Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Giants Rumors

Giants Sign Wilmer Flores To Extension

By | at

The Giants are keeping around one of their impending free agents, announcing agreement with infielder Wilmer Flores on a multi-year deal. The contract reportedly pays Flores $6.5MM in each of the next two seasons and contains a player/club option for 2025. That season, Flores will first have to decide on a $3.5MM player option; if he declines, the team can keep him in the fold by triggering an $8.5MM club option. Between his salaries over the next two seasons and the value of the player option, Flores is technically guaranteed $16.5MM over three years.

Flores, 31, played six seasons with the Mets and one with the Diamondbacks to begin his career. Prior to the 2020 season, he signed with the Giants on a two-year deal with a $6.25MM guarantee. That came in the form of a $3MM salary in 2020 and 2021, with a $250K buyout $3.5MM club option for 2022.

Although he’s never been an All-Star, Flores has been steadily above-average at the plate for years and that’s been true of his time in San Fran as well. In 2020, he hit 12 home runs in the shortened season and produced a batting line of .268/.315/.515. That production was 19% above league average, as evidenced by his 119 wRC+. He followed that up with 18 homers in 2021 and a line of .262/.335/.447, 112 wRC+. The Giants made the easy call of exercising their option for 2022 and were rewarded with another solid Flores season. He’s added another 18 homers already this year, with an overall slash line of .235/.319/.414, wRC+ of 107. This is the seventh consecutive season in which Flores has registered a wRC+ between 102 and 119. Instead of returning to the open market, he will stick in San Francisco for another couple seasons.

He has produced that consistently solid work at the plate while also giving the Giants defensive versatility, something they clearly value highly in players. In all three of his seasons with the Giants, he has bounced between first base, second base and third base as needed. That’s been especially important for a club that features some older or injury-prone regulars like Evan Longoria, Brandon Belt and Tommy La Stella. Going forward, La Stella has one more year on his contract but he hasn’t played much defense this year, taking the field for just 66 innings so far. It’s also possible Longoria and Belt won’t be around next year. Belt is heading to free agency after this year and faces an uncertain road ahead, having just undergone surgery on his oft-injured knee. Longoria could be retained for next year via a $13MM club option with a $5MM buyout, though he told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he has at least given some thought to retirement.

Given the uncertainty surrounding those infielders, it makes sense to lock up a reliable and versatile contributor like Flores. He can now be penciled into an infield mix that includes La Stella, rookie David Villar, Thairo Estrada, Brandon Crawford, J.D. Davis, with LaMonte Wade Jr. perhaps playing some first base or returning to strictly outfield work. Crawford and La Stella are both slated to become free agents after 2023, which will further thin out this group for the second year of Flores’ deal.

The Giants ran an Opening Day payroll of $155MM here in 2022, according to Cot’s Contracts. Flores’ deal pushes the team’s 2023 payroll commitments to around $95MM, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. That doesn’t include arbitration raises for players like Mike Yastrzemski or Logan Webb, but it does include Carlos Rodón’s $22.5MM. As long as Rodón finishes the season healthy, he will exercise the opt out on his deal and return to free agency in search of a larger payday.

It’s been a disappointing season for the Giants, as they followed up their 107-win campaign in 2021 with a 67-73 record so far in 2022. It figures to be a very interesting offseason, as the club will head into the winter with many holes that need to be filled but lots of payroll space available for addressing them. Anthony DeSclafani is the only player under contract for 2024 and the slate is completely clean beyond that, giving the Giants the ability to make a sizable commitment, or commitments, before Spring Training. But for now, they’ve retained one of their most stable and dependable guys to bolster their infield mix, giving them one less thing to worry about over the winter.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post first reported the Giants and Flores were in agreement on a two-year deal with an option for 2025. Daniel Álvarez-Montes of ElExtrabase was first to report the matching $6.5MM salaries over the next two seasons.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Giants Make Five Roster Moves

By | at

The Giants have made a series of roster moves prior to tonight’s game against the Braves.  The contracts of outfielder Willie Calhoun and right-hander Cole Waites were selected from Triple-A, and roster space was created by the placement of Tommy La Stella on the 10-day injured list, outfielder Austin Dean being optioned to Triple-A, and catcher Patrick Mazeika being designated for assignment.

La Stella is dealing with neck spasms, and given the calendar, it is possible La Stella might be shut down for the remainder of the 2022 season if he isn’t making progress by the time his 10-day minimum is up.  The IL has become an unfortunately familiar landing spot for La Stella over his two years in San Francisco, as he played in only 76 games in 2021 and 60 games this season due to a long list of health issues.  The infielder didn’t make his 2022 debut until mid-May due to recovery from offseason Achilles surgery.

All of these injuries have limited La Stella’s production, as he has hit only .239/.282/.350 over 195 plate appearances this year.  He has also mostly been limited to DH duty, which is a hit for a player valued for his ability to play third, second, and first base.  If this is indeed it for La Stella in 2022, the Giants can only hope that a full winter of rest can get him back to his usual defensive role(s) in what will be the final year of his contract.  La Stella signed a three-year, $18.75MM free agent deal in February 2021 that to date hasn’t panned out for the Giants.

Calhoun was acquired in a trade with the Rangers in June, and the slugger will now make his first Major League appearance outside of a Texas uniform.  A 21-homer season in 2019 seemingly served as a breakout for Calhoun, but several injuries and a lack of big league playing time stalled his career.  Calhoun was vocal about his desire for a trade after the Rangers optioned him to Triple-A earlier this season, as he’ll now get a fresh start with a late-season audition with the Giants.

Thus far, the change of organization seems to have helped, as Calhoun has hit .299/.386/.465 with five homers in 166 PA with Triple-A Sacramento.  Carrying that production from the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League to the majors will be a challenge, though if Calhoun can show some of his old form down the stretch, he could put himself into San Francisco’s plans for 2023.  Calhoun still has two years of arbitration control remaining, and he doesn’t turn 28 until November.

Waites was an 18th-round selection for the Giants in the 2019 draft, and the righty is getting his first call to the majors.  Due to both knee surgery and the canceled 2020 minor league season, Waites doesn’t have a lot of pro experience, with only 71 1/3 total innings in the minors (40 2/3 of them this year).  However, he has a stunning 45.12% strikeout rate and 2.78 ERA over those 71 1/3 frames, though his 13.8% walk rate indicates shaky command.

Baseball America (21st) and MLB Pipeline (29th) each rank Waites among the top 30 prospects in the Giants’ farm system, citing his plus fastball that can touch 100mph, as well as a slider that can be a dominant pitch when Waites can control it.  Waites has pitched exclusively as a reliever over the last two seasons, and projects as an intriguing bullpen arm if he can limit the free passes.

Mazeika was claimed off waivers from the Mets on August 21, and he’ll now return to DFA limbo after eight games with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate and no appearances at the big league level.  A long-time member of the Mets farm system, Mazeika has played in 61 MLB games over the 2021-22 seasons and hit .190/.236/.279 over 159 PA.  With Joey Bart now back from the concussion-related IL, San Francisco has made some adjustments to its catching depth in recent days, including Mazeika’s DFA and Andrew Knapp’s outright assignment to Triple-A.

Giants Interested In Free Agent Shortstops This Offseason

By | at

The Giants could be one of the most aggressive teams this offseason, given their limited payroll commitments and many areas of need. The club’s president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi recently spoke about how “everything is on the table” this winter, “including going out and being aggressive at the top end of the free agent market.” Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that they would “love” to go after one of the top shortstop free agents if they don’t sign Aaron Judge.

Judge will undoubtedly be the top free agent on the market, based on his career track record and incredible platform season. He’s already hit 55 home runs on the year and has produced an overall batting line of .307/.410/.679. That amounts to an unbelievable 202 wRC+, indicating Judge has somehow been 102% better than the league average hitter. When combined with solid outfield defense and 16 stolen bases, he’s already racked up 9.3 wins above replacement on the season in the estimation of FanGraphs and 8.7 at Baseball Reference.

Given that Judge grew up in the Bay Area, he’s often been speculatively connected to the Giants, though it would take a sizeable commitment on the team’s part for that to come to fruition. Back in April, Judge and the Yankees failed to reach an agreement on an extension, with the slugger reportedly turning down a seven-year, $213.5MM deal. Judge was apparently looking for $36MM over nine or ten years, a range of $324-360MM. Now that Judge is having his best season yet and will soon be able to court offers from the 29 other teams, it’s entirely possible that he will now try to do even better than that.

The Giants haven’t operated at anywhere near that level since Zaidi took over in November of 2018, having not yet given out a contract longer than three years in his tenure. However, that means that the team’s ledger is fairly clear, giving the club the opportunity to change course. There’s only about $89MM committed for next year’s team, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. That doesn’t include raises for arbitration-eligible players like Mike Yastrzemski or Logan Webb, but it does include $22.5MM for Carlos Rodon, who is almost certainly going to opt out and return to free agency. They have just over $20MM committed to 2024 and nothing for 2025 and beyond. Given that they had an Opening Day payroll of $155MM this year, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, and have been as high as $200MM in 2018, there’s room for a big splash if they want to make it.

If the club can’t successfully bring Judge back to the neighborhood, it seems that pursuing a shortstop will be another option they will consider. Of course, the club already has a shortstop in Brandon Crawford, who has been a mainstay there for over a decade, having made his debut in 2011. Last year was a revelation for Crawford, as he suddenly produced the best campaign of his career after a few rough seasons. He hit .298/.373/.522 in 2021, producing a 138 wRC+ that was 25 points better than his previous career high. When combined with his excellent defensive work, he produced 6.3 wins above replacement, in the estimation of FanGraphs, easily eclipsing his previous high of 4.4.

In the midst of that excellent showing, the Giants and Crawford agreed to a two-year, $32MM extension, though the first season has been a disappointment. Crawford has been battling a knee injury for most of the year, going on the IL twice because of it. When healthy enough to take the field, he hasn’t been able to produce at anywhere near his 2021 output. He’s hitting .226/.305/.346 on the season for a wRC+ of 85, with his defensive numbers also not as impressive as last year.

Crawford still has one year remaining on that extension but will be turning 36 in January. Given his age, knee issues and diminished performance, it seems the Giants are willing to consider a bold move to strengthen their infield. Since the field of available shortstops is going to be strong again this year, it might be prudent to strike early, even if it means Crawford and another shortstop sharing the roster for one season. Trea Turner and Dansby Swanson are both on the cusp of free agency, with Carlos Correa and Xander Bogaerts both expected to opt out of their respective contracts and join them.

The Giants have also been significantly held back by their defense this year, with a collective -30 Outs Above Average and -33 Defensive Runs Saved, both of those numbers placing them 28th in the majors. Ultimate Zone Rating gives them a -28.6, which is 29th. Second base has been a particularly rough area, with the team’s collective numbers at the keystone coming in at -5 OAA (25th), -15 DRS (29th) and -2.1 UZR (21st). Having a shortstop-quality defender take over at second base, either Crawford or an outside addition, might be a good way for the club to take a step forward next year, especially with the ban on extreme defensive shifts going into place next season.

Thairo Estrada and Wilmer Flores have taken the bulk of playing time at second base this season, though each is capable of playing other positions and arguably better utilized away from second. Estrada has a -10 DRS at second and Flores a -6 this year, with each of them putting up better numbers at the other positions they’ve played. Estrada has yet to reach arbitration and Flores is eschewing free agency after agreeing to a two-year extension, reported earlier today.

Each of the Turner/Swanson/Correa/Bogaerts group will likely command a lesser contract than Judge, though that doesn’t mean they will be cheap. All four of them are currently younger than 30 years old, with Xander crossing that threshold on October 1. That means each of them will likely be looking for lengthy contracts. This past offseason, Corey Seager got ten years, Marcus Semien got seven, with Trevor Story and Javier Baez each getting six. Correa ended up settling for a three-year deal, though with a high average annual value of $35.1MM and opt-outs after each season. Similar to any Judge contract, the Giants would likely have to break their pattern of sticking to short-term deals in order to make an impact in the shortstop market. Should they miss out on all of the upper tier options, there’s a significant drop to the next level, which will be occupied by players like Jose Iglesias and Elvis Andrus.

All told, it should be a fascinating winter for the Giants and their fans. The club has been keeping its books mostly clear for years and has stayed busy on the waiver wire, grabbing just about any role player they could find. That’s left the roster in a position where they have solid depth all around the roster but a lack of truly outstanding players. 10 different position players have produced at least 0.5 fWAR for the Giants on the season but none higher than 2.3 so far. Perhaps the conditions are right for them to raise the ceiling in the months to come.

Giants Release Dominic Leone

By | at

The Giants have placed right-hander Dominic Leone on release waivers, per Evan Webeck of the San Jose Mercury News.

Leone, 30, has had some good seasons and some not-so-good seasons in his career, spending time with Seattle, Arizona, Toronto, St. Louis and Cleveland, prior to signing a minor league deal with the Giants in December of 2020. Leone got called up to the big leagues in June of 2021 and was very strong the rest of the way. He registered a 1.51 ERA over 53 2/3 innings with a 22.8% strikeout rate, 10% walk rate and 47.5% ground ball rate.

Based on that strong campaign, the Giants retained Leone via arbitration, agreeing to a $2.25MM salary. Everything seemed to be going fine for a while, with Leone sitting on a 2.45 ERA in early July. However, he put up a 6.30 ERA since July 5, pushing his season-long mark to 4.01.

Leone was placed on the 15-day injured list yesterday due to elbow inflammation, which perhaps explains his diminished results in recent weeks. With just over three weeks remaining in the season, he wasn’t likely to make a meaningful contribution down the stretch, even if he returned after a minimum stay on the IL. It seems the Giants will nudge him off the roster and give him a headstart on free agency, which he was bound for this winter anyway. By doing so, the club will clear a spot on their 40-man roster. Given Leone’s injury and salary, he’s sure to clear release waivers. At that point, he would be free to sign with any team, though he wouldn’t be able to pitch in the postseason, even if he is healthy. Teams can only brings players that were in their organization prior to September 1 onto their playoff rosters.

Giants Select Austin Dean, Place Dominic Leone On Injured List

By | at

The Giants announced Friday that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Austin Dean and placed right-hander Dominic Leone on the 15-day injured list due to elbow inflammation. Catcher/outfielder Yermin Mercedes was outrighted off the 40-man roster after clearing waivers, thus opening a spot for Dean, tweets Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area.

Dean, 28, has spent time in the Majors in each of the past four seasons, primarily as a member of the Marlins but also in brief stints with the Cardinals in 2020-21. He’s a .225/.282/.391 hitter in that time but carries a strong track record at the Triple-A level, where he’s posted a .300/.373/.509 batting line in 1090 career plate appearances.

Dean will give the Giants yet another right-handed option to platoon with an all-lefty outfield contingent of Joc Pederson, Mike Yastrzemski, Luis Gonzalez and LaMonte Wade Jr. (the latter of whom is primarily playing first base lately, with Brandon Belt out of action). Dean’s career numbers against lefties at the MLB level aren’t great, but he’s batted .299/.384/.486 when holding the platoon advantage in the minors this season.

Dean’s return to the Majors comes at the expense of Mercedes, who was never formally designated for assignment prior to today’s announcement that he’d cleared waivers. The 29-year-old was an early-season sensation for the White Sox in 2021, going on a tear and earning his popular “Yerminator” moniker by hitting .368/.417/.571 through the South Siders’ first 38 games. But Mercedes’ out-of-the-blue breakout proved short-lived. He hit .150/.220/.196 across his next 118 plate appearances, was optioned to Triple-A in July, and didn’t return to the Majors with the Sox. He’s batted .233/.325/.342 in 83 plate appearances with the Giants this year.

As for Leone, he’ll head to the injured list with an issue that, depending on the recovery period, could well end his time with the Giants, given that he’ll be a free agent at season’s end. The 30-year-old righty at first proved a spectacular pickup on a Dec. 2020 minor league contract, as he wound up giving the Giants 53 2/3 innings of 1.51 ERA ball as an oft-used member of the bullpen (and an occasional opener).

Leone got out to a nice start in 2022, as well, pitching to a 2.45 ERA with a 32-to-9 K/BB ratio through his first 32 1/3 innings on the season. Leone was rocked for four runs in just a third of an inning against the D-backs on July 5, however, and he’s never really regained his footing. Dating back to that rocky outing, he’s lugging a 6.30 ERA and a 15.5% walk rate that’s six percentage points higher than his career mark. It’s fair to wonder just how much this elbow issue might’ve impacted his performance, but the result is an ERA that has spiked up to 4.01 through 49 1/3 frames of bullpen work.

Leone pitched just last night, so the IL stint can’t be backdated. He’ll be eligible to return on Sept. 24, at which point there will be 12 days left in the season.

Giants Outright Andrew Knapp

By | at

Sept. 9: Knapp went unclaimed on outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Sacramento, per the transaction log at MLB.com. Given his Major League service time, he’ll have the ability to reject that assignment in favor of free agency.

Sept. 6: The Giants announced they’ve designated catcher Andrew Knapp for assignment. The move clears a spot on the active roster for Joey Bart, who has been reinstated from the concussion injured list.

It’s the reversal of a move from a week ago, when Knapp was selected to the majors when Bart first went on the IL. He made three appearances with San Francisco, collecting a single and a pair of walks in seven trips to the plate. It was a decent showing in that exceptionally limited look, but Knapp has just a .128/.239/.154 line in 16 games between the Pirates, Mariners and Giants this season. The switch-hitting backstop owns a .209/.310/.313 mark through parts of six big league seasons — all of which came with the Phillies before he’s donned a number of uniforms this year.

While he has not made a huge offensive impact as a big leaguer, Knapp has a solid track record in the minors. He’s a .261/.330/.426 hitter across 670 career plate appearances in Triple-A. A former second-round pick, he’s drawn a fair bit of interest this season as a depth option with clubs always on the hunt for experienced catching help.

The Giants will place Knapp on waivers in the next few days. If he goes unclaimed, he’d have the right to refuse an outright assignment and again set out to minor league free agency.

Giants Select Luis Ortiz

By | at

The Giants have selected the contract of right-hander Luis Ortiz today. The club already had a vacancy on their 40-man roster after catcher Andrew Knapp was designated for assignment yesterday. Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle mentioned that Ortiz appeared to be about to join the club with Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area relaying that Ortiz had a locker for today’s game. Slusser also relays that outfielder Bryce Johnson has been optioned in a corresponding move to get Ortiz onto the active roster. Evan Webeck of the San Jose Mercury News relays that the moves are official.

Ortiz, 26, has some MLB experience, although a very small amount. In 2018, he made two appearances for the Orioles, followed by one more in 2019. He has a 12.71 ERA in a tiny sample of 5 2/3 innings over those three games. Prior to that, Ortiz was a highly-touted prospect with the Rangers, cracking Baseball America’s top 100 list in 2016 and 2017. He got traded to the Brewers and then to the Orioles, though his prospect stock faded as injuries limited his output. Despite being a starting pitcher in his early career, he only cracked the 100-inning plateau once, which was the 102 frames he logged over three levels in 2018.

He’s moved into more relief work over the past couple of seasons and seems to have taken a step forward here in 2022. Signed by the Giants to a minor league deal in the offseason, he’s spent this entire season with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. His 4.66 ERA might not jump out and grab you, but it’s not as bad as it seems since the River Cats play in the notoriously hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Ortiz has a strong 25.7% strikeout rate for the season, along with a miniscule 4.5% walk rate and average-ish 42% groundball rate. It’s also worth noting that he’s gotten into an excellent groove after a rough start. Through June 28, his ERA was way up at 7.30, but he’s thrown 23 scoreless innings since then to cut almost three full runs off that number.

Ortiz will provide a fresh arm to a Giants bullpen that’s in the midst of a stretch where they play 20 games in 19 days thanks to tomorrow’s doubleheader in Milwaukee. He still has two options and just 29 days of service time, meaning the Giants could potentially keep him around for a while if he continues throwing well.

NL West Notes: Drury, Slater, Gilbreath

By | at

The Padres placed infielder Brandon Drury on the seven-day concussion injured list, retroactive to September 3, prior to today’s matchup with the Diamondbacks. Catcher Jorge Alfaro has been activated from the 10-day IL to take the vacated active roster spot. Drury was hit in the head by a Dustin May curveball on Friday. He remained on the active roster over the weekend but hasn’t played since then, and he’s apparently still battling concussion-like symptoms. The 30-year-old is eligible to return as soon as Saturday, although his specific recovery timetable is unclear.

Acquired as part of San Diego’s massive trade deadline, Drury has struggled through his first month in Southern California. While he’s connected on five home runs as a Padre (including a grand slam in his first at-bat), he’s hitting only .220 with a .262 on-base percentage over 107 plate appearances since the trade. That’s a notable dip from the excellent .274/.335/.520 line he posted through the first four months of the year as a member of the Reds. Despite the drop in production, Drury has remained an everyday player for a Friars team battling for a Wild Card spot. The season’s final month is also important for him personally, as he’s slated to hit the open market at the end of the year.

Let’s check in on a couple other injury situations within the division:

  • The Giants placed outfielder Austin Slater on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to yesterday, with a left hand sprain. Reliever Yunior Marte is up from Triple-A Sacramento to take the roster spot. Part of a matchup-heavy outfield in San Francisco, Slater has emerged as a highly productive role player when in the lineup for manager Gabe Kapler. He’s hitting .267/.378/.396 over 286 plate appearances this season, his third straight above-average campaign. The righty-hitting Slater carries a .257/.357/.424 line dating back to the start of 2020, including a massive .284/.389/.497 showing against left-handed pitching. Luis González has been in the lineup each of the past four days as Slater has nursed the injury that’ll now send him to the IL.
  • Rockies reliever Lucas Gilbreath is being shut down for the season, reports Danielle Allentuck of the Colorado Springs Gazette (Twitter link). The left-hander is on the injured list with a flexor strain in his throwing elbow, and he’s headed for a platelet-rich plasma injection. Allentuck adds that Gilbreath’s offseason work will be delayed by the issue, but the expectation is that he’ll avoid surgery and should be ready for Spring Training. Gilbreath has been a trusted relief option for skipper Bud Black this year, getting into 47 games and working 43 innings. He posted a 4.19 ERA with above-average strikeout (26.2%) and ground-ball (46.7%) marks, but he battled some control inconsistency.

Giants Claim Jose Rojas From Angels; Steven Duggar Elects Free Agency

By | at

The Angels announced that the Giants have claimed infielder/outfielder Jose Rojas off waivers.  San Francisco has also announced the move, with Brandon Belt (who is undergoing season-ending knee surgery) moved to the 60-day injured list to create space for Rojas on the 40-man roster.  Rojas and outfielder Steven Duggar were both designated for assignment by the Angels on September 1.  Duggar cleared waivers and opted to become a free agent, rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A.

Rojas will change teams for the first time in his pro career, as he has been an Angel since being selected in the 36th round of the 2016 draft.  (And, Rojas is even an Anaheim native.)  After posting some nice numbers in the minors, Rojas has seen some big league playing time in each of the last two seasons, resulting in a .188/.245/.339 slash line over 241 total plate appearances.  Much of that modest production came in 2021, as Rojas had a .676 OPS last season but only a .301 OPS in 57 PA this year.

As noted, the minor leagues was a different story for Rojas, who slashed .287/.347/.503 with 90 home runs over 2298 career PA in the Angels farm system.  The hitter-friendly environment of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League is certainly a factor in gauging Rojas’ numbers, but overall, it is easy to see why the Giants might have interest in the 29-year-old.  San Francisco has also favored versatile players, and Rojas fits that model with his experience at third base, second base, first base, and both corner outfield spots.

Duggar is a former Giant himself, spending his first five MLB seasons in the Bay Area before being traded to the Rangers for Willie Calhoun in June.  Duggar didn’t last long in Texas, as the Rangers DFA’ed him in early August and the Angels claimed him away a few days later.

While Duggar has been a strong defensive player during his career, he has had trouble staying healthy and generating any kind of consistent production at the plate.  Duggar has had a few flashes of offensive protential, but over 846 career PA, he has hit only .236/.293/.367.  All of the changes of scenery haven’t helped his bat this year, as Duggar has just a .447 OPS over 80 combined PA with Anaheim, Texas, and San Francisco.  Now that he’s back on the open market, it’s possible to see another team in need of outfield depth or a defensive boost inking Duggar to a minor league contract.

Farhan Zaidi Discusses Giants’ Offseason

By | at

After winning 107 games in 2021, the Giants have taken a big step backwards, with only a 63-68 record this season.  Pretty much everything clicked during that dream season, but injuries and under-performance have marred San Francisco’s efforts this year, with the bullpen and much of the lineup being particularly inconsistent.

As a result, some notable changes could be in store for the 2023 club.  In an interview on The Front Office on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (partial audio clip), Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said that “everything is on the table for us” this offseason, “including going out and being aggressive at the top end of the free agent market.”

Zaidi has yet to make any true big-ticket signings since taking over the front office in November 2018, preferring shorter-term deals with both free agents or in-house players.  This isn’t to say that the Giants have been necessarily adverse to spending in general, considering that the club’s current payroll is around $162.3MM (as per Roster Resource).  However, even that total is below the team’s spending levels prior to Zaidi’s tenure, as payroll topped the $200MM mark in 2018 before Zaidi was hired.

Of course, that payroll was inflated by several large contracts given to veteran players and stalwarts of the Giants’ three World Series championships, and by 2018, most of those players were no longer productive.  Rather than entirely rebuild, Zaidi took a more measured approach to moving some but not all of those larger deals, and this strategy was a big part of the Giants’ sudden success in 2021.  Such underperforming veterans as Brandon Crawford, Brandon Belt, Buster Posey, Evan Longoria, and Johnny Cueto were generally healthier and much more productive on the field, with the revamped coaching staff helping these players find their old form.

Posey retired, while Cueto wasn’t re-signed and instead landed with the White Sox.  Crawford was given a contract extension before the 2021 season was even over, and Belt was also retained when he accepted San Francisco’s one-year qualifying offer.  As it turned out, it seems like the Giants may have simply waited a year too long with these players, as Crawford and Belt have struggled, and Longoria has hit well when healthy but has also played only 69 games.

“We had a bunch of veteran players when I came in whose contracts were going to be up last offseason and this coming offseason,” Zaidi said, describing this period “as a time of big transition for our organization.”  Considering how well the Giants played in 2021, “it made sense for us to not be too aggressive with the transition and retrench a little bit with the guys who had had that successful season for us.”

With things not working out in 2022, Zaidi finally seems ready to turn the page on this version of the Giants roster.  Belt, Joc Pederson, and Wilmer Flores are all free agents, while Longoria’s $13MM club option will likely instead be bought out for $5MM (and, Longoria might retire altogether at season’s end).  Zaidi said earlier this week that the Giants have already talked to Pederson about an extension, and Flores has still been productive enough that he could be considered for another deal at a relatively low cost.

How many veterans are kept, however, will tie into Zaidi’s plan for a younger roster.  As he noted in the Front Office interview, “we find ourselves in a position this offseason where we want to get more athletic.  We want to have a roster that has a better chance of staying healthy, which usually means getting a little bit younger.”

This strategy will also impact the Giants’ free agent plans.  Health is naturally always a concern for any team in deciding whether or not to sign a free agent, especially since most players are generally in their late 20’s or early 30’s by the time they earn enough service time to reach the open market.  Looking at some of the top free agents available this winter, pretty much everyone has some level of injury history, though if youth is more of a factor for San Francisco, players like Carlos Correa (who turns 28 this month) or Trea Turner (who turns 30 in June) could be prioritized.  Aaron Judge will be 31 in April, but the Bay Area native has been speculated as a natural target for his old hometown team.

Besides free agents, the Giants could also obviously look to add players in trades, though getting younger and more athletic types will naturally come at a higher cost in terms of trade return.  Since the Giants have only around $89MM on the books for 2023, Zaidi could perhaps look to lower the prospect cost by taking on a larger contract, and using the Giants’ financial flexibility in another way than just spending on a free agent.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top