Signing free agents in the warm Arizona sun

With pitchers and catchers reporting today in Arizona, both the Cleveland Indians and San Francisco Giants added to their outfield situation with players that would add pop to positions that need it for both teams.
Farhan Zaidi and the Giants added other players as the Giants continue to sign players first and ask questions later.

The Giants signed the flashier name as they returned fan-favorite Hunter Pence to San Francisco on a one year contract that could see Pence make 5.5 million dollars, should he reach all of his incentives.
San Francisco allowed Pence to leave last season and Pence hit 18 homers for the Texas Rangers in just under 300 at-bats.
Pence also hit .297 for Texas and won some Comeback of the Year awards last season, so Pence might have more in the tank than was thought when the Giants allowed him to leave.
Pence will platoon in left field with Alex Dickerson and play mostly against left-handed pitching.

San Francisco also re-signed Pablo Sandoval and continued to throw darts at the wall and hope to hit the board with various players.
Sandoval hit .268 with 14 homers for the Giants in his return to the Bay Area in 272 at-bats before his season ended with an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery.
The Giants signed Billy Hamilton in what I hope will be as a defensive replacement and pinch-runner should he make the team.
Hamilton stole 22 bases last year between the Royals and Braves but hit a combined .218 in
a career that hasn't seen Hamilton be more than an offensive liability.
San Francisco also added second baseman Yolmer Sanchez, who hit .252 with two homers for the White Sox but did win the Gold Glove so Sanchez should have a shot at making the club, as Wilmer Flores should after hitting .317 with nine homers in 89 games with Arizona.
San Francisco also signed former Phillie's first baseman Darin Ruf after Ruf spent the last three years playing in the Korean league.
Ruf might provide some power for the always power-needy Giants, but he'll strike out a ton doing that.

San Francisco has also added some interesting arms over the last month with one being handed a spot in the rotation after an awful season with Texas and Philadelphia as Drew Smyly finished 4-7 with an ERA over six in twenty-one starts.
Smyly allowed 32 homers in 114 innings and I'm really dubious of this signing, especially after Smyly missed 2017 and 2018 due to injury.
Tyson Ross was signed after a 1-5 season with Detroit that saw his season ERA finish over six and Jerry Blevins was added as a situational reliever after spending last season with Atlanta.
Nick Vincent split the season with the Phillies and Giants, was mediocre with the Giants before being released, but excellent with the Phillies in two months.
I suppose that stretch made Vincent attractive enough for a return at a minor league contract.
The most interesting addition to me was Jarlin Garcia, a one-time top prospect for the Marlins, who finished with an ERA around three in fifty-three appearances.
I'm not sure why the Marlins would waive Garcia, but he could be an excellent addition to the Giant bullpen.

And the Indians?
They did add Domingo Santana for a crowded outfield situation that could use power from someone other than Franmil Reyes and Cameron Rupp for a veteran catcher for Columbus in case of injury and that's about it for a team that cut its payroll for the season by twenty-five percent.
Santana hit 21 homers for Seattle last season and hit 30 for the Brewers in 2017, so Santana can provide some power, but he also struck out 164 times in 507 at-bats last season and with Reyes in tow, Cleveland has two of the top six strikeout leaders in the game.
Plus Santana is notorious for his awful defense and if the Indians start a game with Santana in left and Reyes in right, that will be the worst defensive outfield in the game no matter who the centerfielder is on that evening.
Still for one million dollars, if Santana hits twenty homers he'll be a bargain- just make sure that the Indians have a defensive caddy ready for those late innings.
Cameron Rupp will likely be the veteran presence in Columbus unless he has the type of spring that pushes Sandy Leon to AAA.
Rupp hit 30 homers for the Phillies between 2016 and 2017 but has spent the last two seasons in AAA for various teams.

That wraps up the recent additions as the training camps in Arizona open this week for pitchers and catchers with two wildly different management styles.
I'm not against what the Giants do in signing anyone with a pulse and seeing what they have left and you could argue that the more flyers that you take the higher chance that you find a contributor.
As for the Indians, well the lack of even a little spending is yet another red flag for a franchise that continues to spend like K-Mart in a Tiffany's world.