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Offseason Review Chat: San Francisco Giants (3/31/23)
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Steve Adams
12:42
I'm more bullish on Manaea in general than a lot of people. From 2018 until this year's All-Star break he had 500+ innings of 3.75 ERA ball with peripherals to back it up. He got destroyed twice at Dodger Stadium and had a couple of other rough outings down the stretch, but I was surprised that a couple bad months kind of relegated him to a "prove-it" deal of this nature.

I really like the signing for the Giants, and that's before even considering the manner in which they've really maximized pitcher output in recent years. I'm expecting a good season out of him, health permitting.
BCrawForTheHall
12:42
I think barring an injury & horrendous defense, Doval will be will be a Top 5 reliever.  If the wheels fall off in SF, what are the chances of a Blockbuster trade for him?  The Giants are very high on Cole Waites, Kenton Winn, Randy Rodrigues & RJ Dobovich who could possibly replace him.  SF has no 1B prospect in their Top 30
Steve Adams
12:45
The Giants can control Doval through 2027. I don't see him as a trade candidate even things go poorly this season. As for not having a top 1B prospect, a lot of the guys playing first base in the Majors right now were playing another position before moving down the spectrum because of questionable defense there.
Old Giants Fan Bored
12:45
This group bores me, I find myself drifting over to the A's as they seem more interesting  Is there something wrong with me?
Steve Adams
12:48
The A's have a lot more young players to kind of dream on. The Giants are in a weird spot as a team that hasn't developed a ton of talent, so they've signed a bunch of mid-tier veterans to try to piece something competitive together. It's not a great place to be... spending $190MM on a team that most don't view as a strong playoff contender is tough.

That said, it should still be fun to see if Villar can progress. To watch Harrison when he debuts. To watch Doval be awesome on a regular basis. Logan Webb is awesome. The rotation in general is good, as is the back of the bullpen.

I don't think the Giants are a bad team, by and large. I just think they're a middle-of-the-pack unit in a very tough division that'll need a lot of breaks to make this a contending season.
Perspective Pete
12:49
Fans seem to forget the state of affairs that FZ stepped into when he took the role of running the Giants Baseball Operations... barren farm system with little hope for the future. I seem to remember that Chris Shaw was once their top prospect... anyway, in an alternate timeline, I think that the Giants next generation arrives last year rather than this year or in 2024. What are your thoughts on the position that FZ and his team have been in with the up and down nature of baseball over the last 3+ years (with the pandemic, lockout, etc.)? It seems like it would be a very difficult place to be when your stated vision for the future is so reliant on the farm system, and no prospects beyond Webb have arrived and shown that they belong... In that context, it seems rather miraculous that we've been competitive each year and that we had the 2021 season...
Steve Adams
12:53
I think this cuts both ways, to an extent. I agree that Zaidi inherited a bad situation and deserves credit for stringing together generally competitive rosters. They obviously have a strong ability with reinventing pitchers, and they've gotten some nice returns on low-profile acquisitions. I know some Giants fans are weary of Yaz, but that was an undeniable win for the Giants. LaMonte Wade Jr., too.

At the same time, it's fair to criticize the organization's farm for not churning out much young talent. A lot of the young players they inherited and have since acquired have seen their stocks drop in recent years. Some due to injury, but in general, this isn't a team that's churned out much in the way of big league contributors from within. The farm system and young core should probably be better than it is now. Guys like Heliot Ramos and Patrick Bailey, to name a few, haven't developed as hoped. Same for Bart, for that matter.
Scott
12:53
If this season's team sucks, does Zaidi get an extension?
Steve Adams
12:54
Giants ownership already said Zaidi's 2024 option will be picked up and they hope to extend him further:
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/03/giants-chairman-team-intends-to...
Sabean
12:54
What’s more likely: Webb placing top 5 in Cy Young, or Conforto hitting 30+ home runs this year?
Steve Adams
12:55
More likely?
Webb Top 5 Cy Young (78.4% | 29 votes)
 
Conforto 30 bombs (21.6% | 8 votes)
 
Total Votes: 37
Hank Hill
12:55
Giants are definitely a 4th place team right? Not much offense on the squad with Haniger out.
Steve Adams
12:56
I wouldn't say "definitely" but I don't think they have a realistic path to finishing in the top two of the division, either. I'd probably have said something similar in 2021  though, ha.
Fwiw, I think Webb top 5 is more likely
Zaidi
12:56
Biggest holes in current roster?
Steve Adams
12:58
I think it's just the lack of young, everyday position players in general. I'll be curious to see Casey Schmitt when he gets a look. Ditto Marco Luciano. They just need some of these guys to break through and step up in a way that their farm hasn't produced in recent years. I like their rotation and bullpen, but I'm not confident in the offense holding up and producing over a full season as currently constructed.
Sabean Wannabe
12:59
The Giants had 66 players pass through their 40-man roster last year.  I think it shows they are overly focused on these marginal improvements at the edges of the roster.  What are your thoughts?
Steve Adams
1:03
I do think there's a tendency for the team to get too cute with some of these moves. Anthony Franco and I were discussing this the other night. He's a fan of the insane, granular approach the Giants take but partly because it just entertains him, ha. He quipped that they seem like the type of front office that'll haggle over cash considerations. "We can do $52K, but $55,300 seems steep." I chuckled.

That said, the Giants at least tried to be more direct and on the nose this offseason with the pursuits of Judge and Correa. For better or worse, they seem very averse to long-term deals on pitching, which is always going to handcuff them in that regard a little bit, at least with regard to free agency.

Some of that on-the-margins dealing was a necessity because of the barren farm and poor general state of the roster Zaidi inherited. But that was several years ago now.
just a fan
1:05
will zaidi make a blockbuster trade for a player who stays with the team for multiple years? i was excited for the kris bryant trade, but it seems it was a fluke.
Steve Adams
1:06
I don't think Bryant was ever seen by the front office as a long-term piece. They've shown the willingness to go very long-term on Judge, Correa and Harper, so I think it's plausible. If they'd had the pieces to acquire Soto, that'd be one possible exception for their typical aversion to long-term deals.

I think it'd need to be someone in their 20s who they expect to age quite well. That certainly wasn't Bryant, and Zaidi was talking about him like he was a short-term solution before that season even ended.
1:08
Alright I've got to wrap this up. Thanks for chatting -- and sorry for all the questions I can't get to in these. I'm on Twitter @Adams_Steve if you're so inclined and always happy to take more questions there.

You can also consider signing up for our Trade Rumors Front Office subscription package, which (among other things) grants you access to a weekly subscriber-only chat. Subscribers also get ad-free viewing, weekly email articles from Anthony and myself, exclusive fantasy baseball advice from Brad Johnson, autograph giveaways and more. It starts at $2.99/month, and you can read more or sign up here:

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/membership?ref=chat-giants-3-31-23

I'll be holding a Twins chat in less than an hour if there are any dual Giants/Twins fans out there!

Have a great weekend, everyone!
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