As day two of the Winter Meetings comes to a close, a lot of rumors have floated around concerning our beloved Giants.  Brian Sabean has been busy establishing contacts, some good, some not so good.  Let’s take a look at the accumulation from the last couple days.

• Along with seven other teams, the Giants have discussed Kevin Kouzmanoff with the Padres, allegedly offering Fred Lewis and Kevin Frandsen.  Kouzmanoff would represent a defensive upgrade, but an extreme offensive downgrade, with a career OBP of .308
• The Marlins have exchanged names in talks concerning infielder Dan Uggla with multiple teams.  The Giants are said to be one of the teams interested.  Uggla would a solid addition in the right deal.  Don’t deal Bumgarner, don’t deal Posey, and don’t deal Thomas Neal; then I’m on the bandwagon.  All that aside, Andrew Baggarly states that “there are no indications the Giants will maintain a hot and heavy pursuit.”  As of a couple minutes ago, the Giants are not considered to be serious bidders.  Other teams said to be in on Uggla include the Orioles and Red Sox.
• The Giants continue to make finding a catcher a priority.  With Ivan Rodriguez signing for two years and $6 million at the age of 38, things are looking bleak.  The front office has stated they only want a one year deal for any catcher they sign, and now the free agent market may want more than that.  At this point the options on the market boil down to Yorvit Torrealba (who is probably going to re-sign with the Rockies for multiyears) and Rod Barajas.  In other news, Bengie Molina is definitely not coming back.  There have been mutterings that the Giants may also be talking with the Pirates about switch-hitting catcher Ryan Doumit.  With the market for catchers drying up, Sabean has stated that it’s possible they may revisit Buster Posey as the Opening Day catcher.
• Other offensive options looked into by the Giants include second baseman Orlando Hudson (no thanks), Mark DeRosa (please God no) and whisperings of Jason Bay (what?).  Johnny Damon is “not a fit” according to two separate sources.
• With Brad Penny signing a lucrative deal with the Cardinals, the Giants are seriously considering slotting Madison Bumgarner into the rotation next season.  This means there isn’t a whole lot of flexibility in terms of dealing pitchers, especially if Bumgarner proves he isn’t ready.  The Giants would need a fallback plan should that happen, probably in the form of minor leaguers Kevin Pucetas or Joe Martinez.
• Outfielder Jermaine Dye continues to be a topic of discussion.  His advanced age and gruesome defense make him a pretty scary option.  What’s scarier is that he fits Sabean’s free agent profile perfectly.
• No word on Nick Johnson yet, but he’s alleged to have at least seven teams seeking his services, which could potentially spark a bidding war.  If that happens, the price-tag of the oft-injured first baseman may exceed the money we’d be willing to give him.  This is all purely speculation on my part though.
• Bruce Bochy has stated that Eugenio Velez is in for the “lions share” of playing time in left field, while Nate Schierholtz will have to fight for playing time in right field.  Makes perfect sense letting Velez, a career .264/.305/.396 hitter start over Schierholtz, who has a career line of .284/.316/.415 line.  God this team sometimes…

At this point it’s hard to imagine who the Giants would have on the trading block.  Our two biggest trade chips, Madison Bumgarner and Buster Posey, are completely off the table, and rightfully so.  That leaves guys like Nate Schierholtz, John Bowker, Fred Lewis, and Kevin Frandsen as our biggest trade assets.  Here’s a pretty informative clipping from Andrew Baggarly that sheds light on this…

Asked an exec from another club to assess the trade value of the Giants’ three pre-arbitration lefty-hitting outfielders:

Fred Lewis?

“None.”

Nate Schierholtz?

“Not much. Pretty much none.”

John Bowker?

“Some.”

It should be noted, though, that Schierholtz is having a very solid showing in the Puerto Rican winter league.

Two minor league names that have drawn trade inquiries from multiple teams: Left-hander Dan Runzler (no surprise there) and OF Francisco Peguero.

A lot of rumblings so far in a short 48 hours, and very likely more to come.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve been checking MLB Trade Rumors every ten minutes or so.  Kudos to them for their comprehensive coverage.  Double Kudos to Andrew Baggarly for his coverage as well.  Keep checking in for rolling updates on the Croix De Candlestick Twitter.