The Giants may be in last place, but these latest exchanges certainly have promise. Getting Dave Roberts back certainly makes it a little easier in the outfield, as well as the lineup on paper, as Bochy will undoubtedly slot him back in the leadoff role. Doesn’t look as if they’ll kick his leadoff replacement, Randy Winn, back down to the eighth slot, considering that he’s produced while Omar Vizquel and Pedro Feliz have not. The more speculative situation is what Schierholtz is up to do. Is he merely manning the fourth slot until Fred Lewis is again healthy? Is his hot start (.347/.347/.518) a meaningful development, or another Fresno fiction? Will he adapt to the routine of spot starts for Barry Bonds and a lot of wool-gathering on the bench, or will that undermine his prospects as much as it seemed to for Todd Linden?

More interesting are the changes to the bullpen. I’d rather have Messenger than Benitez for the rest of their active careers, while swapping out Russ Ortiz for Jonathan Sanchez adds yet another quality arm to the Giants’ relief options. I’m not a big believer that Brad Hennessey is going to hold down the closer’s job, which makes it possible that anybody could step up and claim it — including Sanchez and Messenger. I’m particularly intrigued by the idea that Sanchez might have the stuff for it, perhaps in a way akin to how Adam Wainwright and Jonathan Papelbon did, with just as much possibility that he either sticks in the role or eventually moves back to rotation work. What should be clear is that he’s too good to sequester in situational duties; lefties who throw consistently in the low 90s, and who supplement it with a plus change, simply don’t grow on trees. It’ll be interesting to see how Bochy sorts through his options.