Led by manager Bruce Bochy, the Giants will enter the 2011 season as the defending World Series champions for the first time since their days in New York, and they hope to find a way to repeat.
With an exception of the acquisition of shortstop Miguel Tejada and the departures of shortstop Edgar Renteria and second baseman Juan Uribe, the 2011 Giants will have a very similar feel to the squad that won it all in 2010.
Last season, the San Francisco Giants had the best team ERA in all of baseball, and the good news is that nearly their entire pitching staff is coming back next season. Starting pitchers Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez and Madison Bumgarner are all 27 years old or younger, and thus should all be as good, if not better in 2011.
Meanwhile, the Giants bullpen, which was strong in 2010, will again feature a deep group of relievers, including pitchers Sergio Romo, Jeremy Affeldt, Santiago Casilla, Ramon Ramirez and Javier Lopez.
With just 73 errors as a team, the Giants' defense was solid in 2010, and may have gotten better. Several young Giants have matured, while aging veterans Edgar Renteria and Juan Uribe should be replaced by the more athletic Mike Fontenot and Freddy Sanchez.
This leaves just one aspect of the Giants' team with room for improvement—putting runs on the board. The Giants ranked in the bottom of half of baseball last season in runs, were last in stolen bases, and were near the bottom in bases on balls.
While the Giants' managing, pitching staff and defense will likely carry the team again next season, San Francisco needs to add some extra bats in order to significantly improve their chances of making it deep into the playoffs once again next season.
Here are 10 bats the Giants should target via trade.
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