Remember how I mentioned earlier that Ryan Theriot and Mike Fontenot were likely the favorites to share playing time at second base now that Freddy Sanchez is expected to begin the season on disabled list? Apparently not.
Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reports that the Giants are telling teams that they are shopping both Theriot and Fontenot. It’s not clear who may have interest, but Stark mentions the Braves and Phillies as potential fits.
Why are the Giants so willing to trade these guys? Good question. Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com was told today by a source that Emmanuel Burriss would be the Opening Day second baseman if the Giants had to choose right now.
Burriss, who is out of options this spring, is batting .436 (17-for-39) with five doubles, one triple, two RBI and five stolen bases during Cactus League action. However, the 27-year-old infieler owns a pretty lousy .250/.311/.281 batting line and a .592 OPS over 651 plate appearances in the major leagues.
Theriot is set to earn $1.25 million this season while Fontenot will make $1.05 million, but their contracts are non-guaranteed. The Giants will surely try to find a suitor over the next few days, but as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle noted yesterday, they have the option to release either of them by March 29 and recoup three-quarters of their salary for 2012.
