The San Francisco Giants won 82 games last season. Despite acquiring some big-name free agents the Giants have not moved the needle much and will struggle to compete in the National League West. The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres age simply too good.
President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey has been aggressive and has acquired some nice players that fill holes on the San Francisco Giants, but they will likely be behind the rival Los Angeles Dodgers for years to come. Do you think the San Francisco Giants can compete in the National League West?
San Francisco Giants Starting Rotation
The starting pitching rotation for the San Francisco Giants is a strength of the team, despite losing Blake Snell to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Logan Webb is the ace. He has pitched more than 200 innings in the last two years. Being such a workhorse is a rarity these days. Veteran Justin Verlander signed a one-year deal to be San Francisco’s No. 2 starting pitcher. The former Cy Young winner has only started 28 games in the past two seasons.
Verlander is not the only former Cy Young winner trying to make a comeback in the Giants’ rotation. Robbie Ray is the third starter. He is a Cy Young Award winner and returned last July from having Tommy John surgery. Jordan Hicks is the fourth starter for the Giants. He is a former bullpen arm who needs to work on his endurance. Many potential starters are either hurt or are slated to work out of the bullpen, but currently, Landon Roupp is supposed to be the fifth starter,
San Francisco Giants Bullpen
Ryan Walker is the San Francisco Giants closer. He took over from closer Camilo Doval (who was demoted to AAA) and had 10 saves. Doval is now the setup guy for Walker. Taylor Rogers, the twin of Tyler, signed with the Cincinnati Reds. His twin, Tyler, is a top left-handed reliever in the Giants bullpen. Sean Hjelle is a 6-foot 11-inch-long man. He throws in the mid-90s, downhill.
Catcher
Posey, the longtime catcher for the Giants is now the President of Baseball operations. Patrick Bailey is the starting catcher. He won a Gold Glove last season. He can hit also but has worn down over the last two seasons. Tom Murphy, the backup, is hurt so Sam Huff and Max Stassi will both get chances.
Infield
LaMont Wade Jr. is the first baseman for the Giants and has earned his way into the lineup with a .376 OBP. Tyler Fitzgerald is defensively versatile and will start at second base due to the injury to Wilmer Flores. Willy Adamas signed a seven-year contract with the Giants after spending the last few years with the Milwaukee Brewers. The left side of the Giants’ infield is set for years to come after Matt Chapman signed a six-year contract extension. He is a five-time Gold Glove winner who hit 27 home runs last year.
Outfield
Heliot Ramos is the left fielder for the Giants. He hit 22 home runs last season and made the All-Star team. Jung Hoo Lee is the center fielder for the Giants. He was a 20 home run hitter in Korea and shows great potential. Right Fielder Mike Yaztremski is entering his age 34 season. He can be a lineup problem and has only a .239 career hitter.
Designated Hitter
Jerar Encarnacion is now slated to be the designated hitter for the San Francisco Giants. He is one of several options the Giants have at designated hitter. The best case for the Giants is that Flores is healthy enough to take at-bats in the position.
Management
Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. The Giants have been in on conversations in the past few years. That does not count. The Giants did not sign either Aaron Judge or Carlos Correa. Maybe Posey will be more successful. Zach Minasian is now the general manager. The Giants are in good shape on the bench. There are few managers more experienced than Bob Melvin. The Giants are his fifth team. Melvin is a sharp contrast to the previous analytics-driven manager Gabe Kapler.
Conclusion
The San Francisco Giants are in a difficult division and have to compete with both the Padres and Dodgers. They have signed some good free agents, and have shown to be aggressive, but they have missed out on the big fish that would help them compete with the West division superpowers. The Giants are basically, a .500 team in a division where it may take 100 wins to prevail.
