The Giants have designated infielder Tommy La Stella for assignment, reports Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. The move opens a roster spot for reliever Taylor Rogers.
La Stella, 34 in January, had an up-and-down career before coming to the Giants. After a couple of subpar seasons with the Braves and Cubs in 2014 and 2015, he seemed to find a good groove after that. Still with the Cubs in 2016 and 2017, he walked in 11.9% of his plate appearances and produced an overall batting line of .278/.372/.436. That production was 16% above league average, as evidenced by his 116 wRC+.
He had a swoon in 2018, as he hit just a single home run in 123 games and his walk rate dipped to 8.9%, leading to a batting line of .266/.340/.331 and a wRC+ of 87. However, he seemed to take a big step forward in 2019, hitting 16 home runs, more than his total over the previous five seasons. His walk rate dipped again but he only struck out in 8.7% of his plate appearances. 2019 was the “juiced ball” season, but he was still well above average at the plate. His .295/.346/.486 amounted to a wRC+ of 119, indicating he was 19% better than average that year, with wRC+ controlling for the offensive environment around the league.
In the shortened 2020 campaign, he added another five home runs and dropped his strikeout rate even farther to just 5.3%. He parlayed that into a three-year, $18.75MM deal with the Giants going into 2021. Unfortunately, La Stella’s seesaw career has been pointing straight down since that deal was signed. He made multiple trips to the injured list in 2021, getting into 76 games and hitting just .250/.308/.405 for a wRC+ of 93. He underwent achilles surgery in October, which was originally reported as occurring on his left achilles but was reported almost a year later to have been on both of them, per Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic.
In 2022, things got worse, as he continued to make frequent trips to the IL. He only played 60 games in the most recent season and took the field for just 76 innings on the year. When in the lineup, he produced a slash line of just .239/.282/.350 for a wRC+ of 78. Though there’s still another year left on his contract, it seems the Giants have decided it’s time to move on.
La Stella’s deal was heavily backloaded, as he made just $2MM in 2021, $5.25MM this year and is set for a salary of $11.5MM next year. The Giants will now have one week to trade La Stella or pass him through waivers, though a trade will be difficult to accomplish. Given the past two years have seen him struggle both in terms of health and performance, there will be little appetite from other teams to take on that $11.5MM salary. On the defensive side of things, La Stella has previously been able to serve as a utility player, splitting his time between second, third and first base. However, he hasn’t been rated as especially strong at any of them and barely donned a glove in 2022.
Assuming he clears waivers, he has more than five years of MLB service time, which gives him the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency while retaining that salary. At that point, any club in the league could sign him and pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, with that amount being subtracted from what the Giants pay.
Oh
Hey! “Wow” is the new “First” of the 20s, not “Oh”.
Tommy can come back to the Cubs and platoon with Madrigal at pinch hitter.
Cow, it’s udderly ridiculous. At least no thumbs up….
Oh spelled backwards spells, well, you know…
Well, everybody said I was a ho for an ice cold Bud or a Falstaff or a Griesedieck.
Hahahahahahaha!
Hey Holy, what do they call a herd of cows lying down?
Ground beef!!!!!
Pass that eggnog please…
I can’t wait till drinking is more publicly shunned than smoking tobacco in public, especially at places in public like ballgames where you have to drive home afterwards… if I’m not allowed to use my medical marijuana in public or use it and drive afterwards why should people be allowed to drink and be loud and belligerent and ruin my experience at the ball game? Oh wait wait I got it, $$$$$
La Stella ain’t looking so Stella no mo
Musta had one to many Stella Artois
Looking like that Cuban they had pitching in bad news bears….
They ain’t gonna drink that beer in the stadium are they?
What will the kids think?
What does your comment have to do with Tommy LaStella?
Why would he do that when he can platoon at second base with Arroyo and actually play?
After the concern with the Correa physical, the Giants front office determined they better closely examine the reports of the last physicals on all of the players, and something was flagged in Tommy’s record that caused concern. And therefore, bye bye Tommy!
Don’t they owe LaStella a decent chunk of change?
I believe so
Unfortunately but they needed the roster spot and he hasn’t been healthy for any decent amount of time since signing that contract
Yes Morries, Giants still owe him 11.5M. But he had surgery on BOTH achilles tendons last winter. Hard enough to recover from one. Hope he can get healthy and find his way
yeah but they don’t really have a place for him to play. With joc taking the QO it is hard to stash him in the DH position and he hasn’t played in the field for almost the entirety of his career as a giant
In the article it seems.
When mlbtr first published the article, that info was not in there, only more to come…Later they edited the article to add more. Those comments were posted early before that.
I’m kinda shocked by this
Really ? Dude has been straight Asss in Frisco
Another Zaidi mistake
Really? What mistakes has he made? Name one.
An 18M deal isn’t a mistake, lmao.
Giving Wil Myers 105 M is a mistake. Giving Eric Hosmer 144 M is a mistake. Trading 4 years of controllable Grandal for 5 years and 105 m of the corpse of Matt Kemp is a mistake and perhaps the worst trade in the last 3 decades.
Zaidi doesn’t make mistakes
Not trading Joc @ the deadline
Not trading MadBum @ the deadline
Not trading Rodon @ the deadline
Market for all 3 was prob nil. Nobody pays anything for 2 month rentals, esp mid ones like Joc and Bum
Every first round draft pick he has made so far? Buying Will Wilson for $12 million? Trading Melancon and not replacing him resulting in missing the playoffs by 1 game in 2020 after blowing 18 saves in a 60 game season? I could come up with a few more but that would be enough to get most GM’s fired alone!
Thanks. Glad I didn’t have to type all that.
Trading an ancient reliever with a horrible contract and getting the other team to pick up the whole thing is a mistake? What?
Read about prospect valuations on FG. A guy who just got drafted in the middle of the first round is easily worth 12 M, lol.
Both of those are minor moves anyway, so no idea how that’d be enough to get anyone fired even if they were bad (they weren’t), especially when dude put together a team that won the 3rd most games in the history of the NL. Absurd comment
And he isn’t the scouting director. Also the verdict isn’t out on any of those dudes yet.
Next
Zaidi may not make major mistakes but his timid approach hasn’t led to any significant gains to move the franchise forward either.
I mean they really haven’t had many chips to be aggressive with. System was a wasteland when he took over. Signing dudes like Castellanos, Schwarber and Ozuna to 80-100 M deals isn’t exactly a prudent approach either. Pretty clear at this point he’s never gonna sign dudes to that type of deal. It’s superstars or dumpster diving, which is exactly how it should be
Zaidi has made many mistakes. Biggest one was claiming Judge would be in a SF uniform before he was a free agent. Put himself in a bidding war he lost badly at. There was many offers for Madbum at the trading deadline but the Giants thought they would be playoff bound that year with a very bad team. Not trading Carlos Rodon at trading deadline this year. The farm is weak with a bunch of long off prospects.
@GMoney Market was Nil?? There is ALWAYS a market for Starting pitching and pen arms at the deadline . So, what you’re saying is w Rodon a guy leading the league in strikeouts AND he’s left handed had a soft market ? GTFO . I get it your live in SF and read the chronicle right ?? And you believed the BS Propaganda they print or those fools like Brissbee and Baggarly at the Athletic. I lived in SF last summer for 3-4 weeks w work . It is by far the Worst baseball coverage I’ve ever seen. They write like they work for the Giants. You need to try NY media coverage. Best in the nation and NO fluffy PR stuff like SF . NY writers hold team management ACCOUNTABLE. If Zaidi would have been here going on 5 years and only posted 1 winning season he would have been tarred and feathered
Yeah, that $310M offer to Bryce Harper was so timid. A what about that gutless $360M offer to Judge? Yeah, so timid….
Yes, especially because of his 22 m opt-in this season. He had gotten hurt, as he always does, the acquiring team would potentially have been on the hook for all that money without him pitching an inning.
So yeah, I doubt anyone was willing to give much more than whatever they’d get with the comp pick
Those are complete falsehoods. Zaidi never claimed any such thing. There’s a big difference between saying that signing Judge was a priority, and saying he would be in a Giants uni. He wouldn’t even have a low-level FO job, if that’s what he thought.
Feel free to document Zaidi saying any such thing, with a link, as well as providing us with those offers for Bum that he turned down. Otherwise you are just posting malicious fabrications.
27chumpyankees, You really are low on baseball knowledge. Other than your conjecture, how about providing some proof that any kind of return can be had for a rental pitcher at the deadline. Any recent trade where a rental pitcher brought back a decent return will do. Because trusting you say, when you lack credibility doesn’t work for me.
Wrong again ARC 2. Farhan never said Judge would be in a Giants uni? Show me that quote. Because he didn’t. He said Giants would spend this winter, and they have, he’s signed a lot of players. Judge went back to be captain of the Yankees, of course he would.
Do you know what was offered for Rodón at the deadline? No you don’t. He was a rental so I’m sure Zaidi wasn’t offered much. Plus the Giants get a comp pick in the draft now that Rodón rejected his qualifying offer. It’s all good.
There are prospects on the brink of coming up this year, you will see Schmitt, Harrison and maybe Vaun Brown.
So pipe down
Bingo tad2b13, you are right. Don’t let these doomers get to you. It’s almost hilarious how wrong they are. Clearly uniformed. Peace
People, ARC 2 keeps repeating the same non-facts. He has zero factual knowledge. Must be hearing voices in his head. And 27 is a borderline troll. But we keep engaged with them. I know it’s hard to resist but have they ever responded “gee, I stand corrected. Youre right and I’m wrong”? No they haven’t and they never will. Arc 2 once said, and I kid you not, that Clifford Ray had more value than Rick Barry when GSW won title in 1975. He has ZERO validity. Can we please ignore both of them. Understand, I’m just as guilty.
@tad2b13 You sound like a Fool defending Zaidi. Farhan Zaidi has taken a once proud franchise and turned it into the Laughingstock of the National league . By defending Zaidi you are saying that in spite of only fielding a team with a winning record above .500 one time you as a fan are pleased with the job he’s done . Or even better you are happy with the direction your team is headed …like 3rd place in the NL West this year . And it could be 4th place if the D-Backs play well. You’re good with that after 5 years ??
The Giants fearless leader Farhan Audi spent $64M this winter on two outfielders that combined to miss 267 games last season….And what’s even more insane is Giants fans like it!!
Cubs traded two months of David Robertson to the Phils for a pretty high end prospect in Ben Brown. There have been many two month pitcher rentals that netted quality.. Lester to the As, Jason Hammel to the As. Ryan Dempster to the Rangers.
Had he ever said it, that would be borderline tampering and Zaidi is not that dumb.
Laughing stock? Exaggerate much? Yeah, being 1 season removed from a 107 win season is such an embarrassment. 188 wins over the last 2 seasons is laughable? I guess most of the teams in MLB are laughable then.
Are you that new to baseball? Only an idiot believes it’s as simplistic as when a new PBO takes over, that a team should start winning within a short time. I know you probably don’t understand that every situation is different.
You need to offer something better than vague generalities if you want to be taken seriously. Your posts are devoid of facts. Opinions are fine as long as you have some facts to substantiate them. But citing team records, while ignoring the condition of any team when a PBO takes offer is useless, and proves nothing
#GMoney2850 Zaidi makes lots of mistakes. For example, chasing Bochy and Bumgarner away. Or publicly announcing a press conference for a player who hasn’t actually signed yet…
The Natural, Thanks for confirming my opinion. Not sure where you get that Ben Brown was anywhere close to a high end prospect. He wasn’t even listed in Fangraphs top 41 Phillies prospects. They have him listed as a “developmental type”, meaning he carries a FV of less than 35+. Not high end.
Lester, Hammel, and Dempster goes right to my point that teams use to be willing to trade decent prospects for rentals, but not any more. They’ve started placing a higher value on prospects.
Plus, Robertson was not close to getting a QO. The point being, the comp pick for guys like Rodon, Bumgarner, etc. guys that did, is worth far more than a low level prospect like Ben Brown.
#27Chumpy Not all of us Giants fans like it. And not all of us are dumb enough to be passionately defending Zaidi here. (Although I admit I used too, until as recently as last month.) The majority of us have wised up.
#tadb213 yeah we won 107 last year. Then backslid to .500 this year. The idea is to continually get better, not slip back to irrelevance, after 1 good season.
#FireFarhan, You think letting Bumgarner go was a mistake? You’re exposing some baseball ignorance. Bum’s contract is regarded as a bad one. The D’backs would love to move Bum, but that contract is underwater, and no other team will touch it.
They’ve paid $48M for 3 seasons of 84 ERA+ pitching, and still owe him $37M. Letting Bum go was one of Zaidi’s better moves.
#tad2b13 yeah I agree, Bumgarner pitched much better in SF. He loved being here, took a lot of pride in the organization. It’s clear to see in his interviews from the time
#FF- Bumgarner signed with the Dbacks as a free agent and Zaidi made an excellent decision not to extend him. We love him but he’s never been the same since the dirt bike accident. Give it a rest, your endless posts full of nothing are so tiresome.
#agnes gooch we could debate about Bumgarner all we want, we’ll still have our opinions. And that’s fine. But that’s rather irrelevant to today and not worth resorting to insults over. Maybe I never should have typed his name, I’ll aknowledge that.
#FireFarhan, To expect a steady improvement every year is unrealistic. That’s like expecting the .250 hitter to go 1 for 4 every game. Life isn’t like that. He’ll go 2 for 4, 3 for 4, even 4 for 4, and then go hitless in several other games.
The Giants, in Zaidi’s 1st 2 seasons, had a .477 winning percentage, In the his last 2 their winning percentage was .580, I see that as improvement over his tenure. Did you really expect them to not regress after winning 107 games, the most in the 139 year franchise history? Given the injury issues in 2022 along with the expected regression, I don’t see a valid basis for complaint.
GMoney2850, I do disagree that Zaidi doesn’t make mistakes. Unless a PBO has a reliable crystal ball, they will all make the occasional mistake. What Zaidi doesn’t do is make stupid mistakes.
They are better off with the draft picks. Giants have been in playoff hunt at the trade deadline.
@ForeverGiantsFan Playoff hunt??? Going into the 2022 trade deadline the Giants had only posted one month with a winning record ( April) That is not a playoff team . Lol
I saw the 2022 Giants play. They were pretty bad. Had Bob Melvin not rested his starters and Soto / Machado in the last regular series of the year , the Giants would have finished 2022 with a losing record below .500
Zaidi never claimed Judge would be a Giant. Only person that did that was Heyman.
I’ve lived in northern CA #
27 for the past 25 years. Your media assessments are spot on. Just amazes me what fans swallow from the Chronicle and electronic media.
27chumpy:
“Had Bob Melvin not rested his starters and Soto / Machado in the last regular series of the year , the Giants would have finished 2022 with a losing record below .500”
That is a complete falsehood. You’ve used that before and it is utterly incorrect.
Soto and Machado each started 2 of the 3 games. Regular rotation guys Manaea and Morejon each had a start. SD did start Stammen in the last game, but the Giants started Brebbia, making that game a bullpen game for both teams. On top of that Brebbia started game 1 against Morejon. So there are no excuses since 2 of those final 3 games were bullpen games for the Giants.
@tad2b13 there are a few articles in a search engine talking about Zaidi saying he could make trades or not. Also in same articles about how the Giants being at .500 want to compete for the division and is unwilling to take up offers on their players. How they are getting offers for many players on the current team.
Ziadi did say when asked about signing judge close to the end of the season he said it will be big offseason for us. Of course he couldn’t mention Judge name since it would be tampering.
@agnes gooch. When asked the question on will the giants sign Judge he said the giants will have a big offseason. He couldn’t mention judge name or its tampering. Second they wouldn’t have offered Rodon a QO if they did not attend to sign him. They made the mistake of making Judge and Carlos their priority and shun all other free agents.
Harrison and Brown are both in AA so they are far off. Schmitt only had 15 at bats in AAA. Only Harrison is rated a top 100 prospect. So don’t over load your pipe because its going to be a very long season for you.
Calude you are the same guy that claimed Giants would win a world series last year. Should I go back and show how many times your predictions were way off? Like how you said Judge would be a Giant. You claimed the dodgers will never win a world series. Claude also said Wiggins would destroy the warriors he can’t play. Calude you are just a clown here.
Ziadi claimed a big off season when asked about judge. So what happened? Did everyone sleep through that big off season?
Brown has a 60 fastball and a 55 curve. High end was a poor choice. Decent would have been more accurate, but Rotowire currently has him as #263 of all prospects.
ARC 2, Near the deadline, MLBTR had an article that said the Giants were listening on trades for veteran players. It didn’t have specifics on any player, but suggested everyone was available except Logan Webb. He did trade players. He traded Curt Casali, and Darin Ruf, both useful pieces. So, it defies logic to believe that Zaidi turned down a trade that had more value than the comp pick.
People don’t get to be GMs or PBOs by being stupid, and rejecting good trades. And in the improbable event that one did, it is what could get them fired. Larry Baer knows what was offered for Rodon, and wouldn’t be happy if Zaidi rejected a trade that benefitted the Giants.
Zaidi said Judge was the priority, and he gave it a good try. I seriously doubt that him staying in NY was a huge surprise. He hoped it would be a big offseason, and it would have been without the Correa medical issue. As it is, I see the Giants as being better than many think. They may finish in 3rd, but I think they’ll be competitive for a WC berth.
The Natural, Don’t you think the comp pick for Rodon which is after the first round because his deal was greater than $50M, making it at about 35th overall, much better than a prospect like Brown?
We don’t know what was offered, I’m sure any offer would have been better than Brown. But I just don’t understand how people are so sure Zaidi turned down a trade that was better than a 35th, or so, overall pick. I don’t think he gets where he is by being stupid about baseball.
Talking about the year before when they were close to .500 record but didn’t take up offers because they felt they could make a WC spot when they needed to jump over a lot of teams. Giants farm system is on the down. Looking at their division its going to be very hard for a playoff spot.
If you live in the bay area you would know all off season the media pretended like Judge to the Giants was a slam dunk. Carlos was a knee jerk reaction to Judge not signing. Turns out a good thing giants questioning carlos knee. They didn’t even try to sign Rondon because they thought their money was going to judge.
ARC 2, The same argument holds whether you’re talking about last year or the year before, or any recent year. It defies logic. I just don’t think Zaidi is that stupid to turn down good offers in order to keep a .500 team together. He doesn’t get a PBO job with a history of doing anything like that, and he wouldn’t be able to hold one either. Larry Baer sees what deals Zaidi is taking and rejecting.
As I’ve asked repeated of you and others, show me a recent example of a deadline trade that brought back a prospect that was better than the comp pick. People keep asserting that Zaidi had good offers, and yet no one knows what those offers were.
It’s all just conjecture based on a time when getting a good prospect for a rental was possible. That does not exist today as the predominant thinking values prospects higher, and rental players lower, than they did in the past.
frugalfarhan, I love how you guys talk out of both sides of you mouth. Zaidi gets criticized for not trading Bum, Joc, and Rodon. supposedly passing up a haul in prospects, but gets criticized for trading Melancon, who was soon to be a FA, and who was the object of scorn from a lot of fans.
The fact that Zaidi actually got a decent prospect for Melancon in Tristan Beck, would suggest he would have traded the other guys had a decent return been offered.
But it’s tough when a guy gets hammered for making trades, and not making trades, especially when no one has any idea what the return would have been on the trades he didn’t make.
Good thing he doesn’t make as many as you do.
Sounds like yall would be happy watching thus Zaidi fella eat a plate of his own poop for breakfast
Your poker face is… telling
There’s the White Sox second baseman for 2023.
Please delete your comment before Rick Hahn sees it.
Don’t worry, Perry Minasian has the La Stella’s number on speed dial.
I’m generally not a fan of middle infield platoons, maybe even more so with defensively challenged Tim Anderson at SS. That said, if the White Sox decide to roll with one of their right-handed hitting internal options, Romy Gonzalez or Lenyn Sosa at 2B, I could see them bringing in Tommy La Stella to pair with either while he also provides some backup insurance at 3B for annual IL candidate Yoan Moncada. Of course, La Stella has his own defensive issues but that’s not something that generally dissuades the White Sox front office when it comes to roster additions.
I’m not endorsing a La Stella signing. I’m simply preparing myself for a move that has typified the White Sox transaction list far too often in the Rick Hahn era, mostly due to the frugality of his boss.
What really sucks is that veteran Jean Segura is the top 2B free agent this offseason and he remains unsigned. He’ll turn 33 in March and won’t require a long term investment or even an excessive annual salary relative to what we’ve seen with the top shortstops this offseason. He’d be a perfect fit for the White Sox in terms of adding a decent bat to their lineup while also providing a steady glove at 2B to pair with TA at SS.
It’s been infuriating for White Sox fans who continue to witness other big market contenders go big while our front office cries poor. The fans were promised that “the money would be spent” to supplement a promising young roster in the wake of their last rebuild. Instead, Jerry Reinsdorf gave us two years of Tony La Russa and broken promises.
Leury for LaStella. Total money is about the same but Leury is being paid for 2 years instead of 1
He just had surgery in October he will not be playing next year at all
Well nvm then
Please, please say it ain’t so.
A wonderful holiday gift for all Giants’ fans!
If dumping LaStella for 3 years of Taylor Rogers is a gift, you ought to try a Pepsi cola
Frangraphs has a great write up on Giants signing Rodgers. He got the money thsi website predicted.
Yupp, I don’t get it. I don’t see the equations and projections though. To me, he’s like an Archie Bradley/Brandon Knotzler. A buy low situational candidate, where if you’re in the chase- great & if not you can trade at the deadline. But, a cornerstone multi year bp player, the risk/reward seems lopsided after last season.
I only just connected the dots that both Rogers bros will be on SF now. That may get confusing.
@dark, I think it’s super cool. Assuming Taylor finds his form again, it will be fun to have a pair of twin brothers in our bullpen. Last season, when we played the Padres, they warmed up together for the first time in their lives as big leaguers. This year, I imagine, they’ll warm up every night together. About the only cool thing that happened thus far in the Giants offseason!
It shouldn’t get too confusing. Even though they’re twins, one is a hard throwing lefty, and the other a soft tossing submariner that throws from the right.
Especially since the new CBA agreement allows has a new statute allowing both players in a set of twins to pitch on the mound at the same time.
I’m pretty sure they’ll each be wearing a different number
He’ll land on his feet, let’s just hope he doesn’t sprain anything…
RIP Barves legend Tommy
“Barves legend” sounds about right.
Slow down on the eggnogs Smacky…
La Stella Vista Tommy
Wow
Cmon phillies, that was pretty good. thx armaments
No, it was incredible. That was a a good wow
Thx Phillie, I was hoping it was a good wow. Apologies.
Perfect
Took me a second, but the payoff was definitely there. Bravo!
The Tigers should grab him NOW!
Will not be surprised if they do. I think he’s definitely an upgrade over Kody Clemens.
Clemens would be more useful as a mop-up guy out of the bullpen. Just a bad player.
All Clemens needs is a good ole shot in the ass from pops
He’s still owed $11.5M, I think his contract is underwater.
It’s possible there’s some sort of trade to be worked out where a team agrees to help SF with what is still owed on that contract a little, but if LaStella was a FA would you sign him to a 1 year $11.5M deal? That’s basically what claiming him amounts to.
CNichols, A trade is possible, but highly improbable. He has negative trade value. If a team wanted him they could just wait until he’s released, assuming he will be. And I really doubt FZ will try to pass him through waivers with the intention of sending him to the River Cats. Once released any team can have him for the minimum salary.
He’d refuse Sac anyway. He’ll get picked up same as when SF grabbed Pablo for the minimum.
Good point. I don’t think Tommy is worth that amount at all.
Zaidi finally did right thing by DFA LaStella. 7 days to work out a trade or complete release. Any player (ML) Giants receive will be a bonus.
One unnecessary three year contract dumped for a new one.
So ends the Giants World Series Championship hopes.
if Zaidi wasn’t the one DFA’ing him then he would almost assuredly sign LaStella for two years with an opt out after one
but only if he can throw 90 feet
No he’d get him for nothing and then waived him a month later.
He’s welcome back in Oakland, could be a nice mentor for the kids coming up
Exactly where he’s headed
When the Cubs got rid of him the fanbase roasted the team like they let a 1st Ballot Hall Of Famer go!!!
Given that they did it to sign descalso as a replacement, the fan base was right.
He coulda been a contenda.
“I coulda been a contenda” was in “On the Waterfront.”
La “Stelllllllaaaaaaa!” was in “A Streetcar Named Desire.”
This was about the most predictable move of the offseason.
Braves next shortstop
We were hoping for Yuniesky Betancourt & his stone glove.
I never know whether or not to take some of these comments seriously…
Since La Stella doesn’t even play SS, I’m guessing it’s clearly a joke..
Braves are good with Grissom until he proves otherwise, but I certainly wouldn’t mind La Stella as a bench piece.
They already have a bench consisting of either one of Rosario/Ozuna, Arcia, and maybe Luplow or Diaz, but La Stella could fit in nicely as a non-SS UT bat.
Just a Bad free agent signing. It Happens.
Yes considering what an injured mess he’s been the last 2 years. Glad it was only for 3 years and not 13
“Stella! Stella!”
As a Giants fan I’m just glad I don’t have to watch La Stella’s at-bats any more.
After every single pitch, he would jam his bat between his legs, spit into his batting gloves, and rub his gloves together. So disgusting. I got to the point where I would literally look away from the screen during his at bats.
The outcome had become far more disgusting than the ritual that preceded it.
A player spitting disgusts you? You must look away a lot.
It’s one thing to spit on the ground. Just imagine those gloves.
White Sox should be all over him
Not bad sit on your butt and get paid 11mil for one year. Now I know everyone would take that deal.
Prayers answered!
How bad is this team gonna be?
C Joey Bart
1B Wilmer Flores
2B Thairo Estrada
3B David Villar
SS Brandon Crawford
LF Joc Pederson
CF Mike Yastrzemski
RF Michael Conforto/Mitch Haniger
DH Mitch Haniger/Michael Conforto
Bench
C Austin Wynns
IF J.D. Davis
OF Austin Slater
1B/OF LaMont Wade Jr.
Starting Rotation
RHP Logan Webb
LHP Sean Manaea
RHP Ross Stripling
RHP Alex Cobb
RHP Anthony DeSclafani
Swingmen
RHP Jacob Junis
LHP Alex Wood
Bullpen
LHP Scott Alexander
RHP John Brebbia
RHP Camilo Doval
RHP Yunior Marte
LHP Taylor Rogers
RHP Tyler Rogers
That would be the Giants roster if the season started today
No way in hell JOC plays the field over Haniger and conforto, he’s the reason we signed those guys. Big mistake offering him the QO my guess was they tried to work multi year contract out of it but JOC knew the money was his already why digress. Not worth it should’ve spent that money elsewhere! Like conforto!
Rsox, You forgot Luis Gonzalez. I disagree on a few things. I think CF will be more of a platoon with Yastrzemski and Slater. I think it will be mostly J.D. Davis at 3B. And I think the DH will be mostly Joc, unless Conforto isn’t ready for full time work on the field. Conforto has much better defensive numbers than Joc, who’s a defensive liability.
Problem is someone has to be excluded. So if Davis is at 3B the Giants would still need a backup Infielder. I wonder if the Giants dangle Yastrzemski as trade bait with CF being such a hard position to fill they could probably land a prospect or two for him.
Gonzalez was unfortunately just a victim of the numbers game
My opinion of Davis over Villar was nit-picky. I see Davis as the slightly better hitter, and slightly worse fielder. I can see Davis starting with Villar as a later inning defensive sub. You’re right about the numbers, I miscounted. I think Gonzalez has options left, so he’ll start in Sacramento, if everyone is healthy coming out of ST, and would be called up then the inevitable injury happens to one of the OFs.
Guys, cmon. Joc lefty dh, Davis righty dh. Yes, $19 mil too much for a platoon DH. I still think they need better D, so a good D backup SS/utility, agood D firstbaseman (belt? don’t laugh) and more bullpen. I used to think trading was option for good d centerfielder, but they might want to save prospects for a July trade. Yes, the farm regressed but it was a top 10 farm before covid.
Having said that, if Mets sign Correa, Escobar could be a trade piece for Mets. 3b, ss and 2b and switch hitter. Perfect for SFs needs
“I wonder if the Giants dangle Yastrzemski as trade bait…”
that’s gonna be a LONG dangle! Like fishing in a mud puddle – not much biting goin on
I don’t think anyone outside of SF, and his immediate family, thinks much of this guy. He was a fun story a couple seasons ago, but lets be real.
Gonzalez is a poor base runner and has average defense at best. His hitting tanked after the hot start. he doesn’t make opening day roster unless one of the outfielders gets hurt.
A team whose best hope is getting to be a .500 team. A team full of mediocre players.
I see ARC 2, since you have them pegged at .500 or less, I guess there’s no reason for them to play this season at all. Lol!
agnes, I can’t take ARC 2 very seriously. There’s obviously some clouding of judgement by the ant-Zaidi sentiment. Plus some lack of baseball knowledge.
Yeah it seems that way. A lot will have to go right for them to make the playoffs. This team seriously lacked depth last year. As constructed 83 wins. Lost Longoria’s 89,games of 117 ops+. Also davis had like a .385 babip No way that happens again. Villar is probably the everyday 3b.
@agnes I see you think they are going to be world series champs so anything less for you is a failure. I guess if they are not top team by all star break you rather have them forfeit the rest of the year.
@tad there is no anti-Zaidi just reality. So you are saying you can not question a GFM for any reason. You MUST praise them over and over anything less is hate. So explain why i can not question Zaidi and why he is above being questioned?
ARC 2, Please, if you’re going to be ridiculous I’d just as soon end this dialogue. I don’t mind anyone disagreeing with me, but I do mind having words put in my mouth.
I’ve questioned Zaidi. I was very critical when he signed Joc the first time. Turns out I was wrong. I questioned making Judge a priority. But I also know he is much smarter about baseball than I am. But I don’t think every GM/PBO is good at their jobs. I’m so glad AJ Preller isn’t with the Giants.
My problem is the criticisms against Zaidi come without valid alternatives. Or they’re based on complete conjecture, like the supposed mistake of trades not made.
A big complaint up until this season was that he didn’t spend money. Of course that came without saying who he should spend money. Some thought he should have spent on Gausman. But the jury is still out on that decision, and will be until his contract is up. The jury will be out for awhile on Rodon as well.
Too many critics are simply results oriented. The Giants won 107 games, yay. The Giants fell to .500, fire him. It’s just dull, over-simplistic analysis of the job he’s actually done.
Tad?? So why do you jump all over me for questioning him if you do the same? Giants went all in on Judge and assumed he would sign with them when most people outside of SF knew Judge would stay in NY. I also knew they would then go after Carlos. I do applaud them for backing out of the contract with carlos.
ARC 2, It’s not the questioning, it’s the quality of the questioning. For example, Your assumption that Zaidi assumed he would sign Judge is complete conjecture on your part, and also assumes that Zaidi is stupid. I don’t think many Giants fans assumed Judge would be a Giant. I certainly didn’t.
Plus, another problem is your saying most people outside of SF knew Judge would stay in NY, when nobody knew that for sure. It was probable that he’d re-sign, but only Judge knew for sure, and probably not right away.
As evidence that Zaidi did not assume anything is he stated that Correa could be a target if they missed out on Judge, clearly Zaidi was not assuming anything. Which also means it wasn’t that insightful that you knew they’d go after Correa, since they had already said they would.
Its still a more solid roster with a much better WAR than the Detroit Tigers. Detroit will be very lucky to win 70 games this upcoming season.
I think somewhere between 72-78 wins is a fair assessment with the current roster.
They certainly don’t look improved; they just look old.
Apparently you just offer opinions off the top of you head. without actually looking to see if they’re anywhere near reality. And where do you get old? That’s an outdated and lazy take. They weren’t even the oldest team in MLB last season. The oldest teams by rank were:
1. Mets*
2. Yankees*
3. Nat’s
4. W. Sox
5. Dodgers*
6. Braves*
7. Giants
*Playoff team
statista.com/statistics/236223/major-league-baseba…
Plus the Giants have gotten significantly younger. 7 of their 10 oldest players are gone. Crawford, who will be 36 is the oldest guy, and he’s 2 years older than the next oldest guy. Alex Cobb, who’s 2 years older than the next oldest guys.
La Stella could be the White Sox next 2B. He also could be the next guy to sign with the Reds and all of a sudden start mashing the Baseball
If the white Sox take on la Stella for league minimum it’s another way of them waiving the white flag , similar to dealing Hendricks.
People can knock La Stella all they want, but he’s an excellent defensive 2nd baseman, and his offensive numbers don’t reveal that he’s also an excellent clutch hitter. The Giants need more infield depth, and – with or without La Stella – they should sign Jean Segura (plus Jurickson Profar to improve their outfield).
Way off, he was limited defensively before his surgery on both Achilles. Having gone thru that injury I will tell you, it never comes back you never regain full range of motion. His OBP was his calling card and low strikeout rate, all of which ghosted him upon putting a Giants jersey on. Not a bad dude by any means but no real value in his diminished skill set at this point . Can only tell you how infuriating it was to see him get at bats over the last few seasons especially during the 107 win season when so many others were contributing at the same or higher level.
Sorry Brad but 2 years proved you are wrong about Lastella. You say “knock him all you want”?? That makes no sense cuz knocking is not needed. He WAY underperformed. No range and without the shift range is a requirement. Profar? Horrible defensive stats. Bad idea. Segura? He’ll be 33 and Thairo Estrada will be 28. Estrada better power and speed (21steals) and played 5 position. Seems the 3 you like are kinda not helpful.
best move off the Giants offseason! LFG
A lot of comments here about not trading certain players before they leave. One thing you have to understand is SF fans get very loyal to their players, that may not be the best way to win but it’s the audience the Giants front office has to play to. If they had traded MadBum it would have torn the heart out of fans. Heck they still give him a standing ovation when he comes to town pitching for the opposing team.
Was at bums last game. He didn’t pitch but Bochy had him hit against Kershaw. Loved seeing that big swing. Kershaw gave him something to hit to. Bum just missed it.
I hope someone picks up both hosmer and la Stella. They’ll pay the minimum and other teams will pay their ridiculous salaries. Are there any other veterans like this? If they don’t get gigs in MLB, they’d be able to pay for all the beer money after the game in a cool softball league. We could call it the Wasted Money League.
They owe him $11.5M and have a need for a lefty, so I wouldn’t have blamed them for giving him one last chance. But I don’t blame them for cutting him, and hopefully his roster spot goes to a younger guy.
The Giants have enough pieces to try for a wild card spot, but they’re far enough from contention that I hope they let guys like David Villar and LaMonte Wade Jr play regularly. If those two get 500-plus AB’s, the Giants will have some clarity on if either player can be a part of their 2023 plans. Playing LaStella, however, brings no clarity to the roster beyond this season.
I feel like you’re envisioning the 2020 version of LaStella, who is very much the type of player the Giants need. But his defense has cratered due to injury, and he’s been forced into a mostly DH role. Without his defensive flexibility, LaStella is a waste of space on this Giants roster.
You’re totally right that a left-handed infielder fits the Giants’ needs. I’m guessing they’re confident enough that his health will continue to limit his defense in 2023, or else he would have been worth giving one last chance.
Isan Diaz had a good year with the River Cats last year. He’s 25, a left handed infielder and already on the 40 man roster. Later Tommy !
Dodgers should get him after he clears waivers.
Achilles injuries are bad news. Good luck Tommy. Hope you find a good landing spot.
Farhan, you’d better sign another good lefty reliever soon! After giving away Luetge, you know the Yankees are on the prowl. Chafin, Britton, Will Smith, Hand and Matt Moore all seem like legit adds.
Wow, I didn’t think they would do that. They must feel comfortable with Thairo – about time
Cardinals and release DeJong
Giants didn’t land Judge or Correa but I think considering they had a decent offseason at this point Added 6 of the top 44 free agents
17 -manaes
20 Haniger
24- Taylor Rodgers
34- Peterson
38-Ross Stripling
44-Comforto.
Lost
6-Radon
NR- Longoria
LaStella
They needed depth in the outfield and on the pitching staff. That’s exactly what they added.
And if there’s a trade needed, it’ll be infield. Seems to me they’re still a year away from being where they want to be, but clearly better than last year.
My Prediction : 76 / 86 season. (Miss the Playoffs)
Zaidi w/ get fired, and we will get another off season of promises and nothing will happen, AGAIN !!