While they’ve already done a fair bit of heavy lifting in the pitching arena, the Giants may not be done yet. President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi told reporters, including Alex Pavlovic of NBC News Bay Area (Twitter link) and Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic (via Twitter), that the team is still looking for arms.
The rotation just picked up a new piece when the club inked Anthony DeSclafani to a single-season pact. He’ll join Kevin Gausman, who made good on his own one-year deal with the Giants and ultimately elected to accept the qualifying offer extended by the club.
Despite those additions, Zaidi says the Giants still “have room to add another guy” to the starting staff. That’s not exactly surprising, as the rest of the unit comes with questions. Diminished veteran Johnny Cueto will take one spot, while Connor Menez, Logan Webb, and Shaun Anderson are the current 40-man options to fill out the staff. Tyler Beede could challenge for a role, but he’ll first need to polish off his Tommy John rehab.
It’s certainly possible that the Giants could still pursue a significant player to buttress the rotation. The organization is said to have kicked around the idea of pursuing top available free agent Trevor Bauer. The market still contains a variety of hurlers with differing profiles and there are some interesting trade possibilities as well.
In the bullpen, it seems there’s less reason to wonder about a big strike — at least on the right-handed side. Having already plugged in one piece with Matt Wisler, Zaidi suggests the Giants will primarily be looking for value opportunities. The right-handed relief market is “probably an area where we seek to be more creative and out of the box,” he says.
The giants have 3 starters who pump heat.
Desclafani 94-97
Gausman 94-99
Beede 93-97
And Webb sits 92-95
Just imagine if Bauer joins the giants. Sleeper WC team
proof that “stuff” isnt anything
They aren’t in a win now situation lol
Just makes it go farther off the lefty Dodgers barrel.
This is correct. With the emergence of a young, hyper talented Padres team and the World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers .The fate of a mediocre, third-rate San Francisco Giants team in the NL West is bleak. Next year, in a 162 game season, the Giants will play 40% of their games against those 2 teams.
That math isn’t right. 36 games out of 162 is 22 percent
Good call, 1976! I was just looking at this math, as it seemed off. And conversely, they will also play 22 percent of their games against the Rockies & DBacks.
Bottom line, can the Giants play above .500 ball in their 118 games against the rest of the league? I think they will, when you consider the 10 games against the Reds & Pirates. Not to mention the Rangers in interleague play…
But, they need a healthy(ish) Paxton & a potential closer to get there!
The problem with that thought is you have Gabe Kapler as your manager, who is horrible. It didn’t really show in 2020, as the season was only 60 games. The way he “manages” it burns out the team…starters, bullpen, position players. They’ll start off well, have good energy in May & June, start sputtering in July, and then around the end of July/beginning of August the entire team will be exhausted and fall out of whatever contention they were in.
19+19 isn’t 36 so your math isn’t right either but it’s closer
Easy up on the Pirates. Even if they are less then attractive on paper, those 10 games will be no “lay down” games. There will be unproven talent looking to make a name. With a hungry minor leaguers looking to be a major leaguer, that can be dangerous for any club who plays against the Pirates. Not saying the Pirates will win the division or wild card, but there are players in Pittsburgh who still have heart and will give 110% next season.
In addition, it’s funny how you think Reds will be as bad as the Pirates. If the reds don’t compete for the division this year, then they need to clean up that dugout and hire a manager who can give that city something. There is plenty of talent on that Reds roster to be able to claim the division. Cardinals may have some legitimate chance, but that depends on what they do this offseason. Brewers and Cubs have bigger issues than Cardinals or Reds at this time. Both of Brewers and Cubs will fall 3rd and 4th in their division this year. Setting up for a Cardinals and Reds fighting for the division. Until everything goes wrong for the Cardinals, I will never count them out. For 20+ years they have been at the top of the division and if not, they are in the thick of things with a wild card shot.
FYI:
I meant to type approx 40 games not 40%
He is an A’s fan. He is bitter his team chokes every time they make the playoffs and he has to watch their last championship on a VHS tape.
What’s your problem? This is a comment section. If my comment doesn’t coincide with your opinion. Fine. But don’t make it personal. That’s against the MLBTR rules
If you’re too sensitive to participate in discussion here You might wanna put your panda hat on along with your tired old ‘3 in 5’ shirt, get in the car and go get yourself some garlic fries or something. Geez
It’s cause your comments are always trash. And everyone sees them and knows that.
Dude, How is that guys opinion ‘Trash’ ? Just because he posted something you don’t agree with?
Speaking of ‘Trash’ how ’bout that projected line up for the Giants next year?
Yeah, in retrospect, a year later, that Giants lineup just led the team to a 107-55 finish. How bout that “Trash” in San Diego?
This makes me appreciate Kyle Hendricks.
Giants rotation is still weak, even if Beede and Webb realize their potential. Their strength is that they have a plethora of underrated hitters: Alex Dickerson, Donovan Solano, Austin Slater, Mike Yastrzemski. I expect them to be around the 76-80 win range if they don’t make any more additions, once Marco Luciano, the real star of that farm, pans out, they’ll be dangerous.
Those hitters are mostly career minor leaguer’s . There are no impact bats there. They are ‘B guys’
you obviously know nothing about the farm system, there are at least a half dozen impact prospect bats and 3 or 4 arms that are within a year or 2
Really? Do you have a current Scout Ranking link from a Reputable scouting site to back up this wild claim? You need to post a BA link Or even a Baseball prospectus. Otherwise what you typed is just subjective BS
To be fair, I’m a Dodgers fan and despise the Giants, however the Giants DO have 5 (or 6?) prospects on the MLB Top 100 list, which is more than most teams average. Most are slated to be ready 2021-2022. So while it remains to be seen if they can actually produce at this level, the Giants farm is certainly a lot better than in recent years & a lot better than they get credit for
Relax. Every team has a few pitchers that throw in the mid to high 90s. Maybe if this was like 1930 you’d have something to be excited about.
It’s exciting as a giants fan because we haven’t had a starting pitcher throw mid to high 90s effectively since Tim Lincecum. Madbam only threw 90-93. Tim Hudson was 88-91. Cueto was 91-94. Jeff samardzija could reach back and hit 97 but was almost always in the 91-93 range. Jake peavy was old and throwing 92. Vogelsong was low 90s. Ty blach served up 89er meatballs. Andrew Suarez threw 91-93. Derek Holland was 91-94. Chris Stratton was 90-92. Matt Cain was 92-94. Jonathon Sanchez was 89-92. Zito could barely stay in the low 90s. Leake threw low 90s. Albert Suarez was low 90s. Matt Moore was 91-93.
Beede at times showed potential and looked like he figured things out at the end of 2019. Derek Rodriguez was 90-93. Shaun Anderson whilst starting was 91-93. And drew Pomeranz, who was not very good as a starter, threw 92-94.
My point is that giants fans are excited to have a starter who is effective and can pump high 90s with ease
I thought Cueto sat 95-97 ?
Was that pre-Giants ?
Pre-Royals
I don’t know – Im a Giants fan, and TBH, none of these guys put fear in my heart. Descalfani and Gausman might be good for an ERA/FIP in the low 4s, and Beede is coming back from a TJ with a track record of underachieving as a prospect and in early action. Webb looks like he still belongs in the minors, seems to have trouble getting through a lineup more than once or twice.
Wild Card Playoff Team? LOL. This organization hasn’t posted a winning season above the .500 mark in nearly 5 years.
neither had the marlins but they made it to the wildcard last year. Shocked damn near everyone. May not happen again but anything is possible. The FREAKIN Royals won a world series think about that.
DubsDynasty: They haven’t had a winning season in nearly 5 yrs is a true statement. So is this: the Giants have won MORE World Series Titles in the last 12 seasons than ANY OTHER FRANCHISE. Facts are facts, but they can be distorted to fit several different narratives.
Dubsdynasty didn’t say anything about the giants success from 2010-2014. His comment was about the giants teams lately. Why is it that anytime someone says something about the giants of the past 4 years so sensitive crybaby giants fan jumps and talks those 3 titles? The 2010, 2012, 2014 giants have nothing to do with the 2021 giants. The giants past was glorious. The giants most recent teams and most likely the current team are just not very good.
Facts are facts. Giants have a .466 win percentage since start of 2016, including that blazing hot start to ‘16 that giants flushed down the toilet. Woof.
Boe Jiden: Yankees fans brag about all of their titles, even though they weren’t even alive for 1/2 of them. You ASS-umed that I’m a Giants fan. My 2 favorite teams have won TWO (2) World Series Titles in my LIFETIME. My hometown team Pirates in ’79, when I was 7 and my “adopted team” Braves in ’95,when I was 23. I’d rather have 3 World Series Titles in 12 years than the 1 & 1 in my entire life, to this point at least.
Boe Jiden, there isn’t one team to ever exist that stayed relevant after success with their core team of players. The Giants have won the most rings by any franchise the past 11 years. Every team will have to rebuild at some point. Dubsdynasty thinks that the Giants in particular should be exempt from rebuilding and should be relevant every year. That dude is clueless. Every team out their that doesn’t win the World Series at the end of the year get to sit with every other club that didn’t win which makes them all losers imo
Where did he say the giants should be relevant every year? His comment was that he doesn’t think the giants are a wild card team. Then someone responded for some reason by bringing up the giants past success, which has nothing to do with anything. His comment of the giants not being a wild card team has nothing to do with what you two are saying at all.
Boe Jiden: So,in other words: the Giants not having a winning season in the last (5) FIVE yrs is relevant but WINNING (3) THREE World Series Titles in the past (11) ELEVEN yrs isn’t relevant or is ANCIENT HISTORY. Is this what your thought process is Boe?
When talking about the current giants, yes the teams of the last 5 years are far more relevant than the titles of 10,12,14. Not sure how you can’t see that. Those giants titles will always matter. Flags fly forever. But the success of those teams has nothing teams has nothing to do with the mediocre giants of today.
try going back and looking at the winning percentage for the astros, the cubs, hell even the dodgers before they started putting it together. looking at the winning percentage of a team with different players, coaches and management is like looking at winning percentages of 2 different teams.
You seem to really enjoy capitalizing words for no reason. So maybe this will help you understand……..the GIANTS have a DIFFERENT team NOW. They don’t have the SAME players they did when they won all those titles. THIS IS IS A DIFFERENT TIME AND A DIFFERENT TEAM. This is why people get frustrated trying to have a discussion with old people.
Enrico: Every team changes to some degree every year. Just did some fact checking before I responded to you. There was only 9 players who played on both ’91 & ’95 Braves teams 7 pitchers & 2 IF’s (Rafael Belliard & Jeff Blauser). The ’17 & ’20 Dodgers only have 9 players that played on both teams. Every season is different. It has nothing to do about trying to have “discussions w old people”. It’s frustrating to have discussions w people who are delusional & think they’re smarter than they really are.
Boe, every time that kid speaks it’s nothing but garbage. Every team has a past success, and then every team has to adjust, and has challenging seasons. The Giants by far are doing way better then a lot of teams who are in the midst of rebuilding. Look at how long it took the Padres to become relevant again, how about the White Sox, Cubs, Braves etc? The Giants are probably not a wild card team, but in the midst of a rebuild and playing meaningful baseball last year was far better then the crap the Phillies, and other clubs put forth when everyone expected them to play playoff games last year.
All you have to know about DubsDynasty is this: He mocks people for referencing a past Giants regime when he literally has a name that references a past Warriors regime.
Maybe he should change his name to one of his other six accounts. He accesses them enough to upvote his comments every time he posts.
Yeah, every team is a different team. Every single season is unique. As I mentioned earlier, the Dodgers only had 9 players who played on both the 2017 & 2020 squads.
The current team was being discussed and you brought out the giants previous championships for no gd reason. They have NOTHING to do with each other!!!!!!!!!!
What the hell are you even talking about with the Braves dude? The giants are being discussed here. Try to keep up. Take your fish oil pills and remember your prune juice. Helps the brain stay sharp and keeps you regular.
Whoa!! 4 starting pitchers who can throw around 95 mph!!?!?? That’s awesome because the Dodgers are terrible at hitting fastballs. And by terrible I mean they are the best in baseball at it.
Most rotations have 3-4 guys that throw 93-96. This doesn’t mean anything. There isn’t a guy in this rotation that makes you think, “wow, I hope my team doesn’t have to face ______ when the Giants come to town.”
Yeah, it’s been 4 seasons below .500, not 5. And since the awful 2017 season, the Giants’ winning percentage has steadily increased each year. They are clearly on the right path.
World Series bound in 2021? Duh, no. Possible wild card contender? Obviously anything could happen, but I don’t see one good reason why anyone could definitively count them out.
Depends on if the playoffs remain open to over the half the league or not. Giants could absolutely make playoffs in a watered down format where 8 teams make it. But in a 5 team system that actually rewards division winners and takes usually at least 94-96 wins are the giants a playoff team? Probably not unless massive injuries befall the padres and dodgers.
Dude half the teams in the league have a few guys that hit those speeds – not that big of a deal these days
Dang, if only their main rivals weren’t the best fastball hitting team in the majors
This is a AAA pitching staff.
Giants are #1…in numbers of delusional fans
I think they’ll sign Lester to finish off the rotation. They need a left hander somewhere in there. If not him then maybe JA Happ but I know they’ve already been connected to Lester earlier this offseason
Might as well just sign Paxton if they seriously need a lefty
Paxton can’t be depended on for a full season. Given the iffiness of the rotation though, either him or Lester seem like a fit. Both come with risks yet if you hit the jackpot can either help make you a surprise WC contender or can be traded come July.
The rest of the NL West would love the giants to sign Lester. That should tell you all you need to know about John Lester. It’s not 2015 anymore.
Baseball is for everyone’s enjoyment. Try not to act like a child when you don’t agree with someone’s opinion.
Maybe a lefty to round out the staff? Paxton, Hamels, Quintana, Rodon?
Yes, need a LH. They have checked on Lester and Paxton. And Menez and Anderson are NOT really options in the rotation. Might not even make the pen.
Agreed. With Suarez departing, Webb is going to be the new “mop up” guy.
I think Anderson isn’t a rotation candidate in the Giants’ estimation. He was demoted to the bullpen and hasn’t excelled there. I think this article is merely looking at the roster and speculating.
Menez may get some spot starts, but I doubt he be allowed to compete for a rotation role out of spring training.
As a White Sox fan, you don’t want Rodon. Yes, he still has the talent that he *very rarely* displays, but he’s so often injured or working off the rust from the last injury that I doubt he’ll ever be an effective major leaguer. Quintana is a work horse, not as good as he was with the Sox, but a league-average innings eater still has value in saving the bullpen.
i think lester would be a good fit back end guy that can eat innings and help some of the youngsters. i say only splash in the big fa pool if the giants were 1 or 2 guys from a ws not a wc.
Cueto is their innings eater. I know they’ve been connected to Lester but it just doesn’t make sense to have another Cueto in the rotation. Logan Webb and Tyler Beede are better options than old man Lester.
Someone has to show the young guys how to pitch. That’s certainly not Cueto.
If Cueto is your innings eater than your bullpen will lead the league in innings pitched by a wide margin
Webb is still shaky and Beede has never impressed—not even at Vanderbilt. Why the Giants hung their draft pick on him I will never understand. This is a poor rotation, even with DeSclafani & Gausman (who could easily regress to his norm). Unless they can trade for a Carls Carrasco or sign Bauer, this rotation will be pretty meh.
Sugano or Paxton would be a great fit for SF
Evidently SF sees something in the metrics they are confident they can use to improve DeSlafani. Going to need a lefty, and I bet they also bring in several guys on minor league contracts to compete in the spring as well. The potential is there this year for 80-90 wins depending on how these players make adjustments. Offense is there and will only improve on last year, bullpen is trending very positively. The rotation and having a closer are the final pieces.
90 wins? Probably not.
90 wins? A rotation lead by Gausman, Cueto, DeScalfini, Webb, Beede? And that super old lineup? The giants offense is lead by a bunch of over 30 guys. They are far more likely to regress than come anywhere close to last year’s numbers. The giants are not anywhere close to “final piece” territory. It takes serious mental gymnastics to see a good team here. Just a bad take.
NL West is very competitive. Players on SF are getting a little older. They’ll still be fortunate to play .500 baseball. I could be wrong.
this is a pretty big fallacy – after next year the only guy with miles on him (unless they sign guys back on lower contracts as platoons or backups) will be longo that they will hopefully find a way to dump before his contract goes
We aren’t talking about next year. We are talking about this year. The giants are ridiculously old.
Padres had the youngest lineup in the NL last year, and the second best offense. Pirates had the second-youngest lineup in the NL and had the worst offense. Giants had the absolute oldest lineup in the NL and had better-than-average offensive production.
I get why you’d want younger players, but it doesn’t seem to me that there’s a very clear correlation between age and productivity. It’s almost like it’s more important that the players have the right skills than that they’re young.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The projection models are not bullish on the giants offense due largely to the advanced age of so many of their hitters. There is obviously a sweet spot teams want to be where their core is somewhere in that 24-30 age range. Giants are way above that. Hence, it’s fair to doubt the giants offense being as productive as last year.
Go check out the Giants ZiPS projection to get a fair and unbiased view on the 2021 giants.
blogs.fangraphs.com/2021-zips-projections-san-fran…
Wolf your team is not even close to contending. Your team President wanted it that way to keep a job he is not qualified for. He is not qualified for it because he worked for Billy Beane. They fail more often than not, and his success in LA can be attributed to bloated payrolls.
You hang your hat on the fact that your team has done little to nothing, stayed mediocre and that makes the future of your franchise looking like roses? Ok there….
I think only one player slated to start in 2021 for the Giants is under 30. Way to get younger.
The Giants going for it really only makes sense if they believe the playoff field will be expanded again this year. They simply don’t have the talent to catch the Dodgers and Padres, meaning their hope is the last WC. However, the Mets and Braves appear to be headed toward a really good fight for that division and I suspect the loser of that battle will win the other WC spot. If the Mets are aggressive as expected and land Springer, it won’t matter if the Giants get Bauer.
Thank you. This is the truth. Giants are mediocre at best.
For a mediocre team, you sure do spend A LOT of time on their articles commenting on them. I’ve counted over 50 comments from you on the last 4 Giants articles on this site.
And it’s pretty obvious you’re the same guy making comments on other Giants sites LOL.
I’ll give you credit for punching up, though.
JohnJasoJingleHeimerSchmidt:
I’m beginning to think Boe Jiden is the same guy as DubsDynasty and 27rings.
You counted?? Hahahahaha!! That makes me so happy that you wasted your time doing that. I only comment under this pseudonym, not that I care whether you believe that or not. Giants are just so sensitive. I’ll keep commenting on these articles sense I know it bothers you so much. Have fun finishing in 3rd place and winning 78 games this season!
Not so much punching up as kicking you while you’re down i think. A lot of baseball fans were just waiting for the opportunity after hearing giants fans gloat for half a decade. Also I’m not sure what’s more pathetic between commenting 50 times and going back and counting comments for another user. Seems like you get your feelings hurt real bad anytime someone says something that isn’t a glowing compliment about the giants. My mariners pretty much always suck but I dont see M’s fans getting all hot and bothered every time someone rightfully points out all their flaws.
Experts and all fans outside sf agree that the giants are bad to mediocre. Maybe you should learn to accept that there could be some truth to the criticism the giants continue to get. Giants fans certainly had no qualms gloating when they were doing well and they certainly had the right to. Gotta learn to take it if you dish it out.
“While San Francisco has been surprisingly competitive the last two seasons, flirting with playoff contention both times, it hasn’t actually been a good team. Ownership not blowing up the entire organization has given the franchise breathing room to improve from the 2017 nadir, but it’s still hard to see a lot of short-term upside. There are more adequate starters in the lineup than a couple of years ago, but the offense remains very, very old. Brandon Belt, Buster Posey, and Brandon Crawford all project to still have their moments, but they’re the past, not the future.“
– Dan Szymborski, fangraphs
Don’t flatter yourself. Just because you’re not intelligent enough to know how Control + F works doesn’t mean people care about you.
You’re a bitter troll whose team has probably been putrid for most of your lifetime (my money is on you being a Padres fan).
And it’s evident to everyone here that you punch up in WAY more than just baseball. I’m guessing you’re used to being a useless person who everyone walks over.
Seriously, I feel bad for people like you. You clearly live a miserable life and have no one that cares for your general well-being. Maybe go make some friends.
although I am positive on the giants – I agree the padres and dodgers will be tough to catch – there may be more of an opening for the padres this year though.
hyraxwithaflamethrower:
Maybe the Mets should actually do something before you have them competing for the NL East crown. They were 26 and 34 last season, tied for last place. All they’ve done so far is sign James McCann. They were 22nd in team ERA, and 27th in team ERA+. They are not one McCann signing away from the PS. And even if they sign Springer he is not going to be the difference, unless they also seriously upgrade their pitching staff.
That starting rotation has the potential to be really bad if they don’t add some good pieces.
When can we start winning more games than we lose? Not looking like anytime soon with moves like this
Giants are paying now for the sins of the past regime. Giving huge contracts to Cueto, Samardzija, and Melancon were costly in that giants were handcuffed by them past years. Extensions to Posey, Crawford, Belt have not been worth it. And the trades for McCutchen and Longoria were absolutely absurd at the time and they only look worse now.
Farhan inherited a mess. He’s doing the best he can. The decisions made by the giants from 2015-2018 were just so bad.
This is the last year of those bad contracts so does that mean it will be the last losing season? Moves like Wisler, Disco, and $19 mil for Gausman don’t exactly convince me thats gonna happen.
You can’t build a sustainable team around one year prove it contracts. Any of the youth that comes up in the next 2-3 years will have been drafted by Evans or Sabes so what really is Farhan actively doing to win before then?
Am I supposed to believe that 5 years into the rebuild we should expect to start winning around the core that Sabes/Evans drafted or signed internationally? You know, the idiots running this team before FZ who are responsible for handcuffing this team the past few years with all their poor decisions? They suck according to all the FZ boot lickers yet you are gonna give Farhan credit when their picks become the core of this team? Give any GM 5 years to build a team with zero expectations and they won’t do any worse than what you are getting from FZ
So, the Giants’ farm system was a bottom 5 system even with Bart, Ramos, and Luciano.
In 2 years, Zaidi hasn’t added much to the very top, except a few draft picks, but in just 2 years, the entire farm system, including mostly Evans guys, took huge steps forward.
Why shouldn’t we give Zaidi credit for that?
The strength of a farm system is highly subjective. I judge prospects on their major league success so we won’t know for a few years. I also give credit to the guys who drafted/signed Bart, Luciano, Ramos, Corry, Toribio, Canario, etc. and base their rise on the prospects list due to natural progression that happens with all prospects regardless of who is in charge as they rise.
This team isn’t built to win now or for a few more years at the very least. That means you will have trusted at minimum 5 years to FZ and his “innovative” process without really knowing if it will produce a winner. Players like Bauer and Springer could help the Giants win now and in the future.
Show me you know how to spend some money FZ I’m tired of the excuses and blaming everything on bad contracts from the past. If he is so smart he should be confident in signing an expensive player or is that not something he knows how to do? You can’t get a hit unless you step up to the plate so stop being afraid of striking out and take a few swings for the fences!
Nice to see at least one giants fan who isn’t completely delusional and can judge the giants on actual wins and losses. The giants have a .466 win percentage over last 5 years. That’s you judge the success of a franchise. I fully expect giants to have a much higher win percentage over next few years. Lots of offseason left to add, but the additions of DeScalfini, Wisler, Vosler don’t move the needle at all. It’s ok to call a spade a spade. It’s ok to call to a mediocre team a mediocre team.
DeSclafani could end up being another under the radar Gausman type pickup for the Giants. A change of scenery to a more Pitcher friendly park can work wonders for a player.
The Giants biggest problem is going to be what the Giants biggest problem is every year: scoring enough runs. 25th or lower each of the last three full seasons makes it hard to contend
4th place. The Orioles of the NL west (without the O’s pipeline)
It’s hilarious to see the amount of trolls coming on to make sure they get their jabs in at the Giants.
It’s most likely because their team isn’t relevant enough and that no one else cares about them to do the same.
It’s like Nebraska football. When you’re so used to see them do nothing but win championships, it’s fun to poke them in the down years.
Whatever team you follow, hopefully they’ll win a championship for you. Call Giants fans when they win their second, then we’ll talk.
Show us on the doll where the mean commenters hurt you.. 🙁
If johnjaso doesn’t like what you have to say, you probably shouldn’t say anything. His feelings get hurt easily. According to him, we should only be saying things that praise a mediocre franchise about their old mediocre team.
Giants articles are for Giants homers ONLY!! Didn’t the others here tell you?? Now, back to “3 in 5, 3 in 5, 3 in 5”
There’s a massive difference between making negative, but intelligent analysis on a signing/trade and coming in and making the same bored comments on every article.
But no one here is accusing you of understanding the difference.
I guess I had far too high of expectations of the folks in the MLBTR comment section having any brain cells to rub together.
Again, keep punching up, Boe. I’m guessing you’re used to being a bottom-feeder in life.
The Dodgers and Friars are the class of this division, no debate there, and if things break right, the D’Backs don’t have a bad team either. The Rockies are tough to predict, but it doesn’t look like they’ll be very good in 2021.
As for the Giants, I like what they’re doing. Maybe injuries plague LA and/or SD? Maybe guys have uncharacteristically down years? You never know — even great squads face adversity. It’s at least good to see the Giants adding pieces, be they hopeful rebounds or not. While I think SF needs more pitching (Sugano?) I think offensively it wouldn’t hurt to add something. It wouldn’t be surprising if quite a few players who hit well in ’20 took steps back this season.
IjustloveBaseball:
Not sure what you see in the D’Backs. Last season they finished last in the division They were below league average in both hitting and pitching. They didn’t hit well in 2019 either. They were above league average pitching in 2019 but that team had Greinke, Ray and Bradley. And they don’t have the finances to add much. Bumgarner should bounce back, but that’s not going to be nearly enough. I see a repeat of them and the Rox in a battle to stay out of last place.
Yeah, it’s been 4 seasons below .500, not 5. And since the awful 2017 season, the Giants’ winning percentage has steadily increased each year. They are clearly on the right path.
World Series bound in 2021? Duh, no. Possible wild card contender? Obviously anything could happen, but I don’t see one good reason why anyone could definitively count them out.
Meet Gabe Kapler
Zaidi’s comment that they “have room to add another guy” to the rotation likely means someone like Quintana or Perez, two left-handers who can be bought low and flipped at the ’21 deadline for other minor league pieces a la Pomeranz. This would fit Zaidi’s MO in these transition years while they burn off the remainder of those high-cost deals left over by the previous regime.
The plan only makes sense though if he drafts several good pitching prospects from the college ranks in 2021 who might be ready for the big league team in 2023 when the likes of Luciano, Ramos, Bishop, Corry, Bailey, and even Harrison may be ready. Until then, he’ll keep doing this each year, stringing together a passable team that isn’t quite postseason ready, but one that can be cashed in for deepening the farm system to sustain the team through the remainder of the decade.
There are far worse plans out there, or in the case of some teams no plans at all.
Perez would probably do well in the NL and San Francisco would be a good park for him. While his numbers won’t blow you away he’ll give you innings.
I’m not a Giants fan, but I feel like Farhan has done as well as possible given the contracts he inherited. Imo, they are on the upswing, but a year or two away from contending for a Wild Card slot. Having said that, Farhan has shown a knack for discovering under the radar guys and the team seems to perform at a higher level than many of us anticipate.
Ive read a lot of interesting takes from actual Giants fans the last couple days that has me re-thinking my stance on them- I think they are just placing more value in being competitive than most of us outsiders want to admit. Its not really the standard MO for re-builds so its going to get heat from the wolves. I think its an interesting time to make some long term deals if your them tho capitalizing on the lack of suitors in the market-
They need to fill that OF with something more than 2~3 War players at some time – Springer just might not be a terrible play if the Mets walk away and you can put in an offer your comfortable with – SF has the most money coming off the books between this year and next….if they can stomach a (higher) than wanted payroll this year perhaps it helps the payroll more down the road if they jump in the market today- I fully expect them to sign one of the big 4 SS this offseason and my monies on Lindor but getting a head start adding Springer this year (on a semi-deal) is a still a strong possibility as well imo….ida much rather used Gausmans 18 mill towards Springer this year I must say tho
The problem is they aren’t really competitive are they? Hovering around .500 is purgatory for a baseball team and it can take several years or more to correct.
For a management team that is so enamored with statistics it is puzzling how they don’t see the value in drafting top 10 in the draft each year over finishing around .500 and seemingly being competitive. The chances of a top 10 player making an impact at the major league level is much greater than players drafted later.
Failing to finish bad enough the last 2 seasons to pick top 10 OR failing to trade pieces to acquire prospects is what has really handcuffed this team and gotten them stuck in the .500 zone. How this is perceived as improvement by some is perplexing.
It’s gotta be super frustrating for giants fans to see the dodgers draft players in the end of each round who are just so much better than anything the giants have drafted. Obviously, we can’t speak to the results of drafts from 18-20 as those players are still developing, but the giants have fallen behind in part because they drafted so poorly from 15-18. Meanwhile, dodgers just keep pumping out really good players. Again, none of this is a reflection on the current administration. They very well might reverse the trend of poor drafts. Meanwhile though, dodgers keep drafting in the 26-30 range yet routinely have a farm system rated as if they have been drafting in the top 10 for years. Just one reason why Dodgers continue to be the best franchise in baseball.
You don’t need to have high draft picks every year to build a successful farm system. The Dodgers are proof of that.
Giants have only one player who would make the Dodgers 26 man roster. Tax would possibly platoon with Pollack in left.
That’s patently ridiculous, considering the Dodgers projected 26-man has guys like Zach McKinstry. Matt Beaty, DJ Peters, Austin Barnes. Not that they are bad players, but players like Yaz, Slater, Posey, Bart, heck. even Brandon Belt would make their 26-man roster with complete ease.
The Dodgers are VERY good, but this insinuation that the Giants don’t have good players to compete with their *worst* players isn’t even a serious stance.
Uh, Yaz has been worth 4.9 WAR over a full season’s worth of games, since being called up.
Why all the love for ZIPS, as that appears to be what you are citing? If ZIPS were right, zero pitchers would have an ERA below 3.5. I think it’s a VERY ‘glass is half empty’ at every player not named Trout, Bellinger or Bieber.
Szymborski’s track record with ZiPS projections is, how do you say it, not good? And every time he gets major picks woefully wrong, he attempts to hide behind the algorithm.
This isn’t to say the Giants are an 85-win team, but the ZiPS projections are pretty bad, historically.
Definitely need some arms….. develop some young talent…. drafts have been poor over the years….we need to build a organization
One thing I’ve learned is that giants fans on this site are so arrogant that they created a conspiracy theory that all the people who criticize the giants are actually one user with a bunch of profiles. As if it’s impossible that there could be more than one person with the ability to see all their flaws and post about it. You guys really make me laugh. Thanks for that.
ROFL. Preach.
I’m a Dodger fan but live in SF. One of the big things in all the local papers & comment sections is ANYONE who criticizes ANYTHING about the Giants is automatically a “bitter A’s fan, jealous about attendance, jealous about championships, about having organic watercress sandwiches in CF, etc etc etc”. It can neverrrrrrrr possibly be that someone is a disgruntled Giants fan, a realistic baseball fan, or anything in between. Everybody is a bitter A’s fan.
Oddly enough, I see Giants fans obsess over the A’s waaaaaaaaaaaaay more than the other way around!
Yeah I haven’t really seen that here on MLBTR and I read just about every comment posted. Pretty much never heard a Giants fan complain or lash out about A’s fans. Not here.
As for the “conspiracy” theory they were talking about a user, 28rings, who did appear to morph into another or two user names because the comments and vitriol were the same. I noticed because the poster was apparently a NYY fan and that seemed odd. I did witness that. No conspiracy, really.
Last, I never get inter-team-fan hate. If you’re emotionally mature, you’d never hate another fan over a game.
Yea. No possibly way there are multiple NYY fans who don’t like the giants. Had to be the same guy. NYC is a tiny place. You’re totally right.
It also doesn’t help that local giants coverage is extremely team friendly. From the chronicle to the Mercury to the Athletic, the coverage by these writers is nearly always written with nothing but hope and optimism. The team signs career minor leaguer Jason Vosler to an mlb deal and there are 3 puff pieces about how he’ll be a great back up. You’d think by reading these outlets that Gausman is a legit number 1 and cy young candidate.
The signings of Wisler, Gausman, Vosler, and DeScalfini all have focused on different numbers from what every year or league best supports the narrative of why they are such great signings. It’s really hilarious to watch.
So I’m not surprised giants fans don’t know how to handle people not praising their team. They don’t read anything but fan boy articles reinforcing this notion that the giants have a good team when the objective reality is that the team just isn’t very good.
LOL. You never read Hank Schulman’s post-game write ups, have you? Or his writings from 2017-2018? Hank was nothing short of very critical to the Giants, and he quickly became one of the favorite beat writers because of his honesty.
This idea that Giants fans can’t handle “criticism” is a pathetic excuse for people like you-who have zero potential in this life, or any that might follow-to come and troll with your tired, bored comments that aren’t even creative.
The funny thing is, if Giants fans come and criticize your team (whoever it may be, most likely the Padres), you’ll get thrown into a massive tizzy, mostly because you’re an immature person who loves to dish it out, but will be the first to cry to your mom when it doesn’t go well for you.
Fact is. Boe, the Giants have had more success in this lifetime than you’ll have in twenty. They actually know what it’s like to do something remarkable in this world.
You’ll leave this world without doing anything but trolling on MLBTR. And the reason that’s all you’ll do is because you know that’s all you CAN do.
No one cares that you dislike the Giants. But if you’re going to come in and be a useless troll, don’t be surprised when you get it handed to you.
The Giants/Dodgers rivalry is largely a figment in the head of Giants fans. Dodger fans don’t care about the Giants. It’s a one-way obsession…
WarrenSpahn, you were probably the guy that OBSESSED over a girl in high school, then when she rejected you, you probably pretended “I never cared about her anyway.”
Dodger fans cared a lot about the Giants success (and they still continue to mindlessly troll Giants pages). To pretend this isn’t the case is hilarious.
It’s okay to admit you care deeply about the Giants. After all, if you didn’t care the girl, you wouldn’t still stalk their social media pages. You’re here, commenting on the Giants. You care.
DeSclafani is a nice depth piece, but the Giants will need more than another back-of-the-rotation arm to supplement this signing to make the playoffs in ‘21, which is Zaidi’s stated goal.
Bauer makes a ton of sense for the Giants if he is indeed interested in going year-to-year as he has mentioned. That said, it doesn’t make sense for the Giants to commit to any star long term just yet until there’s confidence that the top prospects in the minors can produce in the bigs.