The San Francisco Giants just couldn’t hit at all last year and it ruined a outstanding effort from the pitching staff. Here is a trio of free agents that would really help boost the Giants’ offense in 2012:

1. Jimmy Rollins - The Giants could use a legit leadoff hitter. Getting one like Rollins that fills a Black Hole at shortstop would be outstanding!

2. Ryan Ludwick - Righty swinging LF/RF Ryan Ludwick showed off impressive power numbers despite playing for the Padres for quite a while last year. He would give the Giants a solid right-handed power stick for the middle of the batting order in 2012.

3. Ramon Castro - When Buster Posey went down for the season due to injury, the Giants turned to Eli Whiteside….who can’t hit. Ramon Castro has a ton of power in his bat.

25-year old switch-hitting 3B Pablo “Kung Fu Panda” Sandoval finished tied for 17th in the voting for the 2011 N.L. MVP Award with closer John Axford of the Brewers. Sandoval played in 117 games for the Giants in 2011 and he was 134 of 426 (.315 avg, .909 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 23 homers, 70 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 463 games in his first four years with the Giants and he is 524 of 1,706 (.307 avg, .857 OPS) with 219 runs scored, 64 homers, 247 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Hopefully Sandoval will come to spring training in shape like he did in 2011.

34-year old switch-hitting RF Carlos Beltran finished 20th in the voting for the 2011 N.L. MVP Award. Beltran played in 142 games for the Mets & Giants last year and he was 156 of 520 (.300 avg, .910 OPS) with 78 runs scored, 22 homers, 84 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,768 games in his first 14 years in the majors and he is 1,917 of 6,767 (.283 avg, .857 OPS) with 1,184 runs scored, 302 homers, 1,146 RBIs and 293 stolen bases. The Giants should really try to bring Beltran back as they need his bat.

The Giants have designated 26-year old righty swinging outfielder Darren Ford for assignment. Ford played in 26 games for the Giants last year and he was 4 for 14 (.286 avg, .661 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 0 homers, 0 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Ford has now played in 33 games in his first two years with the Giants and he is 4 for 14 (.286 avg, .661 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 0 homers, 0 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. The Giants probably hope Ford gets through waivers as they like his speed.

The Giants have designated 25-year old righty reliever Wladis Joaquin for assignment. Joaquin pitched in 5 games (0 starts) for the Giants last year and he was 1-0 with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. He pitched in 19 games (0 starts) in parts of three years with the Giants and he is 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP. The Giants like Joaquin, so they hope he gets through waivers.

UPDATE: (11/30/2011) - Wladis Joaquin cleared waivers and rejected an outright minor league assignment from the Giants, so he is a free agent now.

27-year old starting pitcher Tim Lincecum finished 6th in the voting for the N.L. Cy Young Award in 2011. He pitched in 33 games (all starts) for the Giants last year and he was 13-14 with a 2.74 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Lincecum has now pitched in 156 games (155 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 69-41 with a 2.98 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Lincecum has already won 2 N.L. Cy Young Awards and there is no reason to think that he won’t win one or more the rest of his career.

27-year old righty starting pitcher Matt Cain finished in 8th place in the voting for the 2011 N.L. Cy Young Award. Cain pitched in 33 games (all starts) for the Giants last year and he was 12-11 with a 2.88 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He has now pitched in 204 games (203 starts) in his first 7 years with the Giants and he is 69-73 with a 3.35 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. It’s stunning to me that Cain has a losing record so far in his major league career, as he has been an outstanding pitcher. If the Giants start scoring more runs, Matt Cain has the potential to win a Cy Young or two.

22-year old lefty starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner finished tied for 10th in the 2011 Cy Young Award voting in the N.L. with fellow Giants’ pitcher Ryan Vogelsong. Bumgarger pitched in 33 games (all starts) for the Giants last year and he was 13-13 with a 3.21 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. He has now pitched in 55 games (52 starts) in his first three years with the Giants and he is 20-19 with a 3.10 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. Bumgarner is going to be a fixture in the Giants’ rotation for a long time as he is still just scratching the surface of his potential.

34-year old righty starting pitcher Ryan Vogelsong came out of nowhere to finish tied for 10th in the voting for the N.L. Cy Young Award with fellow Giants’ pitcher Madision Bumgarger. Vogelsong pitched in 30 games (28 starts) for the Giants last year and he was 13-7 with a 2.71 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He has now pitched in 150 games (61 starts) in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 23-29 with a 4.71 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. It will be interesting to see if Vogelsong’s 2011 season was a fluke or a vision of things to come out of him, and we will find that out in 2012.

56-year old Bruce Bochy finished tied for 6th (with Clint Hurdle of the Pirates) for the N.L. Manager of the Year Award. Bochy led the Giants to a 87-76 (53.1%) record last season despite having an offense that was pathetic. Bochy is now 1,360-1,376 (49.7%) in his first 17 years as a manager in the major leagues. He was the Manager of the Year back in 1996, and he could win this award in the near future for the Giants….if they start hitting the ball better.