The Giants have designated 26-year old righty swinging infielder Matt Downs for assignment. Downs played in 29 games for the Giants this year and he was 19 of 78 (.244 avg, .690 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 7 RBIs. He played in 46 games in two years for the Giants and he was 28 of 131 (.214 avg, .619 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 2 homers, 9 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Giants needed Downs’ roster spot for the newly acquired Cody Ross.

UPDATE: (8/25/2010) - The Giants have lost Downs on waivers to the Astros.

The Giants have claimed 29-year old righty swinging outfielder Cody Ross off waivers from the Marlins. Ross played in 120 games for the Marlins this year and he is 120 of 452 (.265 avg, .721 OPS) with 60 runs scored, 11 homers, 58 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Ross has now played in 603 games in seven years in the majors and he is 518 of 1,958 (.265 avg, .787 OPS) with 263 runs scored, 83 homers, 312 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. The Giants were probably trying to block a team ahead of them in the standings (Padres, Phillies) from getting their hands on Ross. They probably didn’t think the Marlins would just let him go like they did. This could wind up being a great move by the Giants as they gave up nothing for Ross who can play any position in the outfield.

34-year old outfielder Jose Guillen and 30-year old infielder Mike Fontenot are off to good starts for the San Francisco Giants. Guillen has played in 5 games for the Giants and he is 7 of 16 (.438 avg, 1.125 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. Fontenot has played in 4 games for the Giants so far and he is 3 for 12 (.250 avg, .583 OPS) with 1 run scored. The bullpen has really gotten good work out of the new guys. 28-year old righty Ramon Ramirez has pitched in 8 games (0 starts) and he is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. 32-year old lefty Javier Lopez has pitched in 9 games (0 starts) and he is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA and a 0.57 WHIP. Chris Ray is injured right now and one or two bad games have really skewed his stats. Ray has pitched in 20 games for the Giants so far and he is 3-0 with 1 save, a 5.40 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. I really like the moves the Giants made to improve the team as they really didn’t give up much talent in any of these deals.

33-year old righty swinging LF Pat Burrell is proving to be quite the stealth signing for the Giants earlier this year. They felt that his struggles at DH were because he needed the edge of playing in the field and they were right. Burrell has played in 59 games for the Giants this year and he is 49 of 176 (.278 avg, .910 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 12 homers and 32 RBIs. Burrell has now played in 83 games for the Giants & Rays overall in 2010 and he is 66 of 260 (.254 avg, .818 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 14 homers and 45 RBIs. The Giants need all the offense they can muster so they need Burrell to finish the year strongly.

The Giants have placed 28-year old righty reliever Chris Ray on the 15-day disabled list with a right intercostal strain. Ray has pitched in 20 games (0 starts) for the Giants this year and he is 3-0 with 1 save, a 5.40 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. The Giants have activated 31-year old lefty reliever Jeremy Affeldt off the D.L. to replace Ray in the pen. Affeldt has pitched in 37 games (0 starts) for the Giants this year and he is 2-3 with 3 saves, a 4.11 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP.

The Giants have acquired 34-year old righty swinging outfielder Jose Guillen and cash from the Royals for a player to be named later.  Guillen played in 106 games for the Royals this year and he was 101 of 396 (.255 avg, .743 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 16 homers and 62 RBIs.  He has now played in 1,608 games in his 14 years in the majors and he is 1,557 of 5,760 (.270 avg, .762 OPS) with 739 runs scored, 211 homers, 872 RBIs and 31 stolen bases.  The plan appears to be to start Guillen in RF and move Aubrey Huff back to 1B.  I like this move for the Giants who continue to tweak the roster in an attempt to overtake the Padres in the N.L. West.

The Giants are very pleased with how well 27-year old righty reliever Sergio Romo has pitched this year. Romo has pitched in 48 games (0 starts) for the Giants this year and he is 5-3 with a 2.11 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. He has only allowed 35 hits in 47 innings this season for the Giants and he has 49 strikeouts showing just how nasty his stuff is. Romo has been a solid set-up man this year making games more like 7 innings with Brian Wilson coming in behind him.

The Giants have acquired 30-year old lefty swinging 2B/3B Mike Fontenot from the Cubs for 22-year old righty swinging outfielder Evan Crawford. Fontenot played in 75 games for the Cubs this year and he is 48 of 169 (.284 avg, .734 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 1 homer, 20 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 422 games in his five years in the majors and he is 276 of 1,025 (.269 avg, .757 OPS) with 130 runs scored, 22 homers, 132 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Evan Crawford is not a very highly thought of prospect. He played in 109 games in A-ball for the Giants this year and he was 110 of 432 (.255 avg, .684 OPS) with 64 runs scored, 4 homers, 29 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. Crawford played in 156 games in two years in the minors for the Giants and he was 164 of 612 (.268 avg, .706 OPS) with 101 runs scored, 5 homers, 59 RBIs and 38 stolen bases. Fontenot’s versatility and bat will make him a welcome addition to the Giants down the stretch.