23-year old switch hitting Pablo Sandoval will finally have a home at 3B in 2010 for the Giants. He played in 153 games for the Giants last season and he was 189 for 572 (.330 avg, .943 OPS) with 79 runs scored, 25 homers, 90 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Look for Sandoval to improve his production numbers in 2010 as the Giants have put together a better lineup for this year around him. Sandoval also slimmed down over the winter which should help his defense. He made 11 errors in 120 games for the Giants at 3B last season while showing poor range.

30-year old Juan Uribe will backup Sandoval at 3B again in 2010. He played in 44 games at 3B for the Giants last season and he made 4 errors while showing slightly above average range. 34-year old right swinging Mark DeRosa will be the starting LF for the Giants but he could play 3B if the need arises in 2010. DeRosa played in 105 games for the Indians and Cardinals last season and he made 8 errors while showing slightly below average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2010: A

The Giants thought a return to the National League would spark 34-year old shortstop Edgar Renteria’s bat but it didn’t. Renteria played in 124 games for the Giants last season and he was 115 for 460 (.250 avg, .635 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 5 homers, 48 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. The Giants need Renteria to hit to his career norms of a .288 batting average with a .746 OPS or Juan Uribe will be getting a lot of P.T. at shortstop in 2010. Renteria made 14 errors in 123 games at shortstop last season while showing pretty poor range. The bottom line is that Renteria has to hit well to make up for his defense which is slipping badly.

30-year old righty swinging Juan Uribe comes into spring training as the Giants’ top utility man but he could push Renteria for his starting job. Uribe played in 122 games for the Giants last season and he was 115 for 398 (.289 avg, .824 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 16 homers, 55 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Uribe made 4 errors in 41 games at SS for the Giants last season while showing average range. Uribe will get a lot of playing time for the Giants even if he doesn’t win a starting job due to his bat.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SS IN 2010: C+

The Giants have signed 31-year old righty reliever/starter Todd Wellemeyer to a minor league deal. Wellemeyer pitched in 28 games (21 starts) for the Giants last season and he was 7-10 with a 5.89 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP. He has now pitched in 195 games (64 starts) in his major league career and he is 29-29 with 3 saves, a 4.74 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. Wellemeyer will give the Giants rotation insurance in case lefty Madison Bumgarner is not ready for the majors or if the Giants have any injuries in the rotation. He will likely settle into the pen as the long man in 2010.

The Giants traded one of their brightest prospects (Tim Alderson) to the Pirates last season for Freddy Sanchez. He was banged up the rest of the year but the Giants re-signed him. Now they want him to help kickstart the Giants offense in 2010. Sanchez played in 25 games for the Giants last season and he was 29 for 102 (.284 avg, .619 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 1 homer and 7 RBIs. He played in 111 games overall last season for the Giants and Pirates and he was 134 for 457 (.293 avg, .742 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 7 homers, 41 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Sanchez played in 110 games at 2B last season and he made 5 errors while showing above average range.

30-year old righty swinging Juan Uribe will be the Giants’ top utilty man this season and he can handle 2B. He played in 38 games at 2B for the Giants last season making only 1 error while showing poor range. I have no reason to think that Uribe can’t increase his range through practice because he is a natural shortstop.

27-year old righty swinging Kevin Frandsen really hustles but that didn’t make up for his poor offensive showing last season. He played in 23 games for the Giants last season and he was 7 for 50 (.140 avg, .384 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 1 RBI. Frandsen only made 1 error in 14 games at 2B last season while showing outstanding range. Look for him to start the year in the minors.

25-year old switch-hitting Emmanuel Burriss came out of last spring training with the starting 2B job but he couldn’t hang onto it because of his bat. He played in 61 games for the Giants last season and he was 48 for 202 (.238 avg, .559 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 13 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Burriss didn’t play too well on defense either for the Giants last season. He made 7 errors in only 61 games at 2B last season while showing poor range. He, like Frandsen, will be starting the year in the minors.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2010: B

The Giants have signed 36-year old righty reliever Guillermo Mota to a minor league deal. Mota pitched in 61 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers last season and he was 3-4 with a 3.44 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. He has now pitched in 609 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 36-39 with 8 saves, a 3.89 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. This was a good signing for the Giants as Mota will help out in the pen in 2010.