Giants executive Brian Sabean discussed his organization’s chief needs recently with reporters including MLB.com’s Chris Haft. While the team is facing a difficult situation with regard to payroll — both in 2018 and beyond — Sabean says there’s urgency to improve in several areas. “Center field needs to be upgraded,” he said. “We have to find an everyday third baseman. And we have to be resourceful in how we reconstruct the bullpen.” Those are the primary spots that seem in need of improvement from the outside; truly getting better, though, will require some combination of creativity and tough tradeoffs.
Here’s more from the National League:
- The Marlins have confirmed that Don Mattingly will, as expected, be back as manager, as Tim Healey of the Sun-Sentinel writes. The veteran skipper is under contract, as president of baseball operations Michael Hill noted, but the organization had not yet made clear in the midst of an ownership change that he would retain his role. (Of course, it would have rated as a big surprise had the team suddenly gone in a different direction at this point in the offseason.) Mattingly has said he’s excited to get underway with the new ownership group led by fellow Yankees legend Derek Jeter, but it’s yet to be seen just what kind of roster he’ll have to work with.
- Speaking of notable possible roster changes, Hill has held a conversation with Giancarlo Stanton, Healey reports, but the Marlins are understandably keeping things close to the vest. Expectations remain that the club will slash salary through some significant trades; Hill acknowledged that things haven’t gone as hoped of late and says the goal is to “build a sustainable, consistent, productive major league organization.” Stanton’s massive contract and excellent 2017 season seemingly make him a rather obvious trade piece, and we took a look earlier today at some teams that could line up on paper for Stanton, but his no-trade clause gives him quite a lot of say in a future destination.
- We’re still waiting to hear about league punishments for the Braves slate of alleged amateur signing transgressions, and it seems the wait will take a while longer. A decision is expected sometime between the GM Meetings and Winter Meetings, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. It’s likely that word won’t come down until December, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick adds on Twitter. Interestingly, though, Sherman says that the organization could end up making a front office decision before the commisioner’s office acts. Indeed, the team has been “quietly interviewing” some potential candidates that could join the front office in some capacity, per Sherman, who adds that the preference remains to seek a reunion with Royals GM Dayton Moore — who hasn’t been allowed to speak with the Atlanta organization to this point.
- The Giants have hired Rick Schu as their assistant hitting coach, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports on Twitter. Schu, a former big league third baseman, had served as the Nationals’ hitting coach since 2013 but was among the personnel allowed to seek other opportunities after the Nats decided not to retain Dusty Baker. Washington ended up hiring Kevin Long as its new hitting coach.
astros_fan_84
The Giants seem to be in Phillies mode, clinging to contention too long.
No way the Marlins drop Mattingly. They already paid for him.
bravesfan88
Yeah, I just can’t see the Giants going into a full rebuild with Bochy as their manager. If they have yet another disappointing season this upcoming year, then they may make the switch to Muelens and begin making a serious re-tooling or rebuilding effort.
WalkersDayOff
If the Giants have another bad season they must rebuild. Handing out a big contract to Moose or Cain this offseason would be the final blow to their team imo
GrandBigB
As a Giants fan, I’m worried if we are going to have to rebuild. I don’t think Bobby Evans or Sabean would know how. I understand, yes they drafted Lincecum, Posey, Bum, etc. but they hand out contracts to veterans quite a bit and never truely had a rebuild.
gilgunderson
Sabean certainly had to oversee a rebuild after Bonds retired, remember? That process started in earnest 10 years ago.
The Giants are stuck between a rock and a hard place now: it’s not crazy to think they have enough pieces in place that they can add to that base and have a better season in 2018, but I don’t think they can surpass the Dodgers, let alone the Diamondbacks. If they want to rebuild, dumping some of the big contracts they have is going to be hard to pull off, and the fanbase will react very negatively if Posey, Bumgarner, or Crawford get traded away.
Gret1wg
Bobby has no chance, but Sabean has done it plenty of times, should bring back Colletti to help.
pustule bosey
we’ll see about the dodgers, they have a lot of young pieces and are kind of depending on a big portion of their team to perform in their sophomore year as well as they did in their rookie year – the dbacks it seems like re starting to come into their own – the giants have work to do that is for sure – i still say that regardless of anyone else the 3 you mentioned are core to rebuilding the team in that you need an ace, someone to direct the kids (posey) and defensive capability (crawford)- everyone else is expendable as much as you hate to see them go.
vpolite
Colletti was a disaster in LA. Why bring him back.
Jean Matrac
Evans has been with SF since 1994, and was Sabean’s assistant during the rebuild that started in 2006. Ned Colletti leaving the Giants was one of the best things for the team. He’s the one most responsible for sending the Dodger payroll into the stratosphere without ever winning a WS title. That is something Sabean and Evans accomplished 3 times. I’ll take Evans’ track record over Colletti’s.
tdaly
Agreed and agreed. The Yankees did Cabo’s last year. Sell and start over.
Antitoxidote
Sabean should draft top round talent for years to come, this team is a rat’s nest
I’m sure that Mad Bum and Posey will be traded at their lowest market value.
Making a rebuild longer than necessary.
Caseys Partner
“Mad Bum and Posey will be traded at their lowest market value””
THIS
Posey and Bumgarner should both be star headliners on this site right now.
Brixton
Trade rumors are based off the teams desires lol.
If they plan on adding a CF and 3B, theyre not selling
Chris Sale Amateur Tailor
Giants just need to hold fast to one rule this off-season: Stay under the Luxury Tax.
Luxury Tax is the enforcer that says you can’t just throw money at this any longer. (Looking at you Melancon). Luxury tax says trade for Billy Hamilton, Trade for Keon Broxton. Cain is off limits.
Giants go spending this off-season, and the long hard catastophe of Philly is exactly what they will have bought.
jints1
I totally agree. The Giants front office has got to stop talking about being a contender in 2018. Be honest with us. This was a bad ball club last year and it’s not going to turn into a good team with any of these free agents. Let money come off the books and think about 2019.
wiggysf
Cain should be off limits even without money concerns. Handing out contracts to aging outfielders has not worked out too well for the Giants in past years.
pustule bosey
unless they are 1 year contracts….
Cardinals17
Wouldn’t you think that if the Cardinals made a prior big swap to bring in another all-star type player into the Cardinal line up or Starting pitcher, withholding the players it’d take to get Stanton. It would send motivation for Stanton to go to the Cardinals??? He’s smart enough to see that only he couldn’t bring this current Cardinal line up to World Series contenders. It’d show Stanton that the Cardinals are serious about building around him that is a World Series contender for several years to come.
thegreatcerealfamine
Right now Stanton makes them slightly better but they’re not contenders with just him added. The Cubs have way fewer holes,the Brewers are better and are only gonna get better. The Cardinals aren’t that much better then the Pirates and they should worry about falling to the depths of the Reds. The “depths of the Reds” comment was tying up too much salary in one player.
teufelshunde4
1. Cards farm system has plenty of talent.
2. Don’t forget Red spent 100 million on Bailey when they didn’t have too.
3. Cards are not anywhere near the cliff in terms of lack of talent.
The biggest single need for last 2 seasons has been the roster lacking a clear superstar.
thegreatcerealfamine
Look what the Cards spent on Fowler just to keep him from the Cubs. This is most likely moot since of his NTC…
cards81
sorry but the cardinals are set in talent with pitching and plenty of outfield talent…no way are they anywhere near the reds…Stanton would improve their lineup and with bullpen help will make them just as good as anyone in the central…you know they actually were in first place for awhile in the central and they were battling for a playoff spot all year…so sorry greatcerealfamine but you are way off base
thegreatcerealfamine
We shall see cause that’s why they play the games…
brucewayne
The Cards are in position to contend for years to come! They have a very good minor league system that is in the top 10 of MLB . They have a ton of almost major league ready pitching talent
brucewayne
and lots of OF depth that they can use as trade bait to bolster the bullpen or get that big bat . They also have a new billion dollar tv deal that starts this year
brucewayne
and have plenty of money to sign any free agent they choose too. I think they will be fine!
tim815
Every team should always be trying to upgrade their roster, whether seeking to add Giancarlo Stanton or not.
inkstainedscribe
Wild guess: The Braves have let MLB know that they’re not renewing Hart’s contract. Schuerholz and McGuirk will make any decisions until the punishment is announced.
Or maybe even if MLB knows Hart is gone, the Braves won’t be allowed to engage in any transactions until after the GM meetings, with FO people observing only. That would be pretty severe punishment on its own.
southi
Yes, the longer it takes for the situation to be resolved and new front office people in place, the more of an in essence punishment is taking place whether or not it is announced as such. At this point it appears that every team will have a serious jump to the off season in relation to the Braves.
And the delay is definitely bugging me horribly LOL.
julyn82001
Give the Panda a 2nd chance… We all have a down time sometimes… C’mon…
JoeyPankake
You must work in the Giants front office…
Jean Matrac
What do you think the Giants are doing? They picked up his option, thus they are giving him a chance. Wisely, that’s all they’re doing though. He’ll be given a chance in ST. If he shows up in shape and playing well, which is huge ‘if’, he’ll make the team. I don’t see him as an every day guy at 3B, but the point is SF is taking a no-risk approach and giving Sandoval at least an opportunity to bounce back. But it’s up to him.
dobsonel
Yanks eat all but $5 to $7 mil of Ellsbury’s contract and trade him to the Giants.
Jean Matrac
I know Yankee fans are desperate to unload Ellsbury, but that’s not going to happen Why would the Giants commit to an aging, under-performing player for 3 years, even at a cheap price, let alone trade someone for him? They’re better off with in-house options: Slater, Parker, or Williamson.
KenJorB
The Giants core problem is that they have an awful farm system that has been unable to produce major league talent consistently. Not sure if drafting, developing or both is the problem. It will take years to accomplish that. That is why they hired David Bell. Stanton would be a solution in the short term.
Paul_25
Giants going to trade for Billy Hamilton and Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton will only come to west coast. He won’t get traded to in division philly and doesn’t want to go Midwest. No trade clause he can force his way back home or stay Miami that’s what he wants.
They are going to be aggressive after Shohei Otani. He will be able to pitch, first base, and left field.
CF Billy Hamilton
2B Joe Panik
RF Giancarlo Stanton
C Buster Posey
SS Brandon Crawford
LF Hunter Pence/ Shohei Otani
1B Brandon Belt/ Shohei Otani
3B Pablo Sandoval
JoeyPankake
Get rid of Pablo and replace him with Todd Frazier and you could be on to something. It would be a pretty old and expensive lineup but it could have a shot.
Paul_25
The Giants picked up Pablo option for league minimum. So he will at least come to spring training. Cheap option if he can find his swing again. Also 2018-2019 off season Giants could try and get Manny Machado for 3rd.
pustule bosey
no way you want to give away something that costs nothing for something that costs a bunch when you are butting against the tax. Just play young guys and keep panda as a bench piece for now, he is the cheapest bench guy you are going to get and the cost/return on someone like frazier over rooks/pablo just isn’t worth it.
cards81
and what prospects are they going to give the marlins?
Paul_25
Christian Arroyo, Matt Moore would be the two big names then throw in Hunter Strickland, Austin slater, Ryder Jones, and Jarrett Parker for Giancarlo Stanton. It gives the Marlins two MLB ready players and some OF prospects that might turn into the next Adam Duvall. The giants traded Duvall to the reds for mike leaks a few years back.
kbarr888
Matt Moore Is A BIG NAME??? ………….LOL
You’re kidding right? He was TERRIBLE last year.
Arroyo? Giants and their fans are MUCH higher on him than “anyone else”.
Adam Duvall? I think they are shooting “higher than that”.
Parker sure looks like a mediocre player, but that’s not the biggest problem that the Giants have.
You’ll need to sweeten the deal with some very inexpensive quality pitching prospects if you want to get the Marlins to listen…….
THEN…..You need to somehow convince Big G to “accept a trade to SF”….because he has a Full No-Trade Clause, and he’s from So Cal.
Not Happening my friend……..He’s NOT choosing SF.
Jean Matrac
New to baseball? Being terrible for one year does not mean that guy is terrible. Too many neophyte fans seem to think that what a player looks like in the recent past is who he is. Verlander was terrible in 2014. Andrew Miller wa terible for the first 5 years of his career.
And if Stanton has a choice between Pilly, StL, or SF, the Giants have the best chance of him waiving his NTC to go there.
Paul_25
Don’t knock Matt Moore he’s not the greatest but has good stuff. I know he from so cal but he wants to win and Giants are the only team in California that has won a WS in the last 2002 when Giants lost to the Angels. Dodgers are cursed won’t win a WS, Padres not even close, Angels far from Contending, and the A’s only get players for a year then trade for a package of prospects. Example Matt Holliday. Not saying the Giants package is the best but might be the only place he will waive his No Trade Clause. He wants to win with a HOF manager in Bruce Boachy and catcher Buster Posey. It gives him the best chance to win rings in his home state. He already played in Miami a Hollywood type of scene. Time to settle down and win some WS.
aff10
Moore hasn’t been good and healthy since 2013 with Tampa. His stuff is fine, although not spectacular, all he’s really got going for him right now are his age and his contract. I like Arroyo more than most people do, but it’s hard to see him as the centerpiece for any Stanton trade unless SF eats basically the entire contract, and even then, not sure Mami would bite. The rest of the throw-ins have minimal or negligible value to other teams
JoeyPankake
The Giants have zero shot at contending if they are going to worry about the luxury tax. I’ve spent thousands of dollars on beers and garlic fries just to see them squander money on ill advised extensions. Either commit to a full rebuild or break the bank.
pustule bosey
the tax is an issue for a couple of reasons –
1, you generally need to reset it because you are already paying higher than other teams due to taxes and ballpark effects for hitters
2. if you get under the tax the next round of FA signings make the team more solvent when $ comes off the books for span, pence, etc. and you can throw in for a machado or a harper etc.
JoeyPankake
That would be the smart thing to do, so they will probably give Jay Bruce 6/120 instead or something like that.
moe 3
The two biggest problems the cardinals had last year was a bad bullpen and a bad manager. If Matheney doesn’t listen to his coaches More stan Musial and Bob Gibson wouldn’t make this team a winner