The Giants claimed RHP Jake Barrett off waivers from the D'Backs. Barrett is a big(6'2", 240 lb) dude who the D'Backs drafted in the 3'rd round in 2012 out of Arizona St. He's had pretty much the same profile throughout his minor and major league career: Reliever, solid K rates, too high BB rates. Those BB rates led to ERA's over 5 the past 2 seasons. During Bobby Evans tenure as GM, the Giants gobbled up pitchers with this profile. Farhan Zaidi continues that trend.
At the same time, the Giants DFA'd recently acquired OF John Andreoli. This might not make much sense on the surface but here's the deal(thanks to MLBTR for the hot tip): This is essentially a zero risk strategy to build depth in the upper minors. Had the Giants not claimed Andreoli, he likely would have cleared waiver and stayed in the Orioles organization. Now the Giants can try to pass him through. If they do, they have a nice depth player for the OF. If not, well, they never would have had him in the first place so they are back to zero(unless you are still driving the Derek Law bandwagon). But hey! If Derek Law clears waivers, the Giants still have him. If not, they've just replaced him with pretty much the same pitcher.
This is a nice, risk-free move in a vacuum. What's missing here is what it wasn't, an upgrade at backup catcher, OF or pitcher, or pretty much anything else the Giants might need to compete in 2019.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
MLBTR keeps stirring the Gio Gonzales pot -- at some price that seems like something Zaidi would do but would he fall far enough? Certainly not to the Drew Pomeranz level, would he?
ReplyDeleteAlthough not a Hundley fan, I'm surprised he hasn't signed anywhere -- would the Giants really go with what they have? Wouldn't they have to be very certain that Posey is good to go for, what, 120 games behind the plate?
Martín Maldonado? Not much O but some D.
Maybe they're planning a Sandoval 9-position day if attendance falters...
Would it be "smart" to get Keuchel, if posible, on a 2-year deal, even an overpay?
There are tears galore for Adam Jones but he is in serious offensive decline and is very bad D.
Wonder how long Boras will "hold up" the market -- March 1st? Later?
Just heard that the Giants may make a late push for Bryce Harper which would kind of make the entire offseason make sense. There are so many reasons why the Giants should get Harper and very few reasons why they shouldn't. It would change the lineup significantly and give us a building block for the future and maybe more importantly for Farhan, it wouldn't block young talent coming up.
ReplyDeleteI honestly think Farhan's strategy this year has been simply to give more guys chances who haven't had them in the majors and find out if they can play. With all the levels of the minor leagues and 40 rounds of draft picks every year plus international signings, it makes sense that there are going to be a ton of players who slip through the cracks and simply don't get a chance or enough of a chance to become major leaguers. I wonder how many great players never made it simply because they didn't get their chance. Off the top of my head I can think of quite a few success stories in the last ten years including Jose Bautista, Dan Uggla, Edwin Encarnacion, Nelson Cruz, and most recently and relevant Chris Taylor and Max Muncy.
Everyone knows that Farhan is capable of finding these players and hopefully each of the guys he has acquired end up being the next success stories. In the meantime I think he needs to also not be afraid to take a chance on Harper who wouldn't break the bank, wouldn't block anyone, and who could be a core piece on this team for 10 years.
HOT?
ReplyDelete"Another club is vying for Harper," writes Randy Miller of NJ.com in a wide-ranging rundown of the latest rumors. "The San Francisco Giants are now in the mix and are expected to meet with the former MVP this week."
In fact, it's already happened. The Giants recently visited with Harper, according to MLB Network insider Jon Heyman, who follows up to say that the club's level of interest is "not known, but they did try hard for [Giancarlo] Stanton last winter."
Jon Heyman
The #SFGiants recently met with Bryce Harper. Extent of interest on team’s part not known, but they did try hard for Stanton last winter. Multiple new teams emerged in last week or two.
8:27 AM - Feb 6, 2019
Among San Francisco's decision-makers believed to have attended the meeting? President and CEO Larry Baer, Zaidi and longtime manager Bruce Bochy, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
Per source, Giants met with Bryce Harper this week. It's believed meeting included Larry Baer, Farhan Zaidi and Bruce Bochy.
8:42 AM - Feb 6, 2019
Plus Zaidi had already met with Boras back in the winter meetings (the wrong room incident) so this would have been round 2 meeting at least. The whole lineup would begin to make sense if Harper locked down RF - Duggar or Duggar/Ferguson platoon in CF and then pick from Williamson/Shaw/Slater in LF. The rotation is deep enough to start the season, bullpen looks strong, just need depth plan at catcher and a medical wizard in the training room...hitting-wise, Harper, a healthy Belt, and a repaired Posey would help Longoria find himself with better pitches to hit.
ReplyDelete