San Diego Padres outfielder Brian Giles went from being a star in Pittsburgh to becoming completely underrated in San Diego.  The drop in home runs is what did it, but what do you expect from a guy playing his home games at Petco Park?  Giles went from being a perennial 40 home run threat to hitting 15 or less in each of his last four seasons.

The home run drop took him out of the spotlight, but it didn’t keep him from being a great player.

Giles has a .404 career OBP over 12+ MLB seasons, something very few active major leaguers can claim.  This skill isn’t particularly wavering either, as the 37 year old posted a .398 mark in 2008 thanks to 87 walks and a  .306 batting average.  His slugging percentage has dipped in recent years– which could be blamed on aging, Petco Park and possibly steroids– bringing him down to the line between good and average, but he was still good for 40 doubles and 12 homers last season.

Giles may be even more underrated in the field than he is in the plate.  You don’t typically think of a 37 year old former power hitter as a defensive asset, but Giles is exactly that.  According to John Dewan’s +/- system, Giles was the second best right fielder in all of baseball, registering a +20, trailing only Franklin Gutierrez’s +29.  He was also in the top half of the league in Probabilistic Model of Range (PMR), and Revised Zone Rating (RZR).

Giles would fill several holes for Seattle.  He would be the team’s only legitimate number-3 hitter.  You want a decent average, high OBP and some pop out of your number three hitter, and that’s just what Giles is.  He is also a lefty hitter, which is always a plus at Safeco Field.

He improves the outfield defense by adding his solid glovework, good range and strong arm to right field while pushing Ichiro to center field.  Center may not be the best choice for Ichiro at this point, but he’d still be better defensively than several other internal options, and certainly the best offensive option for that position.  Giles would also be a great example for Seattle’s young hitters, especially Jeff Clement.

Giles’ $9M option was picked up by the Padres this offseason, making him a free agent heading into 2010.  At that price he is an absolute steal, and the Padres know it.  Unfortunately, San Diego is under a bit of a financial crisis (thanks in part by owner John Moores’ divorce), and they could stand to shed his contract.

The major hurdle is Giles’ no-trade clause.  It’s no secret that Giles loves playing in San Diego, his hometown, and he has made every attempt to stay there.  He had a limited (8 teams) no-trade clause in 2007-2008, and used every last one of his blocks, nixing deals to Baltimore, Boston, Detroit, Tampa Bay, Florida, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Washington.  I’m not sure how it works for 2009, but I would assume he gets to pick eight new teams.  I will try to find out, though.

Would the Padres trade Giles?  Yes.  They are shedding salary and getting younger, and I can’t imagine it would take much in terms of talent to pry him away.  If they were to ask for top prospects it would be an obvious deal-breaker, but I don’t think they’ll do that in their situation.

Would Giles accept a trade to Seattle?  My first guess would be no, but I like to think that Seattle would be more appealing to him than the eight teams he’s blocked in the past.  Those teams are primarily out towards the east coast.  Seattle is much closer to San Diego than all of them, and has the easy-going west coast mentality going for it as well.  If the Padres explained to Giles that they just couldn’t afford to keep him on, perhaps he’d “settle” for a trade to Seattle.  He’s been open to Arizona, Colorado, Los Angeles and San Francisco in the past.

Giles is a great player and a perfect fit for Seattle as a stopgap, and the Mariners would be smart to at least check up on his availability, whether they plan on contending in 2009 or not.

Giles stats: Baseball Reference, Fan Graphs, Stat Corner, Hardball Times, Cot’s contract info