When FZ rolled out his blueprint for the Hot Stove season, he might as well have just announced, "we're going after Tommy La Stella! Lefty bat, multiple infield positions but mainly 3B, FZ approved secondary stats, there was alway just one guy who perfectly fit the description. Tommy La Stella! I figured FZ was not the only GM looking for a player like that. La Stella was going to have multiple offers and price himself out of FZ's market, but it looks like FZ wanted him badly enough to go for the overpay. It took awhile to get the details but it looks like 3 yr/$19 M in guaranteed money.
La Stella really is a very good and versatile hitter. He spent the first years of his career building a reputation as a bench bat and PH with the Cubs. Then he had a breakout season in 2019 with the Angels as a starter, although his season was truncated by injury. He hit for less power in 2020 with the A's but put up even better secondary stats. How does a 11.8 BB% coupled with a 5.3% K% strike you(9.6 BB%, 10.6 K% career)?
La Stella will most likely split platoon time between 3B and 2B which should give him, Longo and Solano approximately equal PA's. I suppose that means Mauricio Dubon will be RH hitting backup SS, but the lack of additional SS options puts a lot of pressure on Brandon Crawford to stay healthy.
Love the signing. While it may be a modest overpay, La Stella easily fits into the Giants budget for all 3 seasons he is signed for. Gotta love the bat!
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There are rumors of the Giants interest in LH hitting OF's Jackie Bradley Jr. or Joc Pederson. Bradley is a better fit defensively as a CF but Pederson has the better bat but a wide margin. Either signing would seem to put Darren Ruf and Austin Slater on the roster bubble assuming a 26 man roster with 13 pitchers and 13 position players, unless they went with just 12 pitchers, which seems unlikely in the age of openers and 5 inning starts.
Personally, I think FZ should still prioritize pitching but the pitching market is still deep and he may be waiting for the market to come to him. He also may have more specific hitting targets and feel the need to get them signed first.
The modest overpay for La Stella is the third year? MLBTR was predicting 2 yrs, $14M, which is about the AAV of the contract.
ReplyDeletePederson is to be a Cub. I’m not disappointed; I too would like to see FZ focus on pitching, given the unpredictability of the Giants’ rotation. Aim for Paxton? High ceiling LH, likely short-term contract, currently in all likelihood affordable.
I like the La Stella signing. Solid LH contact hitter, plays 2nd and 3rd base. Might be wrong, thought he plays 1st base too. Donnie 'Barrels' will need to keep up his good hitting, La Stella could take more abs from him.
ReplyDeleteTheir lineup with their platoon approach looks promising. What could bring it down is questionable starting pitching and inexperienced bullpen. Agree with Doc, they need to look for more pitching help, Pav's said FZ is still looking for pitching. As for LH outfielder, I'm hoping for JBJ, good centerfielder.
JBJ + Odorizzi + Rosenthal = Wildcard! And not much burden on the future!
ReplyDeleteA formula for success!
DeleteDon't mean to shoot a hole in the formula, but they aren't going to sign JBJ.