The idea that the free agent and trading floodgates would open as soon as the Stanton/Otani situations were resolved did not happen on Day 1 of the Winter Meetings. In fact, everybody sort of stood around almost like they were in shock.
For those of you who like to read tea leaves, there was some indication of where the Giants may be headed and it's in the opposite direction that most prognosticators are projecting. First, reporter Jon Heyman tweeted that the money the Giants were willing to pay Stanton does not translate to other players. They are going back into "payroll conscious mode" per Heyman. Then, Brian Sabean was asked about whether the Giants would pursue players who had rejected Qualifying Offers. His reply, "I would vote no." He then went on to wax enthusiastic about the Giants getting to draft #2 in each round and how they are planning to "make hay" with those picks. Ha! Is this the same guy who once upon a time punted a first round draft pick to save money to sign Michael Tucker? Good to see you've changed your tune, Sabes! Alex Pavlovic then reported that Bobby Evans is of the same mind on QO's and draft picks. Henry Schulman then reported that the Giants are "listening to offers" for their #2 overall Rule 5 draft pick. Yeah, Giants need to use that pick even if they don't have use for the player themselves. More and more teams are willing to trade for Rule 5 picks and they don't want to pass on that value.
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Hey Blog,
ReplyDeleteWow, what a different tune, invest in the farm system, and stop being played in the FA market. This is sound judgement in the short and long term. The Giants, really need to change their public image of the Organization and it starts now, it's time to rebuild for the next core of future Giants, no player should be untouchable right now, except for Posey. The Evil Empire will give us a couple of years to rebuild, we almost lost a 100 games last year. I do love the 3 championship banners, but it is time for a rebuild.
Blog your thoughts.
I don't agree.
DeleteWe have a better core then many orgs.
Health and letting young guys like Slater /Stratton / Blach continue to build and add when ready Duggar/ Reynolds / Garcia /Beede duing the next year or so .
Frank the FO should stay with draft and develop. That is where our core came from.
Richard In Winnipeg
First of all I would appreciate it if people would stop asking blog for his thoughts! So far I haven't seen a single post from this Mr. Blog guy so stop asking him to respond ;)
DeleteThe Giants core is still pretty young and reasonably strong and I believe if the right moves are made they will surprise us next year. I think they can get creative like all of us have on this Blog and do it within their budget. The rebuild is not going to happen and it never will. Let's all agree on that at least, Giants management will never stop "trying" to compete each year whether they do or not.
@Richard, we are going to be mediocre at best, unless we rebuild. We lost almost 100 games, even remotely healthy we are 500 at best, in which we still may not quailify for the postseason. I also want to point out that the Dbacks,Rockies, Dodgers, all made the postseason which is rare, that 3 teams make the postseason in one divsion. Even if MadBum is healthy he might win 14-18 games. We lost almost 100 games, that's hard to do. We have a long ways to go catch the elite teams in baseball. All the players you mention, are marginal players, like Slater, and others. It was a nice ride, if we draft right and make smart trades, we can be back on top in west in 3-4 years.
ReplyDeleteI'm not convinced Slater /Stratton / Blach /Duggar/ Reynolds / Garcia /Beede are "marginal players." Except for Blach, they're all still prospects, and I'd wager 2-3 become solid starters.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is, I think, that unless you're prepared to dump Bum, Posey, maybe Panik for a boatload of prospects, "rebuilding" isn't really going to happen. And management won't dump them.
So I'd expect just a few modest moves. At this juncture I'd guess a trade for Hamilton and signing Bruce - Hamilton will cover Bruce's defense and Bruce will cover Hamilton's bat. Third base? Who knows, maybe our boy Nunes, if he recovers from whatever his latest injury is. If the pitching bounces back, that'll keep them in contention through August, which is probably what ownership wants. Unload Span and half his contract. Prove that Belt is over his concussions (oh please ...) and trade him, his .850 OPS, and his contract in June for a decent prospect.
That lets Slater, Duggar, Arroyo, Reynolds, Garcia, pick #2, get more at-bats in preparation for 2019.
So that's my best guess.
@ Jim, you have a lot of higher hopes than I do as comes to some of these prospects. I hope your right. I am a big Sfgiants fan, former season ticket holder in the bay area. Out of your picks, I see a mix of possible solid players and some big question marks.
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