Since taking over the Giants front office, Farhan Zaidi has executed a bevy of minor claims and signings while dealing away some veteran assets. But he has also explored massive free agent contracts, declined to strip the roster of veterans, and held back some trade chips from the summer market. The big-revenue team isn’t tanking and remains a threat to land any player it likes.
With that as the backdrop, the Giants appear to be playing an increasingly interesting role in the development of this year’s free agent market. There are some hints the team could even be involved quietly in the Gerrit Cole market, though it’s still unclear whether the Giants would really make a shocking run at the market’s biggest prize.
There’s no reason whatsoever the Giants should be ruled out of significant free agents, though. The club seems now to be a particular threat to land slugging corner outfielder Nicholas Castellanos, who would add some much-needed pop to the lineup. This connection was made recently and now is gaining some steam.
At least one rival executive is so convinced of the Giants’ interest as to presume that Castellanos will end up in San Francisco, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription link). The club does indeed have “genuine” interest in Castellanos, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link), though the veteran beat reporter isn’t necessarily tabbing them the favorites.
This all makes sense on paper. In our top 50 free agent prediction post, we guessed the Giants would end up with a similar player in Marcell Ozuna, but both youthful performers have essentially similar market situations. Some teams may prefer the greater recent offensive output of Castellanos or the generally better-regarded glovework of Ozuna. It seems the Giants are smitten enough with Castellanos that he could be the priority, though there’s still time for the market to take any number of different paths.
As a Giants fan, please no. Makes zero sense to add a poor defending fielder to a big contract while the team is rebuilding.
lots of problems in the Bay area !
Nah. Just landed Cozart.
yeah if we have any hope of competing we need a solid defender in left as we did in the past like morse, ishikawa or sheirholdtz
They don’t have any hope of competing when Belt, Crawford, Posey, and Longoria are composing half the lineup every game.
Morse and Ishikawa were an adventure in LF. They were not good defenders.
My thought as well.
it was sarcasm fools
Thank you for your insight and service sdriftr.
lol point well taken, Wolf
If I remember correctly, Nate Schierholtz was regarded as an above average defender in right field. A lot of that may have had something to do with his arm, but I can’t say I recall him playing too much in left.
he had an arm but he had a bad first step especially as he aged
The market and reporters have said the Giants are rebuilding, if you listen to the team it is a transition period. They have also said they are looking for more pop in a bat. They have said they will be signing pitchers. They have said that they do not want one or two year guys they want guys that will be around for a while that the fans can get to know and cherish like our core was. It all makes sense if we listen to what zaidi says and not what reporters say.
I think people are overestimating how long the rebuild should take – it can go really fast – like in a year or 2 depending on how guys come along and what deals are made. People assume that rebuilding means 4 or 5 years out but realistically it is 1 or 2 years.
When a team has money and is allowed to spend it speeds up this process. You can really utilize all avenues to get to playing good ball again.
A one or two year rebuild?
Remind us of the last time that happened.
One or two *more years. It’s already been a soft rebuild for the last couple years.
@Vandals Took The Handles The 2013-2014 Yankees come to mind. They tossed in the towel and retooled.
Giants have a $137 million payroll as of today. $80 million to spend and still be under the CBT. They never went into a rebuild.
Signing Cole, Castellanos, and Castro and MadBum coming back and they still have money to spend.
Plus since they didn’t top the CBT in 2019, they can go over if they want. After 2021 another $70+ million in payroll going away. They needed 13 wins to be in the playoffs in 2019.
Bart and Ramos will be in the big leagues at some point in 2021. If not before.
Eat half of Belts deal to get him traded away. Play Posey at 1B more to keep him fresh.
Not an impossible task to start contending for a WC in 2020.
The yankees
dodgers, yankees both did it when they shifted direction. the giants are in a similar situation – you can’t compare them to the astros or reds or phils, etc who can’t spend their way out of the hole they were in and had to do a teardown and tank. the farm has already improved massively from the bottom to the middle of the pack in roughly a year.
What does Posey give you at 1B?
Slow
Hits lots of GBs, DP specialist
None power
Very cagey C with good instincts and handles pitcher, he’s a plus there no matter how bad he hits, a negative anywhere else
If he isn’t catching, keep him in the jacuzzi a day every 5
@kobo77;
Have been watching MLB for over 60 years. Gotten a pretty good feel for things.
I saw AJ Preller become the darling of the writers and commentators on here in his first off-season. I knew within a few months of him making dumb mores and being called a Rock Star GM that he was pretty much a BS’er that the media loved and that other GM’s were fighting one another to get first in line to do deals with.
Have watched Mr. Zaidi for a year now. Am the first to say that it takes years to get a staff in place that a baseball head can work with. But there is something very wrong here. The closest I can come is that there doesn’t appear to be a clear direction in what he’s doing. He hit on a few waiver claims which will very probably prove to be short lived successes. Other then that all I’ve seen him do is hang around waiting for the bad long-term contracts to expire. He doesn’t want MadBum….he wants MadBum. Etc.
Again – it’s been a year now. I could be wrong, But right now it doesn’t remotely look right.
@Vandals Took The Handle
If he says they are rebuilding nobody will buy tickets, so he won’t say it. He’s just playing his cards close to the vest. I’m sure he’s not looking at 2020, or even 2021, but 2022 when contracts are gone and the kids are all up. Two more years, and heck, it’s not like they don’t have some gamers who could still produce enough to have some entertaining baseball.
And I have been watching baseball for 35 years and worked in baseball for 10 years so have a pretty good grasp too. What you need to do is get over all you have learned the last 60 years, this is a new age in our sport and while they try everything under the sun until they dial in the new norm across the sport it isn’t going to seem right. Will seem all different and new…
@jekporkins
The man should run for office.
He’s doing little, making contradictory statements, and everyone on here is interpreting what he’s REALLY doing.
Ever see ‘Being There’ with Peter Sellers? Chauncey the Gardener?
@Vandals Took The Handles
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that movie – my favorite Sellers flick.
Look, perhaps I’m wrong, but right now Zaidi has done great work. What he’s doing is what I would do. Don’t spend a fortune adding veterans to an aging roster (that is what got us here in the first place), look at acquiring younger players who will be here into their prime (like Castellanos), try to get rid of these albatross contracts and wait out those you can’t, and rebuild the farm system. I’m sitting down with a bowl of popcorn watching these moron GMs give 5+ year contracts for $100+ million to 30-year old or older pitchers.
Yeah, I don’t see a fit. Huge OF which will expose his defensive shortcomings and his warning track power. There’s a reason his numbers went through the roof when he got to Wrigley. His greatest value is in a smaller park for both reasons stated above. Maybe Cincy?
His “poor defense” is greatly overblown. He’s playing his 2nd season in RF and his defensive numbers in Chicago were ok. He won’t win a GG but he’s a solid pick up.
White Sox losing their main free agent guy !……again.!
Great right-handed power and pretty good OBP. I like the fit for San Francisco.
yeah me too I don’t get people against this.
He’d hit lots of doubles, but his defensive weaknesses would be exploited even more and he’d hit fewer HR. Also, SF is nowhere near contending, so why spend big $ on a free agent at this juncture?
Castellanos and Cole coming to sf
You heard it here both of them by tomorrow you will see.
I am with you that is a definite possibility and I would also add in bumgarner or someone else similar as well…
Ok Yoda.
LOL, nice call !!
not cole – don’t see that spend – more likely a gio – a kuechel…. maybe happ
Just like the Giants were getting both Harper and Stanton…
Not from lack of effort…
Why go after Castellanos instead of Ozuna? No QO tax.
The market and reporters have said the Giants are rebuilding, if you listen to the team it is a transition period. They have also said they are looking for more pop in a bat. They have said they will be signing pitchers. They have said that they do not want one or two year guys they want guys that will be around for a while that the fans can get to know and cherish like our core was. It all makes sense if we listen to what zaidi says and not what reporters say.
…to be their DH?
It’s a real possibility that could be the case, may be something the NL sees in 2 years
Could he switch to LF? That RF would eat him alive.
SF can have Cespedes for a bag of balls lol
Giants sign Castellanos at 5/70, Cole at 8/304, and Bumgarner at 5/108. Sigh Castro 2/8 Trade Belt for salary relief. Play Posey at 1B 80 games in 2020. Payroll around $190 million.
Excuse me…..
Is this an article on the Giants or the Phillies?
Castellanos and the Giants.
Coach from Cheers?
Zaidi has been quite clear so far. He’s stated they are looking for a corner OF with pop. Castellanos fits that bill. And as many have said, he would only work in LF, where the Giants have stashed other clank-mitt options and not done badly with them. He’s young, would come at a reasonable price, and would go nicely with Yaz in RF and Duggar/Davis in CF.
Zaidi has said he wants a starting pitcher to offset the likely loss of Bum. So a left-hander to be this year’s Pomeranz would be Alex Wood or even Brett Anderson, someone who again could be flipped at the deadline. Yes, Ryu would be nice, as would Cole, but it’s just as likely that Zaidi knows helping Boras on Cole pays dividends elsewhere.
And Zaidi has said he also wants a left-hitting infielder who can play multiple positions. So you’re looking at Eric Sogard or Brock Holt.
The main takeaway is that if he adds Castellanos, Wood, and Sogard, the team is better at a decent cost.
With the RF wall being moved in so much, why couldn’t he play RF?
With their fan base and reverse integration (almost as good as the Red Sox’), they don’t need to “rebuild” (“tank”). In fact, it would seriously harm their brand and franchise worth. It’s hard to generate and keep fans; very easy to lose them, especially in a market that has a zillion sports franchises.
They’ll re-tool/reimage. They have a ton of money to work with, and lots of room under the Tax. Signing some relatively high-profile Free agents (yes, even Cole) wouldn’t surprise me in the least.