The Giants hope that 36-year old righty swinging shortstop Miguel Tejada still has something left in the gas tank because they are depending on him. Tejada played in 156 games for the Orioles & Padres last season in which he was 171 of 636 (.269 avg, .692 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 15 homers, 71 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He is not the same hitter he was before the Mitchell Report came out, so don’t expect him to hit over .300 with 30+ bombs in 2011. The numbers he had last season is probably his likely ceiling this year for the Giants. Tejada only played in 58 games at SS last season and he made 3 errors while showing slightly below average range.

26-year old switch hitting Emmanuel Burriss will likely be Tejada’s backup at SS this year. He played in 7 games for the Giants last season and he was 2 for 5 (.400 avg, .800 OPS) with 3 runs scored. Burriss also played in 72 games in A+AAA-ball last year in which he was 80 of 287 (.279 avg, .664 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 0 homers, 23 RBIs and 12 stolen bases.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE GIANTS SHORTSTOPS IN 2011: C+

The Giants really hope that 33-year old righty swinging Freddy Sanchez can stay healthy in 2011. He played in 111 games for the Giants last season and he was 126 of 431 (.292 avg, .739 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 7 homers, 47 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Sanchez only had 4 errors in 109 games at 2B last season but he showed terrible range. Part of the reason for the range problem could have been his health. If Sanchez can give the Giants 500 ABs in 2011 they will be very happy with him.

30-year old lefty swinging Mike Fontenot will back up Sanchez in 2011. He played in 103 games for the Cubs & Giants last season and he was 68 of 240 (.283 avg, .706 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 1 homer, 25 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Fontentot made 6 errors in only 49 games at 2B last season (that’s way too many) but he showed good range. Fontenot gives the Giants a solid option in case Sanchez breaks down again in 2011.

26-year old switch hitting Emmanuel Burriss is the #3 option for the Giants at 2B in 2011. Burriss played in 5 error-free games at 2B last season while showing terrible range. It’s a small sample on defense and he’s a natural SS, so I think he can handle 2B defensively. He has speed to burn on the basepaths but absolutely no power as he is a banjo hitter.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE GIANTS 2B IN 2011: C

The Giants have signed 34-year old righty starting pitcher Brian Lawrence to a minor league deal. Lawrence pitched in 26 games (25 starts) in AAA-ball for the Marlins last season and he was 11-8 with a 4.42 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors back in 2007 with the Mets. Lawrence has now pitched in 168 games (152 starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 50-63 with a 4.19 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. He will probably start the season in 2011 and get a call to San Francisco if the need arises and he’s pitching well in the minors. This was a nice low risk signing for the Giants.

The Giants have signed 32-year old righty swinging infielder Edgar Gonzalez to a minor league deal. He played in Japan last season and it didn’t go too well for him over there. Gonzalez has played in 193 games in parts of two years in the majors and he is 122 of 478 (.255 avg, .693 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 11 homers, 51 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Gonzalez is a big longshot to make the Giants in spring training.

The Giants have signed 40-year old righty reliever Elmer Dessens to a minor league deal. Dessens pitched in 53 games (0 starts) for the Mets last season and he was 4-2 with a 2.30 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. He has now pitched in 441 games (140 starts) in his first 14 years in the majors and he is 52-64 with 5 saves, a 4.44 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. I really like this pickup for the Giants as Dessens proved last season that he still has a lot left in the gas tank. I fully expect him to make the Giants’ bullpen out of spring training, working in the middle innings.

UPDATE: (2/14/2011) - The deal with Elmer Dessens has fallen through for some reason. That’s too bad because Dessens would have helped the bullpen.

34-year old lefty swinging Aubrey Huff was re-signed during the winter to serve as the Giants’ starting 1B once again in 2011. Huff played in 157 games for the Giants last season and he was 165 of 569 (.290 avg, .891 OPS) with 100 runs scored, 26 homers, 86 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. I look for Huff to add more RBIs in 2011 as the Giants’ batting order should be stronger. Huff only made 3 errors in 100 games at 1B for the Giants last season and he’s about average as a defensive player. Look for Huff to have another strong year in 2011, especially with a bat in his hands.

27-year old lefty swinging Travis Ishikawa has carved out a nice niche off the Giants bench. He played in 116 games for the Giants last season and he was 42 of 158 (.266 avg, .712 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 3 homers and 22 RBIs. Ishikawa has been a solid bench player and he’s an excellent defensive player as he didn’t make any errors in 73 games at 1B last season.

30-year old righty swinging Brad Eldred played in 106 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 104 of 394 (.264 avg, .893 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 30 homers, 84 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. He also played in 11 games for the Rockies last year and he was 6 of 24 (.250 avg, .750 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. Eldred has a ton of raw power but he would likely get exposed by major league pitching if forced into duty for the Giants. He didn’t have any errors in 6 games at 1B for the Rockies last season but he’s a tad below average defensively.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE GIANTS 1B IN 2011: B

The San Francisco Giants have signed 31-year old righty swinging outfielder Justin Christian to a minor league deal. Christian played in 103 games in AA+AAA-ball last season and he was 118 of 409 (.289 avg, .801 OPS) with 74 runs scored, 9 homers, 55 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. His only major league experience came back in 2008 with the Yankees. Christian played in 24 games for the Yankees in 2008 and he was 10 of 40 (.250 avg, .627 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 6 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Christian will be a longshot to win a job with the Giants this spring.