As the Giants do battle in Game 3 of the NLDS against the Dodgers, Kris Bryant will be manning first base. Before the game, the versatile Bryant offered John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle a positive review of his time out west, drawing comparisons to the fun, winning culture cultivated during the Cubs’ 2016 playoff run and suggesting openness to a longer-term arrangement. Whether there’s enough mutual interest in a reunion will likely come down to dollars, but this endorsement will only serve to intensify reunion rumors between Bryant, a West Coast native, and San Francisco in the months ahead.
A couple other notes out of the Bay Area…
- Left-handed reliever Tony Watson is working his way back from a shoulder strain in hopes of returning to a potential Giants’ NLCS roster. The veteran acknowledged to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic however that he may be running out of time. Advancing past the Dodgers is the Giants’ chief objective at the moment, but if they do just that, it would be a boon to their pitching staff if Watson returned. Acquired in a mid-season trade with the Angels, Watson dominated for the first-place club down the stretch— in 26 appearances he produced a stingy 4.4% walk rate, a sub-3 ERA (140 ERA+), and was among the best in the league at limiting hard contact.
- J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group meanwhile offered some insight into another barrel-dodging left-hander. Alex Wood spoke to Hoornstra about his decision to sign with the Giants this past offseason after securing a ring with the Dodgers during last year’s campaign. Wood spoke glowingly of his time in LA but cited his relationship with Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and a clearer path to consistent starts as a reason to move on. Signed to a one-year, $3MM contract, Wood’s performance has been one of several unmitigated successes for the upstart Giants this year. Boasting above-average strikeout, walk, and groundball rates of 26%, 6.7%, and 50%, Wood helped his club across 26 starts to win the NL West by the thinnest of margins. His 3.83 ERA looks sustainable in the eyes of advanced metrics, a factor likely to play into yet an even more competitive offseason for the starter’s services.
I need KD17 to explain to me why the Sox are in the ALCS. I thought they were done in the summer according to him.
I don’t know KD but I can explain it to you. The Sox have more than twice as much money as the Rays to buy players the Rays could never even afford to keep if they developed them on their own. That’s how. If the Rays increased their payroll to the same level as the Sox, Boston would never stand a chance. Imagine the Rays with 3 top end superstars added to their team. That’s what the Sox should be and what the Rays would be. In other words like K Camp says: “It’s money, baby. Money, baby. Money, baby. Yeah.”
That is exactly why.
And you don’t need money to keep players as you stay competitive. They rely the drafts, farm system, trades and pitching.
You need money or more “competitive balance picks” than everyone else. Rays and A’s aren’t special, they only get more quality draft picks. Therefore deeper farm systems and cheaper players.
Great example of two people not understanding why the rays are successful.
More draft picks don’t necessarily equal quality. It all depends on who is doing the drafting.
Also cardinals
Rays got carried away letting go of veteran starters. Trading Snell looks good, but they could’ve kept Morton on the cheap. They got too cute this time.
They were the only 100 win team in the AL
Anyone who criticizes the rays strategy and performance after losing to the Red Sox doesn’t understand the randomness and luck that goes in to a 5 game series.
Only good teams make the playoffs and in a small sample size, anyone can beat anyone.
The Red Sox have Devers and Bogaerts. It comes down to having a Betts, Posey, or Rendon type. Rays don’t have any of those types of guys
Nelson Cruz isn’t going to play in the playoffs. They don’t have that elite guy. Red Sox had three. Devers, Betts, and Bogaerts. They won 118 games. It was probably the best team ever. And now they’re probably going to win another title
They won 118 games aye? Im curious as to where you get your extremely false statistics. Because they won 108 games in 2018, and only won 92 this year. So, yeah.
Curious to see if the Giants shell out for an almost 30 year old Bryant
Almost 30 is not old, especially in a sport like baseball, and in fact, it’s on the younger side for most MLB FAs. A better question is how much money the Dodgers will shell out for a 34 year-old Kershaw, and a 37 year-old Scherzer. That is if they want to re-sign Max, since they most assuredly will re-sign Kershaw.
Not all people start collapsing the second they turn 30. Look, Nelson Cruz is 41 and is still a good player to have.
I’m not sure Bryant will be worth what he will likely be paid. His HUGE appeal is his versatility which is a big deal. Not sharp enough defensively for a lengthy $$$$ contract. Short term great. In short he makes me nervous
They’d be crazy to. He is a good player not an elite player.He plays many positions but plays none of them well , also he is injury prone. I’m sure someone will over pay for him. Hopefully not the Giants.
Bryant has been confessing his love of SF and the Giants since he arrived. He’s trying to sway public sentiment toward a big contract.
Truth is, he’s not worth what he thinks he’s worth. He’s good, don’t get me wrong, but his numbers and his age don’t scream $100M + contract.
I’d love to see him stay in SF for 5 years but under $100M but he and Boras will be looking for more. The Giants need look no further than Longoria and what he produced after he was 32 years old to know where Bryant is headed, defensive flexibility be damned.
Lol yes, he’s saying he likes it there to get a bigger contract.
Lol get real. And of course he’s going to get 100mm plus, if he doesn’t get it from SF he’ll get it somewhere else
Bryant is a PLUS fielder in multiple plus locations like CF and RF – he could play 1B and 3B.
Giants will resign because his flexibility
The thing is, he’s not really a plus defender in all these positions. RF is more like center field in Oracle Park and he hasn’t looked good there. Same with 3B. He’s better suited in Left or center/ or 1st base which he played well for the first time with the Giants, tonight. I’m just going off his time with the Giants though.
While I agree that Bryant is not a plus defender, his flexibility is exceedingly valuable. And while not a plus defender in CF, I don’t know what you mean by “hasn’t looked good there”. Defensive metrics have him as capable, and certainly not a liability. He has a 1 OAA, and 1 DRS for his career in CF. The fact that he can play all OF positions as well as CF, and multiple IF positions makes him the prefect player for a team like the Giants.
Now I could be wrong, I often am, but I trust the direction Farhan will take based on their analysis. I think they should try to resign Bryant, but whether he does, or lets him walk, it will be the right decision.
I said that he hasn’t been a plus defender in right field(which is more like center field in oracle park) and 3rd base. This is just what I’ve watched, as a Giants fan. His versatility fits the team very well without a doubt. We’ll see what the Giants do with him
100% agree
No. He is not.
Before the season started I mentioned he was worth his arbitration salary but no more. He wants a large money long term contract but is not a true impact player. I still feel like his AAV is around 18-19 million for six years. Boras will try to push it to eight years of 25 per season.
I agree but I wouldn’t give him more than 5
Grandpa Dave, you know you’re not supposed to be on the computer anymore. Not since you clicked on that link & supported 3 Nigerian Princes a couple years ago.
Seager to the Giants
If the Giants needed a a guy to play 3B I’d agree, but they don’t. Seager is not that good a defensive SS. He’s much better suited for 3B. If the Giants were to sign one of the FA SSs, I’d much prefer Correa.
They already signed Crawford.
I’m fully aware that they have Crawford at SS for the next 2 years. My response was in the abstract to a post advocating that the Giants sign Seager.
I could have added that they do not need to sign a SS, but my main point was that Seager is not that good a fielder, and that Correa would be the preference over him, if a FA SS were to be signed.
lol
I’m down for re-signing Bryant, wonder what it would take, what other teams out there are desperate for his services? Is money the driving factor here? Giants have a fair few impending FA so curious as to where they would rank him in terms of importance in resigning
I honestly don’t see the Giants giving Bryant the contract he will ultimately get (my guess is 8-10 years around 25-30 million annually). I think he will likely end up with the Phillies (to play with his buddy Harper), Yankees, or even the Dodgers (who would love the versatility he provides). My bet is he goes to Philly.
Farhan will not break the budget to sign Bryant….Posey and Belt will probably be resigned for 1-2 years and he has a starting rotation to sign. Lingo has one year left on contract.
Farhan can easily re-sign Bryant, plus fill in, or upgrade other areas, without breaking the budget. Not only do they currently have a low financial commitment, but they could easily exceed the tax threshold for a year or two, if they wanted, or needed to.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Giants—who certainly will spend heavy on the starting rotation—were in on Marcus Semien. But, at the right price, I’d like to have Bryant back.