Even when the San Francisco Giants were contending for World Series titles, former general manager Brian Sabean’s offseason checklist almost always included acquiring at least one more outfielder.
The Giants built their championship rosters on the shoulders of elite starting pitching, top-notch bullpens and homegrown infields, but Sabean and his assistant, Bobby Evans, typically patched together ever-changing outfields.
As the organization’s current president of baseball operations, Farhan Zaidi, seeks to end the Giants’ four-year playoff drought, he’ll enter the offseason without having to think much about what to do in the outfield. Several of the Giants’ best hitters –Mike Yastrzemski, Alex Dickerson and Austin Slater– are set to return next year and the complementary pieces around them including Mauricio Dubón and Darin Ruf are talented players.
The Giants might seek a left-handed hitter to pair with Dubón in center or a right-handed bat to challenge Ruf for a platoon job in left field, but the franchise won’t be making any big splashes in the outfield. Zaidi indicated the team will be active in the free-agent market this offseason, but his goals are different than the ones Sabean and Evans often found themselves pursuing.
Here are five ways the Giants plan to upgrade their roster this offseason.
1. Finding multiple starting pitchers
Starting pitching was the Giants’ greatest weakness in 2020 and their two most reliable arms, Kevin Gausman and Drew Smyly, are back on the free-agent market. Both pitchers have expressed interest in returning to San Francisco and Zaidi said the Giants would “obviously” love to have them back, but the market will dictate whether the organization believes it’s wise to re-sign them.
A few marquee arms including Trevor Bauer and Marcus Stroman will be available this winter, but the Giants seem more inclined to focus on incremental improvements and finding a handful of pitchers who will agree to one-year deals. If the organization is well-positioned for sustainable long-term success next year, you could see Zaidi be more aggressive and offer multi-year deals.
For now, it wouldn’t be all that surprising to find out the Giants’ ceiling is probably two-year offers unless they determine a pitcher they really like would agree to a longer contract with a relatively low average annual salary. With MLB gearing up for a potentially record-setting number of non-tenders, there’s little doubt the free-agent market will be inundated with pitchers similar to Gausman and Smyly from last winter who have plenty of promise but have struggled to live up to their potential. Those are exactly the type of pitchers Zaidi and general manager Scott Harris will target to complete the Giants’ pitching staff.
2. Acquiring at least one (and likely a few) veteran relievers
Left-hander Tony Watson is a free agent, but the Giants will have everyone else back from a bullpen that posted the third-best ERA in baseball during the month of September. The Giants have a slew of promising southpaws in pitchers such as Wandy Peralta, Sam Selman and Caleb Baragar, but the team was typically short at least one and usually two dependable right-handed relief options.
Zaidi indicated the Giants will seek a veteran leader for the next bullpen, but it appears unlikely the organization will make another statement signing with a closer. Under Zaidi and Harris, the Giants are typically going to hit the waiver wire and the minor league free agent pool in an attempt to stockpile bullpen talent, so it might be hard to know who will be counted on to make major contributions next season until late in spring training.
3. Adding another left-handed bat to the infield mix
The Giants saw how much flexibility manager Gabe Kapler had on the right side of the infield when Wilmer Flores, Donovan Solano and Brandon Belt were all healthy and playing well this season and it seems natural they would pursue a similar arrangement on the left side of the infield.
Shortstop Brandon Crawford enjoyed a career year but is entering the final year of his contract, and the Giants might have to start thinking about the future of his position. With third baseman Evan Longoria coming up on the last two years of his deal, the Giants will likely try to find either a left-handed hitter who can play third base or a switch-hitter who can spell both players on the left side of the infield when one needs a rest.
Dubón is always an option at third and short if the Giants feel they have a better opportunity of improving the outfield, but the rookie center fielder graded out so well defensively this season and made such significant strides that it seems leaving him in the outfield would be better for his continued development.
4. Searching for catching depth
Buster Posey is expected to return and the Giants already view Joey Bart as a key part of their future, but that won’t preclude Zaidi from pursuing catching depth this offseason. Even with Aramis Garcia returning to the mix following a January hip surgery and Chadwick Tromp potentially vying for a backup job during camp, the Giants will always put a premium on catching depth under Zaidi and the 2021 season is no different.
The organization is eager to see Posey mentor Bart during spring training, but it’s possible that mentoring process won’t continue into the beginning of the regular season. If the minor leagues return in 2021, Bart could open the year at Triple-A while the Giants have Posey and a different backup start the season in the big leagues.
A big question Zaidi faces is whether any quality catchers would sign with San Francisco knowing that Bart is bound to replace them on the roster a month or two into the season.
5. Keeping tabs on top prospects
More than 60 prospects have already reported to Scottsdale for instructional league work with the Giants where players will participate in informal scrimmages against prospects from other clubs.
The Giants were able to invite a ton of prospects with major league potential, but the environment isn’t akin to what an expanded Arizona Fall League would have provided from a competition standpoint and it’s certainly not a substitute for a full minor league season.
After the vast majority of minor leaguers in the Giants farm system spent the summer of 2020 working out on their own, the Giants must take stock of how each individual player developed and how the organization can set them up for success in 2021. Farm director Kyle Haines has one of the most challenging and under-appreciated jobs in the organization, but if top prospects start to contribute to winning Giants clubs in the near future, Haines should receive a lot of credit for keeping players focused and maximizing prospects’ chances of reaching the major leagues.
