The Giants never figured out a role for righty starter/reliever Kelly Downs. He pitched with the Giants from 1986-1992 and he was solid. Downs pitched in 177 games (110 starts) for the Giants and he was 47-38 with 1 save, a 3.64 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He threw 11 complete games with the Giants including 6 of them that were shutouts. He only gave up 705 hits in 762 innings while only whiffing 494 batters meaning that he threw strikes and let the defense help him.

33-year old lefty swinging Aubrey Huff will be the starting 1B for the Giants in 2010. He played in 150 games for the Orioles and Tigers last season and he was 129 for 536 (.241 avg, .694 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 15 homers and 85 RBIs. The Giants are hoping that Huff will bounce back from a off year and provide them with his career norms of a .282 batting average with a .812 OPS. Huff is not a good defender at 1B as he made 4 errors in 93 games there in 2009.

26-year old lefty swinging Travis Ishikawa will have to fight for a job on the bench this spring but I think he will get one of them. He played in 120 games for the Giants last season and he was 85 for 326 (.261 avg, .716 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 9 homers, 39 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Ishikawa only made 3 errors in 113 games at 1B so he could stick with the Giants as a defensive replacement and a pinch hitter in 2010.

23-year old switch-hitting Pablo Sandoval will probably stick to 3B this season for the Giants. He played in 26 games at 1B for the Giants last season and he made 3 errors.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 1B IN 2010: C

The Giants made a smart move by bringing back 35-year old righty swinging Bengie Molina back for one more year. He played in 132 games for the Giants last season and he was 130 for 491 (.265 avg, .727 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 20 homers and 80 RBIs. Molina is one of the best clutch hitters on the Giants and he will be again in 2010. Molina only made 5 errors and 4 passed balls in 123 games behind the plate last season for the Giants. Molina also threw out 21% of the runners trying to steal against him last season and Giants’ pitchers had a 3.75 ERA with him behind the plate as they like throwing to him.

30-year old righty swinging Eli Whiteside will back-up Molina again in 2010. He played in 49 games for the Giants last season and he was 29 for 127 (.228 avg, .608 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 2 homers and 13 RBIs. I don’t think you can expect Whiteside to hit much better than he did last season as he was even a back-up in his minor league career. Whiteside made 5 errors and he had 5 passed balls in only 47 games behind the plate and that is just not acceptable. It wasn’t all bad on defense for Whiteside as he threw out 29% of the runners trying to steal on him and Giants’ pitchers had a 3.01 ERA with him behind the plate which was outstanding.

22-year old righty swinging Buster Posey is the future behind the plate for the Giants but it won’t start until 2011 unless Bengie Molina gets hurt. Posey played in 7 games for the Giants last season and he was 2 for 17 (.118 avg, .236 OPS) with 1 run scored. Posey also played in 115 games in A+AAA ball last season and he was 137 for 422 (.325 avg, .947 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 18 homers, 80 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Posey didn’t make any errors or have any passed balls in 40 innings behind the plate for the Giants last season. He also threw out 1 of 2 runners trying to steal against him last season and Giants’ pitchers had a 3.60 ERA with him behind the plate.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CATCHERS IN 2010: B

The Giants have designated 25-year old righty swinging 1B Jesus Guzman for assignment to make room on the roster for Bengie Molina. He played in 12 games for the Giants last season and he was 5 for 20 (.250 avg, .500 OPS). Guzman also played in 115 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 145 for 452 (.321 avg, .885 OPS) with 75 runs scored, 16 homers and 71 RBIs. Guzman has a nice upside so I don’t think he will make it through waivers.

The Giants have signed 29-year old righty reliever Denny Bautista to a minor league deal. Bautista pitched in 14 games (0 starts) for the Pirates last season and he was 1-1 with a 5.27 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP. He has now pitched in 100 games (21 starts) in his major league career and he is 9-15 with a 6.26 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. Look for the Giants to stash this guy in AAA and recall him only if the need arises.