Now that the Phillies have declined to offer free agent Pat Burrell arbitration, several teams have picked up their pursuit of the slugger, including the Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Angels, and San Francisco Giants according to MLB.com's Ken Mandel.
Mandel mentions that Burrell grew up in the Bay Area and implies that the Giants may be the favorites to land the outfielder. Burrell hammered 33 HR and had 86 RBI last year for the World Series Champion Phillies, and would provide a much needed offensive boost for the Giants who had only 94 home runs as a team last year. He would also be a lower cost option than Manny Ramirez or Mark Teixeira who are being courted by teams with much deeper pockets. If the Giants are in fact in "win now mode" signing Burrell or perhaps Adam Dunn would be a big step in the right direction.
