Ty Blach

The top three relievers in free agency are Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen and Mark Melancon. Pavlovic rightly notes that the Giants would need to make overwhelming offers to win a bidding war with teams like the Cubs, Yankees and division-rival Dodgers for the services of Jansen or Chapman, opining that Melancon is the likeliest target. That could be especially true when considering the fact that Evans has previously been candid about his pursuit of a Melancon trade in July. Of the team’s trade efforts, Sabean indicated that the Giants lacked the prospect firepower to play for top names like Chapman and Andrew Miller at this year’s deadline, ultimately concluding: “In every case that a closer didn’t come to the Giants, they went elsewhere for probably a lot more than we could have been involved in.”

Shifting to the other side of the pitching staff, Evans said that Matt Cain will have every opportunity to make the team’s starting rotation next year, but the former ace will be competing with young left-hander Ty Blach to win the fifth rotation spot behind Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija and Moore. Pavlovic wonders if Cain and his four-pitch mix could transition to the bullpen in a similar manner to Joe Blanton. (If that shift in roles is indeed possible, then perhaps Cain could eventually emerge as a late-inning option.)

There’s little doubt, of course, as to who will be calling the games for the majority of the pitchers discussed thus far. Buster Posey remains one of baseball’s premier backstops, but he did fade down the stretch, in part due to some nerve irritation in his right thumb. The former NL MVP won’t require surgery — no member of the roster is in line to go under the knife following the season, in fact — and he isn’t likely to see a marked decrease in terms of time behind the plate next season, either. Some have wondered if catching a career-high 122 games contributed to Posey’s second-half decline, but Evans said there’s no thought to giving Posey more time at first base. “We’re always monitoring his health,” said Evans. “We’re still confident that (catcher) is the best spot for him.”

A full season of productivity out of Posey would certainly aid the Giants in returning to playoff baseball next season, and while many fans feel that the addition of Christian Arroyo to the big league roster would do the same, Evans’ expectation is that Arroyo will begin next year in the minors. The 21-year-old, believed by many to be the team’s third baseman of the future, has yet to play above the Double-A level and slashed only .274/.316/.373 in 119 games there this season. With Arroyo likely headed for the minors, Eduardo Nunez and postseason hero Conor Gillaspie “are locks” to make the roster, writes Pavlovic.

Looking to the coaching staff, the Giants made the decisions to part ways with first base coach Bill Hayes and third base coach Roberto Kelly, with Evans explaining that the team needs to “grow our leadership in terms of how we approach our base running and our overall efforts first-to-third, second-to-home.” Furthermore, the GM said that bench coach Ron Wotus has been contacted by another club, though Pavlovic notes that it’s not clear which team, nor is it clear whether Wotus will interview for one of the managerial vacancies with the division-rival D-backs or Rockies.