Kyle Harrison was sharp in 5 innings of work in a Giants spring training win. Key Lines:
Marco Luciano SS- 2 for 3, 2B. BA= .143. Luciano's bat seems be finally coming to life. Is it too little, too late for him to start the season as the Giants starting SS?
Joey Bart C- 0 for 1, 2 BB. BA= .400. The curious case of Joey Bart continues. He's had a great spring but is there any other ending than his release at the end of spring training?
Ismael Munguia LF- 2 for 3, 3B. BA= .519. Munguia's bat-to-ball skills continue to impress.
Kyle Harrison LHP- 5 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 5/2. ERA= 1.93. Harrison looks primed to have a breakout season. ROY candidate?
Blayne Enlow RHP- 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 4.00. Enlow has looked good this spring but opportunities for NRI's are fading with the signing of Blake Snell LHP and apparent imminent returns of Alex Cobb RHP and Keaton Winn RHP.
Spencer Bivens RHP is listed as the starter tomorrow facing the Royals and Seth Lugo RHP in Scottsdale.
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Well, well, well! What have we here? Farhan Zaidi today pulled off the free agency coup of the decade as Blake Snell agreed to a 2 year/$62 M contract with an opt out after year one. The breakdown is $15 M salary in 2024, $30 M salary in 2025 if he does not opt out and a bonus of $17 M to be paid in 2026 regardless of opt out. The AAV for CBT is $31 M which pushes them over the first penalty threshold. The deal also costs them a 3'rd round draft pick in what is looking like a fairly weak draft and another $500 K in international bonus pool money. Personally I am less worried about losing the draft picks than the possibility of losing a top international prospect who the Giants are rumored to be in on for Jan 205 signing period.
This is a fantastic deal for the Giants and FZ and pushes DrB's Hot Stove League grade for FZ to not just an A but an A+. The + gets added on for absolutely owning Scott Boras in not just one but two contracts with his clients. Snell was MLBTR's 4 ranked free agent heading into the Hot Stove League season and projected to get a contract of 7 years/$200 M. At one point the Yankees were rumored to have offered him 6 yr/$150 M. FZ stared down Boras, waited out the market and got him signed for a fraction of either of those numbers only a modestly higher AAV and with zero longterm risk. You can't do it much better than that. You have to think Scott Boras grossly misread the market with his reputation taking a major hit.
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On a sadder note, the Giants announced that Renel Brooks-Moon will not be back as the Oracle Park PA announcer ending a storied and much-beloved career for a pioneer for women involved in sports. Renel is the only PA announcer in the history of Pac Bell/AT&T/Oracle Park and will be missed.
All right! Suddenly everything looks bright and beautiful. Snell, Webb, Harrison, Hicks, Winn with Cobb, Beck and Ray in the wings. Giants will be competitive - thank you FZ!
ReplyDeleteI gotta love the Snell signing, especially since I wanted him for short years and high AAV for quite awhile...But credit where credit is due, I'm just an arrmchair bozo, FZ's career and the Giants season depended on what he did or didn't do with the pitching and FZ got him on the Giants/his terms with flexibility and minimum risk and really high upside..No problem with any draft pick or luxury tax issues....A move of this magnitude was needed...And his signing helps every single pitcher from Webb to Hicks to Harrison to Winn to Whoever, even the hurts guys who don't have to rush, to feel less pressure and just pitch...Gonna be huge for HARRISON having one of the best lefties in the game to watch and learn from!!!...Snell performs and wants to stay? Great! Maybe in 2025 with Webb, Harrison, Hicks, Cobb, Ray??? He performs and wants to leave after one year? No Problem, this one year is huge and he will have served his purpose...He bombs? it's only 2 years! Great job FZ.....To go along with Soler And Lee....Hopefully he is not done and can find a LHRP and maybe even a SS. I'd say a 3B who can hit better than .225 but that would be picky and futile...Sorry, I just had to..
ReplyDeleteAnyways, love HARRISON's outing tonight..Looks primed for a big year..we'll see...I really, really want to see fireplug sparkplug MUNGUIA make the team..Little power but does everything else with energy..
SteveVA
"Sorry, I just had to.."
DeleteMade me laugh.
My bold prediction for Chapman is he hits .225 with 25 HR, GG D and 3.5 fWAR. How's that?
DeleteDoc, I could live with that, although .225 is a bit low for me...Let's hope this "finger issue" with Chapman is more than just propoaganda poppycock and not just the trend as he ages...After all, he has hit .225 for years with some pop for a few years...So, hope we get what You predict! Believe it or not, I will be rooting for it!
DeleteAs for the overall off-season, Kinda think grades are useless because all depends on results not intentions. Still, I like the Soler, Lee (but with some worries) and Snell pick ups for the season..and with Snell, I like the Ray pickup even more because he's not as crucial for the season...Even Murphy is fine..Despite the mess of LHRP and the SS situation misread, still a good offseason for FZ..Long season to work things out with a lot of exciting kids waiting in the wings (if they don't make the starting squad--i.e., Lucianno, Matos, Munigua, Roup, Black, Schmidt)....So, who do bart and Villar get traded to??? Oh, and I love Harrison as the #3!
SteveVA
Hot Stove League grades are more for fun than anything. Historically there is very poor correlation between winning the offseason and winning the season. To me there should be 3 criteria: 1. Added projected WAR 2. Minimize risk. 3. Minimize cost in that order. The Giants added significantly more WAR than the Dodgers for a fraction of the cost. How is that not a better offseason?(Not saying you said the Dodgers offseason was better but I have seen analysts say the Giants now have the second best. To my eye, they have had by far the best offseason in MLB.
DeleteSo happy we got the deal done for Snell. Farhan played the market very well this offseason and we seem positioned to make a run for a playoff spot. Im imagining a playoff rotation of Webb, Snell, Ray, and Harrison with Hicks setting up Doval. That feels like a staff we could compete with if we can just get in.
ReplyDeleteWish Luciano could’ve had a better spring. Was really looking forward to him opening as our starting SS.
Also wish Rebel Brooks-Moon the best. She was a fantastic PA announcer.
I saw a note yesterday that the Giants had the second best offseason implying the Dodgers had the best. I would argue the Giants offseason was far better. They already added more net fWAR before the Chapman/Snell Signings. Their total offseason expenditure is slightly more than half the Dodgers and with close to zero longterm risk. How is that not a far better offseason?
DeleteHow many fans does "a fantastic PA announcer" pull in?
DeleteYou can't measure it directly and probably not many, but Renel was an important part of the overall fan experience. She was unique voice and an identifying presence who helped connect the team to the community.
DeleteLuciano needs 400 abs in AAA to work on things including staying on the field it's unfortunate that the outfield looks too crowded to include Matos and Munguia in it. It's better for their development to have consistent abs in AAA. Gotta give FZ credit where it's due for a great off-season being opportunistic. Chapman $54 mil, Snell $62 mil. Can't ask for better team friendly contracts. Keaton Winn or Mason Black can slot in nicely as the 5th starter with the other probably joining Landon Roupp as long relievers. My guess is they'll keep Roupp despite pitching only 30 innings in AA. He's been 1 of the pitchers generating a lot of talk in camp, and isn't that a sign he has a chance to make the 26 man roster?
ReplyDeleteThere are still some very interesting roster decisions and potential transactions to be made by Opening Day.
DeleteWhatever Melvin wants, Zaidi gets?
DeleteSaw something where FZ and Melvin met after he was hired and came up with a long list of areas for roster improvements. Melvin praised FZ after the Chapman signed for checking off a lot of boxes from the list even before Snell signed. It's a good sign that they are working together.
DeleteWhen will Snell be ready to pitch?
ReplyDeleteStart a game?
Giants play the Dodgers in 2 weeks: April 1, 2, and 3.
He just pitched 4 innings of a simulated game for scouts so if he gets two spring training starts he could be ready to go 5-6 IP by Opening Day which is about his average start anyway.
DeleteHard to think of a better offseason in my lifetime than this one. I don’t know that any even come close. Mind you it would have all been for nothing had they not gotten Snell and the pitching still has some questions but overall this roster looks significantly improved over last year! They improved their pitching, defense, and offensively got 3 upgrades over last season. Very very impressive
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you Doc the offseason has been a success. Post Ohtani and Yamamoto I was pretty distraught and I feared that the Giants would in reaction sign Snell & Chapman & Bellinger to 150+m contracts all would ending up as albatrosses.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Zaidi played the market deafly and was able to sign Chapman and Snell to very reasonable deals. I think we have to give him credit, for getting these guys on short term deals.
I still am pretty skeptical of the Soler deal, I think the other contracts have been quite reasonable.
- Fan
Wouldn't be surprised if they seek a way to unload Conforto's $18 million contract at this point, or at least enough of it to get them out of or minimize the luxury tax.
ReplyDeleteThe Giants "could" showcase Bart early to seek offers.
ReplyDeleteIf nothing is forthcoming, then try to waive him when teams have sorted out their needs.
Bart is not Bailey, but how much could it hurt for a couple weeks? A game? 2? Every game counts, so maybe it's a bad idea.
Saw Snell in Giants dugout, maybe that's a game face but he didn't look happy, not sure what to think with all the stuff going on around here, maybe it's a sign of things to come
ReplyDelete