Post by sharksrog on Dec 19, 2021 8:03:05 GMT -5
From Steve Adams of MLBTR -- Whenever the transaction freeze finally thaws, the Giants still have some work to do. In addition to another proven rotation piece, at least one outfield upgrade would make sense, and there’s always room for a contending club to bolster its bullpen. The Giants have about $126MM in 2022 commitments and about $135MM worth of luxury-tax obligations at the moment, per Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez, which ought to leave ample room for spending. Michael Conforto, Kyle Schwarber and Seiya Suzuki are among the notable free-agent alternatives still on the outfield market, and the likely implementation of a DH in the National League would give the Giants further runway to explore creative options. As for the pitching needs, Carlos Rodon is seeking a multi-year deal but probably won’t command an especially lengthy deal after ending the season with shoulder concerns.
Beyond the free-agent market, the Giants (and other teams) have myriad trade opportunities to consider. The A’s and Reds are known to have starting pitchers available. The Mets’ recent wave of free-agent spending pushed some notable bats to the bench. Speculatively, San Francisco could swing for the fences and try to pry Ketel Marte from the D-backs or even Cedric Mullins from the Orioles. There’s no real limit to what paths the Giants could explore, particularly since the team’s farm system has improved by leaps and bounds in recent years (landing No. 5 among MLB clubs on Baseball America’s mid-August rankings).
An aversion to lengthy deals of (the 9-figure) magnitude would align with the approach employed by the archrival Dodgers during Zaidi’s time as general manager under L.A. president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. Like the Dodgers, the Giants are a major-market team with huge payroll capacity, but we’ve yet to see them dole out the type of long-term arrangements that were more common under the prior Giants front office regime. That’s not to say Zaidi’s Giants definitively won’t sign a $100MM+ deal at some point — they reportedly pursued Bryce Harper when he was a free agent — but thus far, indications point more toward the shorter-term, higher-annual-value deals that are increasingly popular as many teams seek to mitigate long-term risk.
As an aside, thus far signing Harper would have worked. Thus far Fan Graphs says he has been worth $102 million in his first three seasons, meaning even as aging slows him down, he has a chance to earn his 13/$330 million contract. But the problem with signing Harper to such a big and long contract wasn't so much that he wasn't good enough (although that wasn't a guarantee), but that he hadn't been healthy enough. But health hasn't been a particular issue over the first three seasons. If the Phillies were to make it to at least the NLCS in Bryce's final contract season, he will be 39 years before he completes his contract, so over time, age and health will likely become bigger concerns.
I personally thought that while he didn't approach the Phillies' offer, Farhan actually offered too MUCH for Harper given the health issues he had suffered even at a young age. (He played his last game with the Nationals at age 25 before becoming eligible for free agency.) His contract is off to a good start, although age is likely to become a bigger factor over its remaining decade.
But think if the Giants had been successful in trading for Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton is on a 13/$325 contract, but he's missed about 200 games in his four seasons since being traded to the Yankees instead of the Giants. The Giants reportedly had agreed on trading Heliot Ramos, Christian Arroyo, Tyler Beede and Chris Shaw for Stanton, subject to the player's approval to waive his no-trade contract. Neither Beede nor Shaw has materialized as a viable major league player, but Ramos remains a viable trade chip, and Arroyo finally began to blossom last season, batting .262/.796 in a part-time role with the Red Sox.
Trivia question: What specific academic trait does Arroyo share with Buster Posey from high school? (Yeah, I know. They both graduated. But that's not it.)
Bonus points to anyone who gets this, even though it's been posted here before, making it for some a test more of memory than knowledge. Or at least that's the way I remember it.
Beyond the free-agent market, the Giants (and other teams) have myriad trade opportunities to consider. The A’s and Reds are known to have starting pitchers available. The Mets’ recent wave of free-agent spending pushed some notable bats to the bench. Speculatively, San Francisco could swing for the fences and try to pry Ketel Marte from the D-backs or even Cedric Mullins from the Orioles. There’s no real limit to what paths the Giants could explore, particularly since the team’s farm system has improved by leaps and bounds in recent years (landing No. 5 among MLB clubs on Baseball America’s mid-August rankings).
An aversion to lengthy deals of (the 9-figure) magnitude would align with the approach employed by the archrival Dodgers during Zaidi’s time as general manager under L.A. president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. Like the Dodgers, the Giants are a major-market team with huge payroll capacity, but we’ve yet to see them dole out the type of long-term arrangements that were more common under the prior Giants front office regime. That’s not to say Zaidi’s Giants definitively won’t sign a $100MM+ deal at some point — they reportedly pursued Bryce Harper when he was a free agent — but thus far, indications point more toward the shorter-term, higher-annual-value deals that are increasingly popular as many teams seek to mitigate long-term risk.
As an aside, thus far signing Harper would have worked. Thus far Fan Graphs says he has been worth $102 million in his first three seasons, meaning even as aging slows him down, he has a chance to earn his 13/$330 million contract. But the problem with signing Harper to such a big and long contract wasn't so much that he wasn't good enough (although that wasn't a guarantee), but that he hadn't been healthy enough. But health hasn't been a particular issue over the first three seasons. If the Phillies were to make it to at least the NLCS in Bryce's final contract season, he will be 39 years before he completes his contract, so over time, age and health will likely become bigger concerns.
I personally thought that while he didn't approach the Phillies' offer, Farhan actually offered too MUCH for Harper given the health issues he had suffered even at a young age. (He played his last game with the Nationals at age 25 before becoming eligible for free agency.) His contract is off to a good start, although age is likely to become a bigger factor over its remaining decade.
But think if the Giants had been successful in trading for Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton is on a 13/$325 contract, but he's missed about 200 games in his four seasons since being traded to the Yankees instead of the Giants. The Giants reportedly had agreed on trading Heliot Ramos, Christian Arroyo, Tyler Beede and Chris Shaw for Stanton, subject to the player's approval to waive his no-trade contract. Neither Beede nor Shaw has materialized as a viable major league player, but Ramos remains a viable trade chip, and Arroyo finally began to blossom last season, batting .262/.796 in a part-time role with the Red Sox.
Trivia question: What specific academic trait does Arroyo share with Buster Posey from high school? (Yeah, I know. They both graduated. But that's not it.)
Bonus points to anyone who gets this, even though it's been posted here before, making it for some a test more of memory than knowledge. Or at least that's the way I remember it.