San Francisco Giants prepared to sell Brett Pill’s rights to Korean team

Brett Pill‘s name rings with familiarity among San Francisco Giants fans, and fans of all NL West teams for that matter. On a team that is sometimes starved for offense, we all waited and wondered when Pill would get more at-bats and impact that offense.

Well, with Brandon Belt finally poised to take on a prominent role and Michael Morse making his arrival as a free agent, it appears the Giants simply do not have a place for Pill at first base or in the outfield. As such, Andre Baggarly of CSN Bay Area reports that Pill might not be in Major League Baseball next season. His destination? The Kia Tigers of the Korean Professional League:

"The Giants have an arrangement to sell Pill’s contract to the Kia Tigers of the Korean Professional League, a source told CSN Bay Area. A deal hasn’t been finalized because Pill and the Korean club haven’t agreed on a salary. If Pill doesn’t find favorable terms, he has interest from other clubs in Japan and Korea, sources said……Morse’s signing more or less made Pill redundant on the roster. Both are right-handed power hitters who can play left field and first base.”"

Here’s the thing about that, though. Morse is coming off a season in which he batted .215/.270/.381 with 13 home runs. After being traded from the Seattle Mariners to the Baltimore Orioles, he managed only a .103/.133/.103 line (not a type-o) in 12 games. The Giants will pay $6 million for one year of Morse, banking on a bounce-back campaign.

Pill, on the other hand, was under team control for a number of years (wouldn’t have been arbitration eligible until 2016). Even with a modest 2013 campaign in which he only hit .224/.272/.376 with three home runs, there might not end up being much of a difference between him and Morse next season – except their salary and their continent, that is.