In the wake of Corbin Burnes RHP signing with the D'Backs, Buster Posey was quoted from a text message to Andrew Baggerly in effect that he has confidence in the Giants young pitchers and will pursue upgrading the lineup. While there is a handful of proven hitters still available on the free agent market such as Alex Bregman IF, Anthony Santander OF and Pete Alonso 1B, they all have their downsides and are likely to command prices out of anyone reasonable person's comfort zone. There is also an interesting group of hitters most of whom were recently non-tendered contracts at the arbitration deadline and should be available for a more reasonable price both in terms of AAV and length of contract. Let's break it down:
Dylan Carlson OF. DOB: 10/23/1998. B-S, T-R. 6' 2", 200 lbs. 3 Options. Arb Eligible 2026. Free Agent 2027.
2024(2 Teams): .209/.287/.277, 3 HR, 2 SB, 8.3 BB%, 28.3 K%, 265 PA.
The Good: Carlson is a former #33 overall draft pick and Top 100 prospect. Solid season in 2021 at age 22 with 18 HR. Switch-hitter. The Bad: BA has declined 3 years in a row as has his defense. Much better hitter from the right side which is the short side of a platoon. Not a great sign that his performance didn't improve after midseason trade to the Rays or that the Rays non-tendered him despite a relatively low projected arbitration value. Intriguing but at this point probably more of a guy you offer a minor league deal.
Austin Hays OF. DOB: 7/5/1995. B-R, T-R. 5' 11", 200 lbs. Free Agent 2026.
2024(2 Teams): .255/.303/.395, 5 HR, 2 SB, 3.5 BB%, 23.1 K%, 255 PA.
Hays battled injuries and a debilitating kidney infection in 2024 but hit a total of 54 HR's in 3 previous seasons with the Orioles. Non-tendered by the Phillies in November. Struggled against RHP's in 2024 but did not have a significant platoon split in the previous 3 seasons.
Ramon Laureano OF. DOB: 7/15/1994. B-R, T-R. 5' 11", 203 lbs.
2024(2 Teams): .259/.311/.437, 11 HR, 8 SB, 4.9 BB%, 31.1 K%, 309 PA.
Non-tendered by ATL despite slash-lining .304/.340/.514 after the All-Star break. Continued to hit well in the DWL this fall. Has a significant L vs R split with much lower nnumbers against RHP's. Can play all 3 OF positions. Career characterized by inconsistency since running up an fWAR of 3.8 in 2019.
Alex Verdugo OF. DOB: 5/15/1996. B-L, T-L. 6' 0", 209 lbs.
2024(Yankees): .233/.291/.356, 13 HR, 7.9 BB%, 15.0 K%, 621 PA.
Looked like an up-and-comer in 2019 when he put up an fWAR of 2.1 in 377 PA for the Dodgers. Traded to the Red Sox with multiple players for Mookie Betts. Mostly disappointing numbers since then. Apparently hampered by a series of minor injuries and a health condition possibly related to a reaction to tattoos of all things. Bats lefty and can play all 3 OF positions but mostly LF.
Jesse Winker OF. DOB: 8/17/1993. B-L, T-L. 6' 2", 206 lbs.
2024(2 Teams): .253/.360/.405, 14 HR, 14 SB, 12.4 BB%, 20.9 K%, 508 PA.
Has a bit of a Michael Conforto/Joc Pederson feel to him but with much lower payroll cost. Poor defensive OF. Would be mainly a LH hitting DH. Beat writers have questioned his work ethic.
Summary: These guys would all likely be available on relatively low-cost 1 year prove it deals. Of course, there are reasons for that with each one. One of the attributes of a good POBO/GM is being able to pick the guy out of a crowd like this who will put it together. You can't build an entire team out of guys like this but they can be valuable additions to a roster in any given year.
I'll say it again: Brandon Belt. 1B/DH, good clubhouse, meets short term need and would be an excellent mentor for the kid. He's had at least a year to get healthy without the grind of daily baseball operations. This might be the last chance to wring the last little bit of baseball goodness out of that guy. Buster surely has his cell number, I would think.
ReplyDeleteI agree.
DeleteBut does BB9 think he's in "the Hitter Bargain Bin"?
DeleteAfter a year @ $0 M, would he go with a "prove it" contract, or very incentive laden? #9 seems to be available
Would this would be the end for LMWJ?
At this point I am pretty sure Brandon Belt's days of playing 1B on a daily basis are in his rearview mirror. I would see him more as a primary DH and an occasional back up at 1B.
DeleteI don’t have much faith that any of these guys give the Giants a substantially better chance at making the playoffs over inhouse options. We may win a few more games but if we aren’t making the playoffs then we should use this year to develop and get a good draft pick. Maybe next year as well if they don’t land Bregman, Santander, or Alonso.
ReplyDeleteOne option if they don’t sign any of the big 3 left could be to sign Kim and let him DH until the arm is better. He should be relatively cheap and has very nice upside. Invite as many of the other guys to Spring Training as possible but maybe start with locking down Kim first.
I don't accept your premise that the Giants aren't making the playoffs in 2025. I am not against the Giants signing a Bregman, Santander or Alonso but if they don't I think at least one of the players on the above list could give them an offensive boost and take some pressure off the kids.
DeleteI know we are all jaded by FZ's misadventures and by failing to sign several big name free agents but Buster already signed one very good free agent. If he can get another and stay within whatever his budget is, great. If he can't, I don't think you give up and concede the season. Maybe sign one of these guys plus a pitcher?
DeleteKim is a reasonable middle ground between investing heavily in the top 3 or any of the other options left. Any of the other options that want to sign a minor league deal with a spring training invite including BB if thats really what Buster feels is best then go nuts. I don’t see any of the other guys making as close to a difference to the lineup that Kim would make.
DeleteI mostly agree..I wouldn't touch a single one of those players listed if that's all you are doing...It's the FZ way of doing business that has failed miserably.,,but, as a final move...maybe
DeleteWithout another significant starter (Buster is wrong if he truly believes the kids are enough for the rotation) and, at the least, one full time bat (not part time flotsum and jetsum) there is no chance at the POs..You get those two, fleshing out the roster with one of the above might be acceptable if winning is the objective..
SteveVA
Why are we back to Ha Seong Kim? Nobody knows when he will even be able to play again and you might want to look up his batting line from 2024. And for those of you who only want to sign superstar players to huge contracts you all might want to go back and look up the rosters of the 2010-2014 teams. Yes, they had Matt Cain, Tim LIncecum, Madison Bumgarner and Buster Posey but they also had the Aubrey Huffs, Edgar Renterias, Andres Torres, Gregor Blanco, Ryan Vogelsong, Juan Uribe. They didn't call them the Gang of Misfits for nothing.
Delete....er Band of Misfits.....
DeleteEvery player left has warts and the ones you listed are covered with them! Sure Kim has his warts as well but if we don’t need him to play 2B just yet I don’t think its crazy to think he could DH kind of like Ohtani did last year and impact this lineup at the top. Probably gonna be much cheaper because of the injury too and if they wanted another player with upside how about Profar? They could probably sign both Kim and Profar for under 100 mil which would give us even more offensive depth and potentially a very balanced lineup.
ReplyDeleteI have yet to see any reports of Kim being ready to DH before he's ready to play in the field and I highly doubt anyone would sign him to be their DH if he was. I would be OK with signing Profar.
Deletei'd say sign laureano but, i don't want a hothead on our roster.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see group psychological trends when reading through reader comments over time. I am hereby officially declaring the "Moneyball Era" over. For a couple of decades after Moneyball was published, online comments were all about how their team could find undervalued players. It's probably due to the success of the Dodgers and Giants fans frustration with The Churn, but now it's all don't even talk to us about anyone but superstars.
Deletewhat i'm hoping for in 2025 is less churning and more roster stability which might mean letting kids go through the lumps a bit. i'm hoping luciano gets a first base glove in spring traning to at least get a chance to be a bridge at first. luis matos is a guy that if he doesn't make the 25-man, you try to package him for another starter.
DeleteAside from Laureano, I wouldn't touch any of these guys and I think the Giants' in-house players could do the same for less money.
ReplyDelete