Saturday, November 23, 2024

Hot Stove League Update: Giants Retain Five Arbitration Eligible Players, DFA Two

Members of the Giants fanbase who were hoping for a wholesale non-tender of arbitration eligible players to clear payroll for a run at Juan Soto or other super-high priced free agents were disappointed yesterday as they agreed to term with Mike Yastrzemski OF and Austin Warren RHP, tendered contracts to Lamonte Wade Jr 1B, Tyler Rogers RHP and Camilo Doval RHP.  They no-tendered Kai-Wei Teng RHP(announced two days ago) and Ethan Small LHP.  Although there were many non-tenders of recognizable names around the league, all of the retained Giants players are projected to generate positive value compared to market prices for equal performance so retaining them is a smart move.  They can still be traded if the Giants decide they need the payroll space to sign a star free agent or two, but Alex Pavlovic commented that the Giants starting OF is likely set with YtY in RF, Jung Hoo Lee in CF and Heliot Ramos in LF.  If that' turns out to be the case, it will also likely not resonate well with certain corners of the fanbase.  Here is the list of transactions:

Mike Yastrzemski- $9.25 M($250 K under MLBTR projected salary).

Lamonte Wade Jr- Contract tendered.  MLBTR projected salary- 

Tyler Rogers RHP- Contract tendered.  MLBTR projected salary- 

Camilo Doval RHP- Contract Tendered.  MLBTR projected salary-

Austin Warren RHP- "major league deal".  Likely league minimum($740 K).

Kai-Wei Teng RHP- Non-tender(can still be resigned as a minor league FA).

Ethan Small LHP- non-tendered(can still be resigned as a minor league FA).

The flurry of transactions leaves the Giants with 39 players on the 40-man roster which would seem to indicate they may be planning to sign a free agent in the near future or they have plans to be active in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft.

7 comments:

  1. I like this move this early. Now if Giants decide to include any of these players in a trade, players salary is set for next season. I am also glad Will is getting his way with analytics.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The 39 is really quite deep. How easy is it to risk losing Small with just Miller & TaylorR remaining as lefty relievers? But who would be next to set free: Villar? Winn? Meckler? Any of those guys could very conceivably get a chance & be solid big-leaguers during this season.

    ReplyDelete
  3. None of this makes the Giants "better," but, given that there are NO guarantees that anyone better can be signed, why not keep proven major league players until you get improvements?
    No one on the roster is blocked, nor is any signing option.

    ReplyDelete
  4. To me, signing YAZ to keep him is just Buster embracing FZ's strategy of the middle of the road morass of mediocrity...The Padre SS, as a Korean buddy for Lee, will double down on that mediocrity..I'm betting the other trades/signing will be just the same but hope I am surprised...

    SteveVA

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm getting the feeling there aren't going to be any bright shiny new presents under the Christmas tree for Giants fans this offseason. Maybe not quite a lump of coal but nat that slot car racing set I used to want so bad and got a train set instead.

      Delete
  5. Starting Yaz means accepting a lot of strikeouts in the lineup, something that seems at odds with Posey’s supposed new emphasis on contact over swinging for the fences all of the time. (And paying him $9.25 million makes it less likely he’s going to be used as a fourth outfielder.) I just don’t see how this makes the Giants a better offensive team. Unless Posey has a trade or two in his back pocket. Play the kids and stop trying to half rebuild, half compete for postseason success. It still seems like the Giants’ front office is conflicted, stuck somewhere between FZ’s old ways and Posey’s view of more consistent and competitive at-bats to go along with tighter defense and strong pitching.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Grant Brisbee (The Athletic) makes the case for and against YtY. It's worth a read but unfortunately behind a pay wall. Here is a pertinent paragraph that explains why you want, no why you need YtY:
      "Mike Yastrzemski is a lot of things, and an important one to remember is that he’s a helpful baseball player. There isn’t a roster in baseball that wouldn’t improve with him on it, and if you’re rolling your eyes, boy, are you underestimating just how many outfield positions there are to fill in baseball. There are 90 starting spots, and if you add in a couple reserves for each team, that’s 150 outfielders that have to be sourced every year."
      For 2024, YtY "ranked in WAR among all outfielders, 47th of 181 players" who played a minimum of 20 games.
      Brisbee shows he's good enough to be on a roster, so the question is his worth in $$: by bWAR he has exceeded 2.0 every year that he has played. Whether you call each WAR point $5M or $9M, he is worth $9.25M, which isn't much of a salary these days for a guy who can play Oracle's RF like he invented it.

      Delete