Jung Hoo Lee, Matt Chapman, and everyone acquired in between means the San Francisco Giants had an exciting offseason. They spent the next-most on free agents after the rival Dodgers while moving on from a few players who seemed immovable after their meager contributions to the Giants in 2023, and they even changed perspectives in the clubhouse, bringing in a new manager whom everybody seems to like.
Of course, a volume of activity can be an empty excitement as quantity does not equal quality. I’m as guilty as the next rose colored glasses-wearing Giants fan for thinking the team had had a great offseason last winter even after the Carlos Correa situation blew up in their faces. I think I might’ve called the Stripling signing “perfect,” and beyond that, we’re so well-versed in the org’s process that literally anybody they add can be seen as fitting their system. I’m always accused of being too critical of the team and last year I tried not to be.
But I can’t look at the moves they’ve made this offseason and wind up at a similar conclusion to last year’s because I think this year’s is better. Jung Hoo Lee has obvious risk, but the youth + talent component is undeniable. Matt Chapman has obvious risk, but the track record + talent component is undeniable. The team acting as though the first half of the season doesn’t count because there are now three Wild Cards has obvious risk, but if Alex Cobb can return early enough and time his future IL trips accordingly and if Robbie Ray’s rehab is a success and if Jordan Hicks makes the conversion from reliever to starter then the solid rotation behind Logan Webb is undeniable.
Seeing injuries to Keaton Winn and Tristan Beck as opportunities to give Mason Black and other pitching prospects a real opportunity to surprise/impress is a choice by the organization I’d have a lot more confidence in if I had more confidence in the team’s player development arm. But this isn’t about me, it’s about you, Dear Reader. Perhaps you think that they don’t need to be doing anything special, they’re simply due for good luck when it comes to player development.
Maybe you think this is the year when the luck breaks in their favor and the clearly wise moves we’ve watched them make all offseason fit together and complete the puzzle of how this team will contend in a tough NL West and Wild Card field. Let’s use the off day not to continue a stare down with Scott Boras over another starting pitcher but to take stock of our feelings about the squad at this juncture.
I wouldn’t dare tell you how to vote, but let’s look at some of the current factors, just to fill out the word count a bit. Obviously, you can use whatever criteria you like — you could factor in the totality of the offseason, even (the volume of great moves, ditching the Cruise sponsorship, etc.). Maybe your feelings have nothing to do with their on-paper competitiveness for a postseason berth — you’re just happy that Baseball is back.
In any case, here is a list of some factors that come immediately to my mind:
The Good
Jung Hoo Lee? I tell you what…
Wow, they signed Matt Chapman!
Jorge Soler!
Luis Matos! Joey Bart! Wade Meckler! Tyler Fitzgerald.
The bullpen should be pretty okay again, especially if Jordan Hicks flames out as a starter.
The Could Be Better
Will Keaton Winn avoid surgery? Elbow issues in back to back seasons is suboptimal.
J.D. Davis would actually be a pretty solid 1B/DH option for the Giants, but he’s not even #2 on both of those depth charts and yet you wouldn’t want to trade Wilmer Flores and they probably can’t trade Michael Conforto to clear a spot for him, so, won’t he be traded? Or is the league so collusion-y that there’s not a fit for him elsewhere and so some tough cuts will have to be made near the end of ST to accommodate his spot?
The Giants are just 3-6 in the spring, which probably means absolutely nothing. Let’s wait and see what happens once Matt Chapman enters the mix.
The “It’s Not What You Want”
The pitching depth in the rotation/near the top feels a little flimsy, despite the team’s public confidence. Alex Cobb might return sooner than we thought but will definitely hit the IL a couple more times this season. Who knows about Robbie Ray. I never thought Sean Hjelle mattered much as a depth piece, it’s just a bad look from a headline perspective to see Winn, Beck, and Hjelle go down in short order.
Heliot Ramos is 1-for-12 despite Bob Melvin being impressed by him.
Marco Luciano got a bit of a late start to his ST but is just 1-for-13, that first hit coming yesterday.
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