GIANTS NOTES: Sabean on Buster Posey: Nobody thinks he's ready to catch 100-plus games in the big leagues”
Andrew Baggarly on December 4th, 2009

The Giants aren't sure who will be their catcher on opening day, but it almost certainly wont be Bengie Molina or Buster Posey.

Giants GM Brian Sabean said he and his staff determined this week that Posey, their best position prospect in a generation, isnt ready to catch 100-plus games in the big leagues.

That was the biggest news to come out of a conference call in advance of the winter meetings in Indianapolis. Look for a full explanation from Sabean a little further down.

But first, here are the other news points:

The Giants offered Brad Penny a final one-year offer” with a clock of Nov. 25 and it was turned down. The club also offered Juan Uribe a one-year contract with an option and buyout language, which also was turnd down. Sabean said it's fair to assume that neither player will fit at price points the team is comfortable paying, and likely will not return.

"Bob Howry has been told there could be interest in re-signing him, but no numbers have been discussed.

"Sabean sounded less sure he'd get another No.5 starter to replace Penny. There is less resistance to the idea of Madison Bumgarner beginning the season in the rotation.

"The Giants will not sign any Type A free agents that would cause the club to sacrifice its first-round draft pick. That means, officially, no Jason Bay or Matt Holliday. And Sabean said, yes, those Type As that weren't offered arbitration (a list that includes Jermaine Dye) are more sensible targets as a result.

"Sabean said he suspects Molina already has a multiyear offer, but he explained why the club didn't offer arbitration:

Succinctly put, we don't need another arbitration case. I think that's obvious. While we'd like to have him back, if it were possible, short on a one-year, we'd want to be more in control of the situation. Part of that is because we have multiple needs and we want to spread the money throughout the roster. They're not showing any lean in our direction and I feel strongly he'll get a multiyear deal if he hasn't gotten one already.”

Back to Posey. Here's Sabean on the decision:

Huge topic this week. We really had a lot of good input. Our relative conclusion is two things: After his first full season, he was pretty whipped. Some of it is just by nature; He hasn't played enough professionally. And in some ways, it's easier to play rather than do what he did. He was in big leagues as an emergency situation, a third catcher, and he caught all the bullpens. He also did that in the Fall League because he was playing three times a week. It was pretty obvious to us the rigors took its toll, which is not uncommon. By comparison to others, he's caught very little, including guys who become full-time catchers. It might be a tall order to ask him to do this. We'd like to get somebody, if we make the decision not to let (Posey) start the season, to be more full-time. And Buster;s in position he would earn it or convinced us (that promoting him) is in the best interest of everybody. We've got a short list of what we think of as viable options (as free-agent catchers), but we're not engaged to point it'll happen fast.”

Is it awkward to try to attract a full-time catcher when you can't guarantee Posey would take his job in a few months?

Not in the discussions we've had. They're aware of what's going on, including Buster's time with us already and what future might be. We told them we have to be open-minded. I don't know if half the year would be enough (for Posey). Check how many games he's actually caught. It's minuscule compared to people who had a lot more than that and got to the big leagues. Obviously, we have a premium staff. First and foremost, he'd have to take on those duties. We know he's going to hit, but if for some reason he does not, you wouldn't want to be in that position to send him back or put that kind of pressure on him. That's our overall concern. He may be better off to earn his way here.”

Are you only offering a one-year contract to free-agent catchers?

People know our intent and what our comfort zone is. A multiyear deal wouldn't be wise and that's what you're sitting into now. We're not at the stage we've made any money offers.”

Are you absolutely decided to start Posey at Triple-A, then?

That's our lean now. We haven't crossed that bridge yet. There's no guarantees we can get the type of person we want and we have to be resourceful with (Posey as) a Plan B. Our overall conclusion from a baseball standpoint is (that) nobody thinks he's ready to catch 100-plus games in the big leagues. That would be a tall order. Could he be introduced at some point and learn as he went? That's probably the better solution. But we haven't crossed the bridge because we don't know what's possible in terms of the alternatives.”

Is this catching situation worrisome?

The feeling I get from the conversations I have is we'll have enough time.”