I like this deal. Span's the Man!!
It may seem like a poor man's Alex Gordon type of signing with the CF versatility, but I like what Span brings to the table as well. This is a Giants move. Dexter Fowler would have been a Giants move, Zobrist as well. But Span's the Man!! And he didn't cost a prospect, which Ozuna from the Marlins would have. And he didn't cost a draft pick, which Fowler apparently would have.
All things considered, a pretty good deal for the Giants, Span gets incentives if he stays healthy and hits AB marks. The only thing I worry about is that between Span and Pagan, maybe the Giants are playing that old pitching / draft strategy of "take two, because one will break".
Thank God for Gregor Blanco, right? Give that man a raise.
FROM MLBTRADERUMORS.COM
Giants Sign Denard Span
January 7th, 2016 at 10:07pm CST • By Jeff ToddThe Giants have announced the signing of free agent outfielder Denard Span to a three-year contract. He'll reportedly receive a $31MM guarantee in the deal, which includes a fourth-year mutual option at $12MM with a $4MM buyout.
Span, who turns 32 in February, can also earn incentives of up to $5MM. He can tack $1MM onto his salary in 2016, and up to $2MM apiece in the following two years, by hitting plate appearance thresholds that culminate at 525 turns at bat annually. Span is a client of the Boras Corporation.
And that approach has translated into results. While he doesn't leave the yard very often, Span delivers plenty of extra-base hits with his line-drive and ground-ball heavy stroke. Since joining the Nationals via trade before the 2013 season, he has posted a sturdy .292/.345/.404 batting line, good for a 109 wRC+. And those numbers trended up over his time in D.C.
Of course, the fleet-footed Span also contributes quite a bit on the bases. He's a significant stolen base threat — his 62 steals dating to the start of 2013 rank 22nd in baseball — but the value goes beyond that as well. Span has received positive marks from Fangraphs' BsR metric in every season of his career, making him one of the game's thirty best overall runners in that time frame.
Defensively, Span is a tough player to value. Metrics once valued him as a well-above-average center fielder. But the more recent results suggest that his range has declined. Last year, UZR hit Span with his worst-ever rating and DRS charged him with a rather remarkable -10 defensive runs saved over just 523 innings in the field.
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