So, let's do a little catching up with what's going on around the Hot Stove as Winter settles in. The Giants signed their apparent backup catcher for next year when they inked Curt Casali to a major league deal worth $1.5 M. The Reds had previously non-tendered him for arbitration with a MLBTR projected arbitration award of $1.8-2.4 M.
Curt Casali C. DOB: 11/9/1988. B-R, T-R. 6'2", 220 lbs.
2018(Reds): .293/.355/.450, 4 HR, 156 PA.
2019(Reds): .251/.331/.411, 8 HR, 236 PA.
2020(Reds): .224/.366/.500, 6 HR, 93 PA.
Casali fits the FZ profile of a a 3-true outcomes guy, HR power with high K's and high BB's. He'll back up Buster Posey and relegate Chadwick Tromp to AAA insurance while Joey Bart gets more salt in AA or AAA. Only surprise for me is I predicted FZ would get himself a lefthanded hitter for backup C.
*************************************************************************************
The Giants traded Sam Lightning...er.....Coonrod RHP to the Phillies for pitching prospect Carson Ragsdale RHP. I don't think Giants fans need any reminders of who or what Sam Coonrod is or why this comes as no surprise. So let's focus on who the Giants got in return. Ragsdale is a 6'8" pitching prospect selected in round 4 of the 2020 draft by the Phillies out of University of South Florida. He has tremendous physical tools but is still raw due to is college career being interrupted by Tommy John Surgery and the COVID pandemic. Here are his cumulative college stats:
2-1, 3.75, 50.1 IP, 28 BB, 77 K.
At 225 lbs, Ragsdale is a dominating physical presence on the mound. His over-the-top delivery gives him a steep downhill plane on his pitches. His FB goes in the low-mid 90's but has significant room for more. His sharp downward breaking curveball is a potential plus pitch and his changeup needs development.
Coonrod's velocity gives him a high ceiling but Ragsdale is younger and has more time to reach a high ceiling himself. FZ essentially buys another 2020 draft pick without giving up a significant prospect or essential member of the MLB roster. He also moves on from a potential ongoing source distraction in the clubhouse. Nice trade!
*************************************************************************************
The Giants also signed Jay Jackson RHP to a minor league contract. Jackson is a hard throwing righty reliever who has pitched in MLB for the Padres and Brewers. He has pitched with success in 4 seasons in Japan with a 2.16 ERA. He will compete for a bullpen role in Spring Training.
*************************************************************************************
Tomoyuki Sugano inked a 4 year/$40 M free agent contract with the Giants.....the Yomiuri Giants, that is. The deal reportedly includes 3 opt-outs and was already agreed to as a fallback before he posted to bidding from US teams. Seems none of them wanted to touch that. He sure seemed like a nice fit for the Giants, though.
*************************************************************************************
I don't have much to add to the discussion re. the blockbuster trade of Francisco Lindor SS and Carlos Carrasco RHP to the Mets for Ahmed Rosario SS, Andres Gimenez SS, Josh Wolf RHP and Isaiah Greene OF. Lindor is entering his final year before free agency while Carrasco has 2 years on a contract. Trading expensive players for top prospects used to be a nice way for smaller market teams to rebuild. What's distressing is the diminishing returns these types of trades are bringing back. Not that Rosario and Gimenez are bad players or Wolf and Greene non-prospects but those 4 are never going to come close to what Lindor is right now. As for the Mets, new owner Steve Cohen signals he is going to use his overwhelming financial muscle in ways the financially crippled Wilpons were not able or willing to do.
We should also take a moment to remember Tommy Lasorda, longtime manager of the hated dodgers. He was the kind of worthy rival that true fans love to hate. Certainly he was the epitome of a traditional baseball manager, and his passing brought back many memories. RIP.
ReplyDeleteIDK, I left Fat Tommy out of the post intentionally. There is not a lot of love lost between me and Tommy Lasorda. He was a foulmouthed, loudmouthed bully. He was a nice fit to manage a team amid the enormous entertainment circus that is LA, but he wasn't otherwise a great manager. Just thinking of him brings back memories of a painful era of Giants baseball and I am not going to miss him.
DeleteOn top of all that, he treated his gay son horribly then cried for the media when his son died.
I guess my only positive memory of Fat Tommy, or Tommy Loudmouth or your favorite derogatory nickname, is his tirade in the clubhouse after Dave Kingman dropped 3 bombs on the Dodgers in one game. I actually listened to that game on the radio. What a great game! If you listen to the expletives in that tirade you get a sense of the dude's character and it isn't good.
Two non-player men closely associated with the Dodgers are Lasorda and Scully.
ReplyDeleteLove of Dodger Blue is the only thing they have in common.
One sits on a high throne, the other is a bathroom throne.
Gotta think that with all the veteran right handed relievers signed that Coonrod was deemed expendable. Turning his 40 man roster spot into a similarly talented non-roster player opens up the spot for a veteran left handed rotation starter, who we all should agree we need.
ReplyDeleteGood article by Bisbee in The Atlantic yesterday regarding Giants and their spending plans (at least his thoughts on why the Giants will sit this offseason out on the big ticket guys). I will go step further than he did and say it is entirely possible that the Giants see another very lean year revenue wise Given the Giants relative financial strength it could open the door for not just big spending next winter, but big spending at a time when MLB teams overall are facing tight financial constraints. The Giants could be in a position to spend on top tier guys at a time that even the top tier guys come at a bit of a discount.
ReplyDeleteFZ has shown he can squeeze enough out of the spare parts he can acquire that it's fair to say the Giants will be entertaining in 2021. But, ladies and gentlemen, a year from now the Giants will have 1) many top prospects knocking on the door or getting ready to knock on the door, and 2) the financial strength and flexibility to add two or three big contracts to the mix. Could be some pretty exciting stuff.
Every single one of us is hoping that you are right. Unfortunately there is nothing that Farhan has ever done in his entire career to suggest that he will all of a sudden spend money and/or figure out how to pull off a Mookie/Lindor trade and sign. The prospects are only as good as the value they have in the trade market or on the MLB roster. Farhan has been more than reluctant or possibly capable of trading any of his prospects which makes it difficult to acquire high end talent. If laying in the weeds for 3 years before spending 100+ million on the free agent market has been the plan all along I will be pleasantly surprised. It's more likely that Farhan will continue to be cheap and we will be disappointed again around this time next year.
DeleteWho do we want Farhan to spend money on this winter? Trevor Bauer? George Springer? TJ Realmuto? Not sure any of those guys are THE guy you want to make a 9 figure commitment to. Do we really want him to trade for 1 year of Lindor?
DeleteTravis Wood signing is a nice move. I hope he does not stop there, but I'd be as happy with a couple more similar signings as a big splash for Bauer.
i think you meant Alex Woods Dr.
DeleteAlex, Travis, Kerry, too many Wood's!
DeleteThink about it this way, what would it have taken last year to make the playoffs? Everyone praised Farhan for "almost" making the playoffs last year with this team. They also praised him for trading Melancon the year prior and getting his salary off the payroll. Had Farhan actually made a semi significant acquisition like say Marcell Ozuna before last season and had he not given up our best closer option for peanuts the year before, the Giants likely make the playoffs last year.
ReplyDeleteThe only entities that benefit from a low payroll are the owners. The only way the fans benefit is if money is actually spent to improve the team when available. There is so much money available that it is mind boggling that more fans aren't upset like me that they aren't spending. Again, all it would have taken last year to make the playoffs is a 1 year deal for Ozuna and to have kept Melancon yet Farhan has recieved praise for "almost" making the playoffs instead of criticism for not doing just a little bit more!
This team needs cornerstone pieces. Any of the guys you mentioned above would immediately be the best players on this team and all they would cost is money. Is there any argument that star players help you win? Is there any argument that the Giants are hurting for money and can't afford to spend? I would love to hear why a guy like Springer would be a bad idea. This rotation is probably the worst in the national league so wouldn't Bauer help improve that? I get it if we don't have money to spend but that isn't the case so why isn't Farhan adding pieces here and there to compliment all of the treasure he has found in the trash?
You make some valid points but I take exception to the notion that just spending money is the answer. If that was the case, Bobby Evans would still be GM! He spent money. Man! Did he spend money! How did that work out?
DeleteI am slso not so sure that Ozuna and Melancon would have made that much of a difference.
I agree there is no reason why fans should be rooting for their team to not spend money but there is also no inherent virtue in spending it if you aren't getting the right players.
I don't see any "big splash" move or even a combination of such moves available to Farhan at any price to suddenly vault the Giants into serious competition with the Dodgers and Padres in one offseason. I am content with multiple low-risk/high upside moves which may surprise people if they all work out. I will say I think FZ needs to make at least 1 or 2 more such moves to create depth on the pitching side.
DeleteSpending money got the Giants a 98 loss team in 2017 and 89 losses in 2018. FZ took over a losing team in 2019 with a bloated payroll and low ranking farm system. FZ has done a nice job fielding competitive teams, continuing to improve their farm system, while waiting for their big contracts to expire, most will expire in 2021. I've been impressed so far. I believe I've read that it takes 5 years to build up a top rated farm system. I'm ok with whatever roster moves FZ and Scott Harris make as long as it makes good baseball sense and more importantly they have a plan in place as to what kind of team they want to get the Giants back on top. The Giants had GMs in the past who made trades and signings, but got nowhere since they had no plan. Doc I hope FZ continues his low risk high upside moves. The one big ticket item who might make sense is Marcell Ozuna if the NL adopts the DH. The Giants are one of several teams who reports say made an offer.
ReplyDeleteWe all want the same thing which is for the Giants to be competitive. Some of us just have more patience and faith in FZ than others. Spending money alone isn't the answer just like dumpster diving alone isn't the answer. It takes a combination of the 2 along with trades, drafting well, developing, and international signings. Right now all we have are dumpster dives, questionable drafting, and developing and that is why I am concerned. FZ finally signed an international FA albeit the number 22nd on the list and only 17 years old so we will look forward to him on the Giants hopefully by 2028.
DeleteBobby Evans made some mistakes for sure but to blame him for resigning the stars that got us 3 world series seems petty. Signing Cueto and Samardjiza almost got us to another WS had he just acquired Melancon that trade deadline. He may still be the GM had he won the WS in 2016. After that he got desperate with Longo and Cutch but don't sleep on his contributions to this farm system which are 7-8 of the top 10 players on the list. If you can give FZ credit for having a good farm system than you should give credit to Bobby for drafting/signing the players. If FZ gets all the credit no matter who drafted the players then give him some of the criticism for why Bart, Jaylin, and every young pitcher on the staff that didn't play well last year since he is supposedly a development guru.
This notion that everything FZ does is fine even though none of the moves have amounted to a winning season or a foreseeable winning culture seems overly generous. Wayne Gretzky said that you miss 100% of the shots you don't take and in 3 years FZ hasn't taken one big shot. In order for this team to get to where it needs to be he will have to figure out how to make a few high risk moves that can actually have a real impact on this teams chances of winning.
You can't be gunshy just because something you did before didn't work out. Not spending money is not going to get you the opposite result of what spending money got Evans in the past. If you are scared to spend money in fear that you will repeat your mistakes then you will end up making new mistakes because of your short sidedness. Spending alone isn't the answer but neither are one year deals and dumpster dives.
DeleteNot sure who you think is giving FZ a free pass or failing to criticize him here or who is "blaming" Bobby Evans. I certainly has never been me! I have consistently pointed out that the best prospects in the farm system were brought in by Bobby Evans. I have consistently said I think his processes were sound and that he was unfairly blamed for a run of bad luck by people who were under-informed about the overall health of the organization.
DeleteI have also criticized and made light of FZ's "sluice box" and "churn" approach to dumpster diving and said at some point you have to show a little faith and give guys you believe in a fair number of PA's.
At the same time, if you are going to criticize FZ for not spending, then it's only fair to point out that Evans spend big time and look where it got him. FZ has been active enough in bidding for top FA's that I believe if the right guy is out there to make a long term investment in, he'll take his shot. I am not convinced any FA available this year is THAT guy, but if FZ thinks someone is, I am sure he will put in a competitive bid.
And just a fair warning: We all understand your point by now. If you keep ragging on it over and over, you are eventually going to get moderated.
DeleteAgreed we all want the same thing. My last post doesn't give FZ a free pass or criticize Bobby Evans. FZ was brought in to rebuild the team per beat writers who lost 98 games 4 years ago, but played much better last year, so I'm encouraged. Unfortunately rebuilds take patience, so it's not a free pass. Don't understand why FZ's drafting and developing is questionable. He's only been with the Giants for 2 drafts and the minor league season was cancelled last year, which hurts each teams minor league development. I've criticized FZ in the past for not being honest with the fans about rebuilding the team. Not criticizing Bobby Evans at all for extending the players who won 3 WS for the Giants, which I'm so thankful for! But it's made it a little more challenging to rebuild the team today. I think when Evans was fired after 2018, many of their top prospects today such as Joey Bart, Luciano, Matos were just drafted into the organization, so the farm was rated low at the time. If these players reach the high ceilings projected for them Evans will leave a nice legacy yet with the Giants. If the team stops progressing and is not serious playoff contendors in 2-3 years then questions will need to be asked.
ReplyDelete