Sabean: Giants Not Chasing ‘High-Ticket Items'

It's hot-stove season and the Giants are in need of an outfielder. But according to Giants general manager Brian Sabean, the team is not going to chase any "high-ticket items."

For those of you not familiar with the auction-style terminology, what Sabean is saying is San Francisco's not going to go out and drop serious cash on an outfielder, no matter how badly they need one.

"We’re not in on any high-ticket items," Sabean said, per John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Shea believes this includes former Braves outfielder Michael Bourn, who's reportedly been locking for something silly north of the nine-figure range (his agent is Scott Boras; such is life).

Also counting as "high ticket"? Josh Hamilton. Dude ain't coming to San Francisco, if you believe Sabean.

Two guys that could come, though, are Shane Victorino and Angel Pagan. (Although Pagan technically would count as "not leaving," but whatever.) Shea reports the Giants are "still interested" in Victorino in the event that Pagan walks.

Baseball's free agency is weird like this -- guys like Victorino and Pagan sometimes take forever to sign, so they can see how the outfield market shapes up. The Braves signed B.J. Upton to a stunning $75 million, so it's quite possible these guys think that holding out longer will equate to bigger cash.

The Giants likely disagree on the relative cost of a high(er) end outfielder, and would probably prefer to wait and see if Hamilton and Bourn could potentially push the market down. If teams run out of need for centerfielders and the two big names don't max out their deals, San Francisco could get some relative value out of the market.

It would be nice to have the Giants lock someone down, but at this point it would be prudent to trust Sabean's patience.

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