As had been rumored for a couple of days, the Giants signed Sean Manaea LHP to a 2 yr/$25 M contract with opt-out aka The Half-Rodon. Let's break it down:
Sean Manaea LHP. DOB: 2/1/1992. 6'5", 245 lbs. Drafted #34 overall by KC Royals in 2013.
2022: 8-9, 4.96, 158 IP, 8.89 K/9, 2.85 BB/9, HR/FB= 14.9%, GB/FB= 0.90, FIP= 4.53, xFIP= 3.96. fWAR= 1.1.
Manaea has an interesting pitch mix and profile. He throws a low 90's sinker about 60% of the time but has a reversed GB/FB with it(0.5), but yet it's his best pitch. He throws a changeup about 25% of the time and a slider about 15%. He had shoulder surgery in 2019 but otherwise is quite durable pitching 337 innings over his last two seasons. 16 of his 28 starts were QS. He had two disaster starts against the Dodgers(of course) in which he gave up a total of 16 runs in 8.1 IP.
So what do the Giants and their pitching gurus see in that mix that makes them think they can re-create Kevin Gausman's experience? Maybe they just looked at the xFIP and HR/FB and figure Oracle Park will turn him into an ace? Only problem with that is he is coming from the Padres and Petco Park is not exactly a bandbox. Maybe they can tweak the sinker and make it, you know, actually sink? Maybe they can help him get a better shape on the slider? Maybe they can get a bit more movement on the changeup?
In any event, the Giants can now pencil in a 5-man rotation: Webb, Cobb, Manaea, DeSclafani and Alex Wood, not counting Jake Junis, Sean Hjelle and Kyle Harrison. DeSclafani and Wood are iffy enough they may look to add another SP but appear to have solid depth if they don't. What Manaea does not give them is an obvious co-ace to back up Logan Webb, but then again, Kevin Gausman was not an obvious ace when they signed him either.
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One name the Giants were rumored to be in on then weren't is Chris Bassitt RHP. He signed a 3 yr/$63 M contract with the Blue Jays. That is pretty darn close to the 3 yr/$60 M MLBTR projected for him. Bassitt has a long track record of effective pitching and durability but he is entering his age 34 season. BTW, MLBTR projected Sean Manaea to get 4 yr/$52 M so if that is the benchmark, the Giants got him for an extreme bargain. Yeah, I know, you are in no mood to hear about bargains right now.
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The Giants are rumored to still be in talks with Carlos Rodon LHP and with Carlos Correa SS. Late today, it was rumored the Yankees(yes the Yankees) were close to a deal for Rodon. Rumors have Correa down to the Twin and Giants. For you optimists, the Manaea deal could be interpreted as saving money for a massive deal for Correa.
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The A's made a bizarre 3-team trade sending Sean Murphy C to the Braves while getting several uninspiring prospects. What makes this so bizarre is the third team in the deal probably got the biggest upgrade getting William(not Willson) Contreras C from the Braves while the A's got Manny Pina C from the Brewers. As the Fangraphs analyst put it, why didn't the A's just take Contreras directly from the Braves as that would have been a much stronger trade for them? BTW, one of the prospects the A's got in the deal stole 89 bases last year in the minor leagues. With the larger bases and limits on throws to first, look for SB's to be the newest undervalued skill. You heard it here first!
Oh, and I am pretty sure the Giants could have given a better prospect package for Sean Murphy without depleting their farm system and Murphy would have been an immediate massive upgrade on Joey Bart, although Bart could admittedly break out in 2023(the Giants need him to).
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