Even with Carlos Beltran aboard, the San Francisco Giants remain 5.5 games out of the NL West division lead and the Wild Card. With 11 games remaining in their season, the chances of making the playoffs seems dim. And their main problem is obvious: offense.
So when the offseason floodgates open in a few months, Giants' front office would be smart to look to improve their offense with bats with some upside, rather than Aubrey Huff-types.
With what's been a black hole at shortstop -- and at the leadoff spot in the order -- all season, San Francisco seems like a good fit for current New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes.
And even though Beltran is no sure lock to remain with the Giants after this season, he is doing his best Brian Sabean (general manager) impression.
"I think that's what I see from this year, the time that I've been here. We've had great pitching, a great bullpen. At the end of the day, the issue here has been, the team doesn't score runs. The only way you can manufacture runs is to have a guy at the top of the lineup who gets on base, steals bases and makes the job easier for the guys behind."
Beltran also said he "could be the second option" once the Giants found No. 1 hitter. And after prodding from San Francisco Chronicle writer Henry Schulman, Beltran praised Reyes.
"He's a great guy," Beltran said. "A lot of people look at him playing around and jumping around and think he's not serious about the game. That guy works hard better than any person in baseball. He shows up and plays hard. He's an unbelievable player, a guy who makes a difference on a team, offensively, defensively, on the basepaths."
Over the next several months -- until Reyes is signed -- speculation as to where he will go will run rampant. Reyes is a top-five talent at the shortstop position, so any team would want him. No team wants to spend a huge amount for a player who's value is in his injury-prone legs, however. And it doesn't appear that the Giants will have room in their budget to afford both Beltran and Reyes, anyway ... so Beltran's wishes don't appear likely.