The Orioles signed 41 years old Charlie Morton RHP for 1 yr/$15 M and the way things are going, Morton just might still command $15 M/yr on one year contracts when he's 51 yo!
2024(Braves): 8-10, 4.19, 165.1 IP, 9.1 K/9, 3.5 BB/9.
Again, Morton was never linked to the Giants and he seems like a guy who is more comfortable playing on the east coast but the list of veteran pitchers who can eat innings continues to dwindle. Perhaps Buster Posey means what he says that he is ready to roll with the Giants stable of young pitchers?
The Dodgers made a somewhat surprising move by signing Hyeseong Kim to a 3 year contracts for $12.5 M with a club option for 2 additional seasons for $9.5 M. Note this is not Jung Hoo Lee's good friend Ha Seong Kim. This is another player with a similar name who was posted by his KBO team. This is a curious signing in that the Dodgers were never mentioned as being interested in Kim and they don't appear to really have a need for him. The Dodgers are set at all positions and have Miguel Rojas, Chris Taylor and Tommy Edman as excellent utility players. I mean, if you've got it, flaunt it!
Kim is reportedly an excellent defender at multiple positions but has mostly played 2B recently. He's a contact hitter but with much less power than Ha Seong Kim which makes you wonder how he will fare against MLB pitching. At one point I thought about putting his name out there as a fit for the Giants to play 2B since he bats left, but every time I looked at those power numbers I just said "nah", so we'll wish him luck with the Dodgers..... or not.
Addendum: To make room on the 40-man roster for Hyeseong Kim, the Dodgers DFA'd Diego Cartaya C. This is interesting and kind of sad because just 2 years ago, Cartaya was widely considered the Dodgers top prospect and possibly the top prospect in all of baseball. His numbers cratered in the upper minors and now he's DFA'd. Another example of how prospect evaluation is an inexact science at best.
Susan Slusser speculates in her recent article that the Giants really want Sasaki and may be waiting on his decision before moving on to alternatives. Trades are also possible maybe Luis Castillo.
ReplyDeleteThat seems like a very small basket to put all your eggs in.
DeleteThe Sasaki odds are probably around 1 in 20 at this point so the Giants will need to proceed as if he were not coming but look at Sasaki as a nice cherry on top.
ReplyDeleteCateya might be worth taking a look at. He surely could not be worse than Tom Murphy.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see a pillow contract for Ha Seong Kim, even if it is short and/or contains an opt-out. It would be high-end insurance for the upcoming Fitz/Schmitt experiment at 2B. If it works pretty good chance Buster can work out an extension with someone already in the building.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the Giants' depth chart as published by MLB
ReplyDelete(https://www.mlb.com/giants/roster/depth-chart),
they are very thin on position players — how badly was Adames needed!
The 13 players listed aren't exactly what one would want to compete for a playoff spot given that there are two non-division winners in the West who are by any expectation better than SF: it seems that all three wildcards would have to come from the West for the Giants to have a chance, meaning only one of New York, Philadelphia, and Atlanta make it by winning the East.
The rotation sans Snell will depend on 2 very young, inexperienced pitchers, a converted reliever, and a TJ-rehabbing one-time ace who has started 8 games since 2022, all to back up the guy who has started 98 games in the last 3 years.
That said, the pitching depth doesn't look bad, but you have to squint to see this working, to believe the Giants can score enough runs to win ten of the games they lost last year. They were 24-24 in 1-run games: could they go 30-20? Probably not.
The guys who debut'ed the last year, or 2 or 3, (Bailey, Lee, Ramos, Fitzgerald, Wisely, Schmitt, Encarnación, McCray — and Meckler?) must play a full and successful season this year.
The wise predictors don't give them much chance.
For those who are not sure what a "pillow contract" here in Scott Boras speak is the definition > “A pillow contract is, basically, you lay down, it's comfortable, it's soft, it's there. But the fact of the matter is it's not with you all the time. That's a one-year contract. Your pillow, you leave it, you come back, it's there,” said Boras. “Short-term, you use it for a little bit, then you move on.”
ReplyDeleteOn a nostalgic look > if FZ had played his card right we could have a rotation of Webb , Gaumann, Rodon, Maneaa, and the kids.
Still need a innings eater at this point!
Whats up Buster?
Richard in Winnipeg
The term, coined a few years ago by Scott Boras, refers to a one year deal that allows a free agent coming off a disappointing season to land in a particularly friendly environment, re-establish his value, and then hit the market again the following winter. https://blogs.fangraphs.com/how-the-opt-out-could-improve-the-pillow-contract/
DeleteI don't think pillow contracts are necessarily always one year anymore. The two year deal we signed with Conforto feels similar.
DeleteBuster and Minasian have been active on the trade front but the other GMs were trying to take advantage of their inexperience. Wasting everyone's time.
DeleteBaggs. wrote that about Buster and Miniasen. His words were "hyberactive". Its seems that's how the game is played when other teams try to take advantage of a new inexperienced front office, but Bustet is smart and Minaisan although an experienced FO person, this is his 1st GM gig. Let's just hope that they stay strong and don't give in to the pressure of making a move where the other team 'takes them to the cleaners'. Bagga also wrote Giants refused to include Bryce Eldridge in trade offers for Kyle Tucker and Garrett Crochet. Smart move.
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