SAN FRANCISCO -- When he took the Giants job last November, Farhan Zaidi's first opportunity to shape the roster came with his arbitration-eligible veterans. He decided to keep Joe Panik, Will Smith and Sam Dyson, while non-tendering Hunter Strickland and Gorkys Hernandez.
The Giants had no regrets there. Strickland got hurt in Seattle and traded to the Nationals, and he was easily replaced by the much cheaper Trevor Gott. Hernandez spent five months in Triple-A with the Red Sox and the Giants went out and eventually filled that hole with Kevin Pillar.
Pillar is one of six arbitration-eligible veterans this offseason, and he's the most fascinating case.