Post by rog on Jan 5, 2019 21:06:36 GMT -5
I didn't think about it when I first read this, but is it possible that Farhan's strategy mentioned below could lead to signing Bryce Harper or Manny Machado? Given that he's mentioned starting pitching and the Giants might want to make it easier to trade Madison Bumgarner before risking losing him for nothing, I wonder if Dallas Keuchel is more likely? I'm not a fan, and I haven't seen him mentioned, but he will likely cost a quarter of what Harper will command.
I think the key here is the idea of looking for value first. Value is tough to find, but it does occur. The thing about it is that it usually occurs at the end of the free agent season, and one would think Harper, Machado and Keuchel would be signed before the values fall out.
This is from MLB Trade Rumors:
First-year Giants President of Baseball Ops Farhan Zaidi isn’t feeling the pressure of the offseason quite yet, in part because the offseason action has shifted later and later into the winter. Zaidi doesn’t care to comment publicly about any specific trade talks or which free agents the team might be targeting, but he knows the San Francisco fanbase is growing restless, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Madison Bumgarner remains their biggest trade chip, but assuming the World Series hero stays in the Bay, relievers Tony Watson and Will Smith have drawn the most interest around the league. Still, their new President is in no rush to jump the market. Despite coming to SF from LA, Zaidi is a small market strategist who spent his first ten years in the game with Oakland before working under long-time Rays’ GM Andrew Friedman. Large market teams like SF and LA have poached front office personnel from smaller markets in part to better avoid the exact type of splashy free agent signing that fans crave. All signs point to Zaidi bringing the Dodger model to the Bay – which isn’t huge payrolls and headline free agents – it’s creative, innovative “small market” thinking first, and dipping into the reserves of their large market second.
I think the key here is the idea of looking for value first. Value is tough to find, but it does occur. The thing about it is that it usually occurs at the end of the free agent season, and one would think Harper, Machado and Keuchel would be signed before the values fall out.
This is from MLB Trade Rumors:
First-year Giants President of Baseball Ops Farhan Zaidi isn’t feeling the pressure of the offseason quite yet, in part because the offseason action has shifted later and later into the winter. Zaidi doesn’t care to comment publicly about any specific trade talks or which free agents the team might be targeting, but he knows the San Francisco fanbase is growing restless, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Madison Bumgarner remains their biggest trade chip, but assuming the World Series hero stays in the Bay, relievers Tony Watson and Will Smith have drawn the most interest around the league. Still, their new President is in no rush to jump the market. Despite coming to SF from LA, Zaidi is a small market strategist who spent his first ten years in the game with Oakland before working under long-time Rays’ GM Andrew Friedman. Large market teams like SF and LA have poached front office personnel from smaller markets in part to better avoid the exact type of splashy free agent signing that fans crave. All signs point to Zaidi bringing the Dodger model to the Bay – which isn’t huge payrolls and headline free agents – it’s creative, innovative “small market” thinking first, and dipping into the reserves of their large market second.