OK team. I'm back from a much needed break. We're expecting a busy offseason of transactions to start almost immediately after the World Series so not sure if we'll have time to finish this before all that starts. This exercise reviews the Giants positional depth charts including minor league players even though some of them would not be promoted even if a need arose at the MLB level due to level of experience. It will not include free agents. We'll start it off with the Catcher position which for the first time in recent memory is deep enough to consider some trade options.
MLB:
Buster Posey(Last year of contract, Team Option for $22 M with $3 M buyout): Buster is coming off one of the better seasons of his career. The Giants will surely pick up the option if Buster does not retire. Look for him behind the plate in Oracle Park in 2022.
Curt Casali(Arbitration Eligible): Casali's projected arbitration value is low enough and his contribution in 2021 big enough the Giants will almost certainly tender him a contract.
Joey Bart(Pre-Arbitration/AAA): Bart got just 6 MLB AB's in 2021 with 2 hits. He slashed .294/.358/.472 with 10 HR's for AAA Sacramento but with a relatively low walk rate and a K rate approaching 30%. He could use some more refinement in his approach in AAA but is a nice insurance policy should a need arise. He potentially could be traded if FZ got blown away by an offer. His future value could increase if the NL adopts the DH.
AAA: See Joey Bart above. It's kind of tough to stash a veteran for depth at AAA due to Bart's need for regular AB's.
AA: There were no MLB-caliber prospects on the roster.
A+:
Ricardo Genoves: Genoves has been in the organization 5 years which means he has to be added to the 40 man roster or exposed to the Rule 5 Draft. I doubt he will be added or selected so should stay in the organization off the 40 man roster. His 2022 season was the mirror image of Patrick Bailey's as he hit .338 in 136 AB's for San Jose then switched places with Bailey and hit just .217 for A+ Eugene. He also got 22 AB's for AAA Sacramento and hit .455.
A:
Patrick Bailey: The Giants 2020 first round draft pick's bat finally caught fire and hit .322 after a demotion to San Jose. So far he's continuing to hit in the Arizona Fall League. His and 2019 first round pick Hunter Bishop's hitting struggles early in their pro careers are worrisome but they still have time to develop.
Rookie:
Adrian Sugasty(ACL): 19 yo. .358/.405/.439 in 148 AB. From Panama.
Welcome back!
ReplyDeleteThe baseball blossom may not burst into bloom with great gusto considering the uncertainties of the labor contract and the near certainty that everything will grind to a halt when the current agreement expires at 11:59 p.m. EST, December 1, only ONE month away.
Surely you're right: Posey's option will be picked up and what happens then seems to depend a lot on his wife. Partly because of this known unknown but more importantly because he is GOOD, Casali is going nowhere: if and when Bart shows he's ready, Casali (or Bart) could be traded — he could be the regular catcher in many places. His results last year in shutouts and 1-run games decry SSS: he has, as you say Doc, magic fingers.
Free Agency will be hampered by the DH question in the NL: if this disease spreads (OK, I don't like it!), it's a game changer at least for half the MLB rosters, and the increased demand will stall signings in the AL.
This could work well for SF — if Posey signs up, his C workload could be cut drastically and he'd be resting for a lot of games but still hitting.
Casali and Posey provide some depth and options for the Giants.
Although you'll surely get to 1B quite soon, one roster question could happen as early as tomorrow: if Belt is not signed to an extension he will get a a QO. He'll deny it without additional years, but his fragility becomes an issue for anything more than two years. I don't see the Giants
going beyond what Crawford got for Belt or Posey.
I'm crossing my fingers that Posey comes back for 2022. Catching depth looks good. Krukow said recently that while Bart is an excellent prospect he's not ready to be an everyday player. He has things to work on yet. Bailey started slow but suffered through lower back tightness which might have contributed to his slow start. Their farm director Kyle Haines said that catching prospects have a lot more information to process so need longer development time. That made me think what a special player Posey is making his big league debut after a short stay in the minors.
ReplyDeleteNews coming out that Busters going to retire tomorrow. Will completely accelerate Bart getting here, if true.
ReplyDelete