Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi discussed his team’s outfield situation in the wake of the team’s failed pursuit of Bryce Harper. As John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports, Zaidi won’t be rushing out in search of a replacement star.
The Giants’ pursuit of Harper, while clearly genuine, was not premised upon a need to boost the 2019 roster. The club hopes to be competitive in the coming season — Zaidi reiterated the point again today — but obviously also understands it isn’t terribly likely to field a playoff team.
Having missed out, Zaidi says, “the Plan B really takes place over 12 years, not just a couple of days.” In the near-term, the club will be able to engage in “continued pursuit of some guys in the trade or free-agent market [that] probably would’ve been precluded” in the event of a Harper deal.
What might the club be looking for? The preference is for a right-handed hitter, says Zaidi, perhaps reflecting the fact that both Steven Duggar and Gerardo Parra appear likely to crack the roster as left-handed-hitting outfield pieces. Veteran free agent Adam Jones makes some potential sense, though Zaidi says that trade scenarios appear more likely at this point.
Guessing at trade targets is difficult, since roster battles are still taking shape and other moves could drive the final decisions. Zaidi says he anticipates exploring roster changes right up through the end of camp, so it seems he’s ready to wait out the market if needed.
Barry Bonds?
Too bad he’s a lefty
Not a splash, but I’m sure Kevin Pillar could be acquired on the cheap. Seems to fit the mold they say they’re looking for.
Kevin Pillar can’t hit. Why trade for him?
Strong defender, RH bat, would be strong fit in a platoon, can steal some bases, reasonable contract. In fact, his bat is more average just misses too much and doesn’t walk. Perhaps a new voice will help with that whether in Toronto or not.
I mean, they already have a LH version of Pillar in Parra.
What!? Pillars is a stellar defender. Parra is no comparison at all. Parra has a career war of 10.8 in 10 years. Pillar at 14.3 in 6 years.
Well for one he’s better than any of the options they currently have on the team and on the farm that’s why. Plus this team is not competing for anything so decent stopgaps do make sense.
No room. The Mac Attack and Duggar have CF and LF locked up, RF is a platoon between Maybin and Parra.
Mac has never been able to lock anything up. Relying on him is plain irresponsible
Milkman yup you’re exactly right
Sounds like a losing plan.
“Max Attack has LF locked up.”
A few weeks early for April Fools, aren’t we ?
Let’s wait for Mac to get through a whole season without getting injured first. If he could approach his pre-concussion form from last year, he would be the LF for sure.
I am a big supporter of Pillar. He is always a 2-3 WAR player based on his defense, despite a below average bat which doesn’t hurt his value too much. His OPS+ was 93 last year, at 7% below average, that’s not a huge liability with his other values.
The biggest hit IMO to Pillar is that he plays too much vs RHP. If he played more like 400 AB vs LHP and a reduced load vs RHP he could be a solid addition for many teams. As well he can play all 3 OF positions and wont hurt you if he has to play full time in the event of an injury.
I have always thought he will be able to carry his yearly adjustments longer term and fix some of his challenges but so far he has not. He tends to have an annual hot streak which is credited to plate/stance adjustments.. That tends to fade over the year and he cools, followed by more hot streaks.
He is a very good contact hitter which hurts him, he swings too much at poor pitches resulting in poor contact. He doesn’t SO much but if he can learn a little more discipline he would find his way to a league average bat and increase his overall value.
It is near impossible to get 400 AB against LH in a season. More like half that many.
I said “reduced” AB vs RHP not strictly a lefty platoon.
I think they were saying that your comment appears to propose that he should get 400ABs exclusively against lefties, which is pretty much impossible in a full season. I’m guessing you meant that he should get 400ABs total with the majority coming against lefties
Plan B: We stick with the awful mix of bums we currently have.
Plan A: Why should we bother with players that can’t hit.
Plan B takes 12 years…how long was his contract?
He won’t last half of that time.
why, does he have cancer or something?
Giants’ OF for as long as I can remember, in one word: Old. I’m stingy; Yanks did not make a serious move, for Harper. Your 12 year $300M+ offer for Harper was more respectable. Respect the Giants, despite them losing out on Harper, and seemingly stuck in middle, baseball purgatory. (Worst place)
I’m salty* ^^
Not for long. Duggar is here to stay, Shaw has some of the most raw power I have seen from a prospect in years.
mlb.com/video/shaw-s-2-run-homer-in-8th-c252322818…
Shaw’s monster home run against the Reds this Spring. Easily the longest home run hit by a giant and might be the longest hit by anybody this spring.
Fully agree!
A 26 year old rookie and 2nd year player. If thats your top talent you need some serious help at the position.
Since you are such an expert, what is your proposal for a Giants move? Didn’t you want to give Kimbrel a $100 million dollar contract?
At one point before his awful post-season, yes.
Relievers can be so volatile!
I dont know why, want to one get $100M in my life, Vince.
I’m a long time Giants fan. I waited 40 years for them to win a WS. They got a few kids in the minors that could turn into something special. I’m willing to wait.
You won 3 World Series in the last decade. Yeah, you should be willing to wait, that’s how it works.
Good in you Vince. Five years of suckage+five years of food drafting = potential rings.
We’ve had more than our fair share. Giants fans like us have seen more parades in the last decade than 99.9% of baseball fans will ever see.
stephanie, that is not at all accurate as both Boston and New York have added more world series titles than 3 in a reasonable number of years.
4 since 2004 and counting!
Can’t get hitting go find GG caliber players Zaidi. They save runs and won’t have to score as much. Rather have a starting lineup of GG or SS?
If Mac Williamson is healthy, he is the right-handed power bat the Giants need. Every reason to believe that he can hit .240 with 20-plus home runs over 500 at-bats. This is not extraordinary, but it is not horrible either.
.240 with 20 homers is not going to cut it. Unless you are trying to be extraordinarily mediocre
.248 was league ave in 2018. So it will cut it. Good job having knowledge before posting a false claim
A left fielder on a big market team with a winning pedigree should be better than league average
They have won with much worse in LF
Have you seen who the Giants have been trotting out there the last couple years? I’d be fine with a .240, 20+ home run, 75 RBI left fielder. In fact, I’d bake a cake.
Well, actually it was well above .250 and slugging above .420. You are trying to compare a leftfielder to a catcher? or a second baseman? or everyone around the league?
.240 and 20 homers will be below average production for an outfielder. So get YOUR facts straight.
20 hrs for playing @ Oracle (at&t) is impressive, it is like a 30+ season away list other ballparks.
I understand your point, but you should also take into account the ballpark, home runs are harder at AT&T than at some other parks like Coors, which slightly skews averages.
Too many aging, back-end of career guys. The Giants made the same mistake the Phillies did 10 years ago. They won with their core players, fell in love with them, and next thing you know, they are stuck with aging contracts and players that aren’t producing at the level they were signed for.
Yup, been saying this myself for several years now. The longer they wait to tear this roster apart the longer it’ll be until the Giants are relevant again.
When is everyone going to understand that you can’t tear down the contracts the Giants have with the no trade clauses everyone has? They are forced to play with the hand Evans dealt.
It’s worse than that. They went and added more aging players with large contracts to the aging core just to compound the problem, ie Longoria
I think that had a great run of rings, really only Longoria at the end seemed like a big waste.
Astros look to have one or two surplus outfielders available for trade. Springer and Brantley are locks, but for the 3rd and 4th OF spots, Houston has a number of candidates: Marisnick, Kemp, Tucker, Fisher, Reddick, Straw. I could see SFG getting interested in one of those half-dozen Houston OFers who doesn’t fit in with Luhnow’s vision for 2019.
How about a deal for Mad bum?
Now THAT would be fun to watch: madbum, JV, and Cole in the postseason again with that Astros lineup…look out Sox/Yanks … Kinda sad that we already know it will only be some combination of four teams in the AL in october.. NL has a lot more intrigue in that each division has 2-4 competitive teams
I know Cleveland’s OF situation is a mess, but they still have Ramirez, Lindor and a great rotation. No one should be sleeping on that team, especially in October. If their pitchers are on and they get the right guys hot, they can beat anybody in a 7 game series.
He said 4 teams…. the unnamed team is clearly Cleveland.
Is it clear? Then is he sleeping on the Rays? The Rays won 90 games last season and did it with the most IP by rookies and the most PA by rookies in all of MLB. They also have the 2nd best farm system in baseball to go along with that rookie filled 90 win MLB team. Even if they struggle to win the division, Blake Snell gives them a solid chance in any one game wild card scenario.
I think a deal for Will Smith is more likely. He was one of the best relievers in baseball last year.
For Springer, sure !
Even in this time period, there are a handful of players you simply do not trade because they have become the face of the franchise. I am not a Giants fan, but MadBum is arguably the best post-season player of the past 40-50 years, edging Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter who might be the next couple. Unless Bumgarner publicly asks to be traded to a contender, it is not worth trading MadBum unless you can get a MLB top 15 prospect like Kyle Tucker, which is unlikely for a rental of a very good pitcher who might not still be one of the greatest. Would have simply been better for SF to never have signed Longoria.
Give Shaw a look! 30 bombs waiting for an opportunity
I like him, but he strike out 40 percent of his at-bats. Slater was excellent at Stanford. He’s more likely to bat .300 with a .400 on base percentage before Shaw hits 30 Homers.
And Shaw doesn’t really draw walks, either, nor is he a natural OF. I too would like to see Slater get more of a shot.
Slater is fine as a back-up, but if he started I imagine him hitting .280 with 6 or 7 home runs. Would rather try Williamson over 500 at-bats and hope for a right-handed bat that could hit .240 with 21 or 22 home runs.
trade for Hunter Pence
Always liked Hunter. He gave more to the team than what was seen on the field, and you need those kind of guys- albeit not for $10M a year.
Nick Williams, come on down! Too many roosters in the hen house in Philadelphia and I don’t think him and Kap like each other that much. Giants send Philleys a bone back and I think Nick would be a nice young serviceable option. Give this guy the ABs and let’s see what happens. Better than what you got.
Nick Williams for Tony Watson would be a win-win to me. Or Will Smith for Nick Williams and Roman Quinn.
Trade for Pence! He’s even stealing bases this spring!
.240 and 20hr is terrible !!!! How did we get to the point where MLB regulars are hitting sub .250 with 100+ Ks with moderate power and are considered decent
Decent is closer to mediocre than “terrible”. The idea is to win a few extra games in 2019 without ruining the future like by sending on Longoria may have done.
Apparently if you looked at the stats closely or followed Nick Williams you’d know he is a year removed from a plus 800 OPS. He got into a spat with Kap in the spring and never saw the field much for a while. Change of scenery and a descent amount of playing time, and he would be the best OFer on the Giants ball club.
Reds have lots of OF
The SF OF is truly a “situation”
The Giants are in rebuild, the Marlins are a “situation”.
Reds have too much outfield talent. Trade for Kemp
Kemp and talent dont belong in the same sentence
Lol, Kemp and Braun are essentially the same player. They’re both teetering between the 3rd/4th OF on their team. If ur gonna say Kemp has no talent, you better say the same about your own.
.290, 21 and 85 say otherwise BrewCrew.
CEO got so mad he didnt get Harper, took it out on his wife smh
They are going to be unwatchable again.
Lagares for Tony Watson
Bad deal for Giants. How about Nick Williams for Tony Watson? Lagares was a fine defender, but better to get a younger player with a little more upside. Neither will cut it when SF is ready to get another ring.
$150+ million dollar team, yet they have a $2 million dollar OF. Way to distribute funds evenly.
Why not Melancon for Rusney Castillo and an additional prospect??
Why not? Do you know Dombrowski’s phone number?
Melancon has been productive and Castillo has not. That’s why not.
The Giants were never gonna land Harper. The giants needed to add 20-40 million more than any team outside of CA due to the high taxes. Makes me wonder what the highest bid for Machado outside of CA was. Bryce saved himself around 30mil by not signing in SF. It will be interesting to see if that trend keeps up with the large deals like Betts and Trout are going command.
Battery chucks should trade for Jose Martinez. Can’t catch a cold, but dude could fall out of bed on Christmas morning, step in the box with his hair all crazy and line one in the gap.
Martinez might be the Cardinals starting outfielder with Ozuna and Fowler stinking it up.
ONeil, I love this guy. Trade Martinez! Lol
Joc Peterson and Ross Springer for MadBum- problem solved!
Uh….did you mean Pederson and Stripling?
I think he was just talking about a couple of look-a-likes who can’t use the real names due to copyright laws. Maybe he is suggesting that the Dodgers should try to pull a fast one by including two impostors in a trade and hoping the Giants don’t notice until it is too late.
Even if spelled correctly that is a lose-lose deal. Giants should not send the face of their franchise to the Dodgers and right now, the Dodgers have enough pitchers without MadBum so that he does not help them during the regular season.
Please please please GIANTS,
LET THE KIDS PLAY ⚾️
That’s the only way there going to get better.
NO MORE RETREADS
I just wish we could do a full rebuild. Rather then putting up this facade for the SF fan base that we’re going to compete this year. Zaidi knows what he’s doing and I have trust in him to make it right.
It won’t take long for Giants fans to realize that Zaidi is not the guy to lead a team to a position of contention. The Dodgers will not even notice that he is gone.
I doubt Zaidi will be trading Smith or Watson for a RH platoon outfielder before the season starts; he’ll save those valuable pieces for mid-season deals to contenders. But others like Dyson and perhaps even Panik to the right team could be what he’s aiming to do.
Folks should be prepared for the possibility, if not the probability that Zaidi backs up the truck during the season and starts trading guys that get off to good starts to contenders as we get closer to the deadline. And that includes Bumgarner.
I agree 100%. That’s exactly what’s going to happen unless the Giants are still in it come the all star break.
I think Posey and MadBum should be kept. Otherwise, get value where you can. But, to me, Watson for Nick Williams would bevalue.
The A’s have the perfect OF for the giants in Mark Canha a power hitting RHB. He is looking more like a 4th outfielder for the A’s. Giants should trade their prospect Logan Webb or Shaun Anderson for him. the A’s are weak in the minors in starting pitching. Giants would have the power hitting OF they need for the next 4 years. Win win for both teams.
You mean an older, more expensive Mac Williamson?
I know I’m going to be hammered for this, but I really think Parra is going to have a big year if given the chance to do so. And then, when it’s time, go all in on Trout.
Mac is a clone of Belt (with a bat anyway). When he can stay healthy, he can hit a ton. I expect both of them to have a very hot year….until they get hurt. Same with Longoria. I a also waiting to see Slater start hitting with hopeful expectations given his hitting in the minors. Parra is another one I expect will be a strong contributor, but like someone else said, he should face more LHP, so a platoon would help his BA. I see some good improvement this year, but nowhere near enough to challenge for the league title. SP for one is going to be hit & miss. I kind of support trading Bum hoping he’ll come back as a FA. The thin talent in the SF minor teams makes me cringe. Bart looks like a great asset when Posey moves to 1B. Belt should be a great commodity for a team with a short RF porch (and he keeps his head out of the path of baseballs).
Duggar is going to play and get his AB’s even if it’s in the 8th spot of the lineup, ditto with Williamson. What Williamson flashed before his concussion, SFG don’t have that kind of RH power currently on the roster, he can tackle even the bigger parts of their home park. The cost of acquiring his upside is prohibitive when you already have him in-house.
Speaking of their home park, this team is far too LH in their every day lineup. The only part of Oracle (AT&T) that plays fair is LF so the comments of Farhan seeking a RH bat makes a lot of sense. They will need to roster someone who is CF capable and preferably hits RH not to platoon with Duggar but you have to have another CF on the roster and AT&T/Oracle is a big one. It’s not surprising Maybin, Craig Gentry and a rule 5 guy are all in camp who fit that profile
The guy I like in trade are Aaron Altherr and if you think you can coach him up, Nick Castellanos. A wild card guy is Odubel Herrera, does PHI rethink that extension now with Harper in the fold and might they wish to get out from under it to find a better use for those $…. Kimbrel, Trout?
They’d want Will Smith + …?
I love reading the trade proposals on the comments sections. Many of them are a good laugh. They offer their teams backups or trash and want a solid piece or stud back. It is cheap entertainment.
Not as funny as the trades that Derek Jeter actually makes. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Most of the trades proposed here are even worse than those Jeter makes.
Unfortunately, the division-rival Padres have the treasure trove of outfielders that the Giants need. Outside of San Diego, Castellanos in Detroit, maybe Choo in Texas, or the displaced Phillies outfielders are all possibilities.
Castellanos can’t play defense. Choo is past his prime and not worth his contract, and the Padres treasure trove of underperforming or overpaid outfielders are also possibilities, but not exciting ones.
Castellanos is interesting IF and ONLY if
SFG think they can coach him up with the idea Oracle LF is an easier position vs RF in Comerica Park
They think he’s an extension candidate, and
most importantly If the DH to the NL is a certainty
Even after all that what is the prospect cost and can DET and SF find a common ground?
Detroit was asking for a lot. That is why he still is a Tiger.
Clint Frazier.
the Yanks can hardly fit him on the roster and he’s got to be available despite having great power and good speed
scott Schebler is another guy with power that probably loses ABs this season. Wonder if he could be had.