- The Giants announced their player development staff for the upcoming season, including the hiring of former right-hander Matt Buschmann in one of five Assistant Director Of Player Development positions (Buschmann will focus on run prevention). Originally a 15th-round pick for the Padres in the 2006 draft, Buschmann spent 11 seasons in pro ball, though he didn’t pitch in 2017 after being released from his minor league deal with the Blue Jays in early April. Buschmann’s career did include a brief taste of the majors, appearing in three games (4 1/3 IP) for the Diamondbacks in April 2016. We at MLBTR wish Buschmann the best as he embarks on his post-playing career.
Giants Rumors
Giants Hire Travis Ishikawa As Arizona League Hitting Coach
The Giants announced on Friday that Travis Ishikawa will become the new hitting coach for one of the franchise’s two Arizona League rookie ball affiliates. The hiring seemingly brings an official end to Ishikawa’s 15-year playing career — he didn’t play last season after being granted free agency following the 2016 campaign.
Ishikawa was originally a 21st-round pick for the Giants in the 2002 draft, and though he suited up for five other teams over the course of his career, only two of his 15 seasons were spent entirely outside of the Giants organization. That long tenure in San Francisco earned him World Series rings in 2010 and 2014, with Ishikawa playing a particularly notable role in the latter championship year. Ishikawa’s walkoff homer in Game 5 of the 2014 NLCS clinched the series for the Giants and sent them back to the Fall Classic; it was just the fourth time in history that a league championship series had ended on a home run.
Appearing in parts of eight MLB seasons, Ishikawa produced a .255/.321/.391 slash line and 23 homers over 1050 career plate appearances with the Giants, Pirates, Brewers, Orioles, and Yankees. His strong reputation as a defensive first baseman is borne out in advanced metrics, with a 13.2 UZR/150 and +17 Defensive Runs Saved over his career.
We at MLBTR wish Ishikawa a happy retirement from playing, and wish him all the best as he embarks on his new career in coaching.
Giants Showed Interest In Maikel Franco At Winter Meetings
- The Giants expressed some interest in Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco at the Winter Meetings, per Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia (Twitter link). It’s unclear, though, whether the two sides engaged in any substantive talks. The 25-year-old Franco’s value clearly isn’t at its peak, as he has fallen flat since a terrific 80-game debut in 2015. He’s now coming off a season in which he hit a woeful .230/.281/.409 in 623 plate appearances. Franco will try to rebound in 2018, his first of four potential arbitration years (he’ll earn a projected $3.6MM).
Giants Interested In Evan Longoria
The Astros and Phillies have interest in Rays right-hander Chris Archer, joining a slew of previously reported clubs, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The Rays clearly wouldn’t have any trouble finding a taker for Archer, thanks to his track record, age (29) and team-friendly contract (four years, $34MM). Teammate and face of the franchise Evan Longoria, the Rays’ longtime third baseman, is three years older than Archer and costs far more (a guaranteed $86MM over a half-decade). But that doesn’t seem to be a prohibitive price tag, as the three-time All-Star is drawing some interest from the division-rival Yankees as well as the Giants, Mets and previously reported Cardinals, according to Topkin.
Rangers Acquire Matt Moore
The Rangers have officially acquired lefty Matt Moore from the Giants. Texas will also add $750K of international bonus pool spending capacity while shipping minor-league righties Sam Wolff and Israel Cruz to San Francisco.
With the move, the Giants have cut loose a pitcher that was slated to open the season as part of the organization’s rotation. As a peak at the club’s depth chart shows, the organization doesn’t exactly have an established player ready to step in, though there surely are options. Chris Stratton and Ty Blach will likely enter camp as the favorites to round out the starting unit, with pitchers such as Tyler Beede, Andrew Suarez, and Joan Gregorio also in the picture in the near future.
GM Bobby Evans says that his organization will reallocate Moore’s $9MM salary to upgrade elsewhere. (H/t Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, via Twitter.) Certainly, the organization has been looking to add power bats all offseason long, and it’s evident now that the goal is to do so without running afoul of the $197MM luxury tax line. Evans says the club’s “focus remains to strengthen our outfield defense and our everyday lineup.” Of course, there are limits to what kind of asset can be had for the level of payroll capacity that was freed with this trade, though further dealing could open more space.
For the Rangers, Moore will fill out a southpaw-heavy starting staff — now and, perhaps, in 2019, as he can be kept at a $10MM price (or turned onto the open market with a $750K buyout). The organization has aggressively pursued pitching this offseason, with this acquisition following earlier moves that brought in Mike Minor, Doug Fister, Chris Martin, and Tony Barnette. Click here to see the updated depth chart after the move. While the Rangers have given some indication of pursuing a higher-end rotation option, at this point the staff seems mostly set unless a new opportunity arises and the organization finds a way to make all the pieces fit.
In Moore, they’ll add a hurler who seemed on his way to establishing himself as a top-end starter before Tommy John surgery intervened. Moore looked to rebound somewhat in 2016, the year in which he was shipped from the Rays to the Giants in a deadline deal that sent Matt Duffy and prospects to Tampa Bay. The southpaw ended the year with a 4.08 ERA over 198 1/3 innings, with 8.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9.
The Giants’ belief at that point was surely that Moore would at least continue to provide quite a few solid innings, with perhaps some hope that he’d make yet further strides. But his 2017 follow-up effort fell flat, as Moore’s velocity trended down and his swinging-strike rate sat at a full-season-low 8.6% rate. He ended the year with 174 1/3 frames of 5.52 ERA ball. Though he managed a fairly typical 7.6 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9, Moore was harmed by a 1.39 HR/9 rate.
While the primary motivation here is likely financial, the Giants will add two arms in the process. The 26-year-old Wolff had some success upon moving to the bullpen in 2017, posting a cumulative 2.93 ERA with 12.3 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 over 43 innings split about evenly between Double-A and Triple-A. That said, he is expected to miss significant time due to injury in 2017, per ESPN.com’s Keith Law (via Twitter). Cruz, 20, has yet to advance past the Rookie ball level, where he struggled to a 5.91 ERA but did manage 11.8 K/9 against 4.5 BB/9 in 32 innings in 2017.
John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reported the deal (Twitter link). Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area (via Twitter), ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter), and Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter) all added components of the return. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter) reported the amount of international bonus pool capacity.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Giants Nearing Trade To Clear Payroll Space
6:52pm: Pence is not in the deal that will send Moore to the Rangers, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Shea and colleague Henry Schulman (Twitter links) add that, while Pence is not currently being dealt and has not been asked to waive his no-trade clause, it’s likely the Giants are trying to move him.
5:55pm: The Giants are nearing a significant swap that will open up payroll space, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). The pact will involve either or both of lefty Matt Moore and outfielder Hunter Pence.
Details of the arrangement — including the prospective trade partner — aren’t yet known. But Shea says a deal is in place pending physicals, so it certainly appears that a move of some kind is imminent.
While the Giants embarked upon a major effort to land high-priced star Giancarlo Stanton earlier in the offseason, there have been rumblings that the club may shift gears given how things have shaken out thus far. While there’s still no reason to believe that a rebuilding effort is afoot, the Giants may attempt the difficult task of improving their competitiveness without going past the luxury tax line in 2018.
Moore, 28, is owed just $9MM this year and can be controlled for 2019 through a $10MM club option (otherwise he’ll be owed a $750K buyout). That’s not the bargain it once seemed likely to be, but sill seems a reasonable price for a youthful pitcher. While he struggled to a 5.39 ERA in 2017, Moore’s peripherals were within his usual range, he was much more effective in 2016, and he has been at full health of late.
The respected Pence, meanwhile, fell off drastically in 2017 after a long run of well-above-average production at the plate. Over 539 plate appearances, Pence managed only a .260/.315/.385 slash line. He is set to earn a hefty $18.5MM in the final season of his contract, which seems a fair bit more than he’d command on the open market. Of course, there’s still value in a hard-working player who might be seen as a rebound candidate. But it’s important to note that Pence enjoys full no-trade rights and has become a Bay Area fixture.
Giants Notes: Avisail, Coaches, Ramos, Hamilton
Here’s the latest out of San Francisco…
- The Giants “checked in” on Avisail Garcia as part of their search for outfield help, NBCSports.com’s Alex Pavlovic reports. The White Sox outfielder is coming off a breakout season, and he’d fit the Giants’ needs as a right-handed hitter who comes at a relatively inexpensive price (arbitration-controlled through 2019). Garcia and Jose Abreu stand out as Chicago’s two biggest remaining veteran trade chips.
- Also from Pavlovic’s item, he reports that the Giants were going to install Phil Nevin as their new bench coach if Hensley Muelens had been hired as the Yankees’ new manager. Once New York hired Aaron Boone, Nevin ended up being the one leaving for the pinstripes, taking a job as the Yankees’ new third base coach. Some Giants officials feel Meulens will only be with the team for another season, as another club will hire him away for a managerial position.
- Talks between the Giants and Reds about Billy Hamilton failed to materialize since the Giants balked at moving Heliot Ramos, The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly reports. Ramos has been a hot commodity this winter, as reportedly just about every team the Giants have engaged with in trade talks has asked about the 2017 first-rounder. While the Reds would have to drop their asking price, Baggarly doesn’t think San Francisco has given up on pursuing Hamilton, as an improved outfield defense would go a long way towards helping the Giants again become competitive.
Nick Hundley Expects To Re-Sign With Giants
- Free agent catcher Nick Hundley told Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle he’s “optimistic” that he’ll re-sign with the Giants (Twitter link). Hundley, 34, inked a $2MM deal to serve as Buster Posey’s backup last winter and proceeded to hit .244/.272/.418 in 303 in plate appearances. He was a mixed bag defensively, throwing 29 percent of would-be base stealers but earning minus marks as a pitch framer.
Trade Chatter: Nats, Rays, Fulmer, Reds, Jays, Braves, Giants, Yelich, Phils
Looking to improve an already enviable rotation, the Nationals have Rays right-handers Chris Archer and Jake Odorizzi on their radar, Jon Heyman of FanRag reports (via Twitter). Either would cost far less in terms of salary than free agent Jake Arrieta will, and Heyman notes that the Nats are unsure if they’d be able to afford Arrieta. Heyman also points to Diamondbacks righty Zack Greinke as a possibility for the Nats; however, he’s not exactly cheap, with $138.5MM coming his way through 2021.
More on the trade front:
- The Tigers “will only entertain lopsided offers” for righty Michael Fulmer, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). A trade involving the highly coveted 24-year-old doesn’t look likely, then.
- The Blue Jays are interested in Reds outfielders Billy Hamilton and Adam Duvall, per reports from Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (via Twitter) and Jays Journal. The Braves also have interest in the 29-year-old Duvall, tweets Heyman. Duvall, a 30-home run hitter in each of the previous two seasons, is controllable for the next four years. He won’t be arbitration eligible until next winter.
- The Giants’ own interest in Hamilton continues, but Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that the chatter with the Reds has “faded significantly” of late. Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer adds on Twitter that the Giants are the most serious suitors for Hamilton, but they’re “at a bit of a standoff” with the Reds. San Francisco still has interest in free agent Jay Bruce, per Rosenthal, and Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets that Bruce is the top name on San Francisco’s “wish list.” Still, the club has not made him an offer to this point.
- It’s up in the air whether the Marlins will trade center fielder Christian Yelich. Either way, the Phillies will continue to monitor his availability, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia relays. Meanwhile, they’ve “been aggressive” in shopping shortstop Freddy Galvis, according to Salisbury, who adds (via Twitter) that the Angels “really liked” second baseman Cesar Hernandez before they acquired Ian Kinsler. The Halos didn’t want to meet the Phillies’ asking price for Hernandez, however.
- The Red Sox asked about Marcell Ozuna before the Cardinals acquired him, but they did not have the sort of pitching assets the Marlins were for, Dombrowski told reporters including the Globe’s Peter Abraham (Twitter link.) The Indians also inquired about Ozuna, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com writes.
- In addition to Chase Headley, the Padres are dangling infielder Yangervis Solarte in chatter with rival organizations, Heyman reports on Twitter. Solarte, 30, is controllable for the next three years at affordable costs (a guaranteed $4MM in 2018 and then club options totaling $13.5MM for 2019-20).
- The Blue Jays were another team with interest in Kinsler before Wednesday’s trade, Nicholson-Smith tweets. Toronto was on Kinsler’s 10-team no-trade list, so it’s unclear how open he’d have been to going there.
Giants Interested In Eduardo Nunez
- A variety of organizations are still looking at versatile infielder Eduardo Nunez. Jon Heyman of FanRag tweets that the Red Sox, Blue Jays, and “possibly” the Yankees are among the suitors. Boston president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski acknowledged the interest, as Alex Speier of the Boston Globe was among those to tweet. The Giants have some ongoing involvement, too, but Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that San Francisco is “a longshot” to make a deal.
