The latest from the NL West…
- The Diamondbacks will use Greg Holland as their closer, Torey Lovullo told reporters (including the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro) today. The veteran reliever didn’t exactly impress during Spring Training, posting a 12.27 ERA over 3 2/3 IP, yet Lovullo said the D’Backs made their decision based in part on Holland’s past closing experience. Also, with Holland at closer, it frees Arizona to use Archie Bradley and Yoshihisa Hirano either as setup men or perhaps in other high-leverge situations earlier in games. Holland is trying for a rebound year following a 2018 that saw him get off a rough start with the Cardinals, before somewhat righting the ship in the Nationals’ bullpen down the stretch. He signed a one-year, $3.25MM contract with the D’Backs this winter, and Holland can more than double that total with $3.5MM available in incentives.
- The newly-acquired Erik Kratz will be the Giants’ backup catcher, manager Bruce Bochy told NBC Sports’ Alex Pavlovic and other media. This doesn’t necessarily mean that rookie Aramis Garcia will be sent down to Triple-A, as Bochy said the club is still thinking about carrying three catchers early in the year to account for Buster Posey’s recovery from hip surgery last summer. As Pavlovic notes, however, keeping Garcia would create a bit of a roster crunch if the Giants stick with their plan of carrying 13 pitchers.
- Bryan Shaw’s first season with the Rockies was a tough one, as the veteran reliever struggled to a 5.93 ERA over 54 2/3 innings. This led to an offseason devoted to correcting Shaw’s mechanics, The Athletic’s Nick Groke writes (subscription required), which included discovering and correcting a flaw in the right-hander’s delivery, as well as a new strengthening program to keep Shaw’s shoulder in good condition. While Shaw got off to a rough start in Spring Training as these changes took hold, he can begun to show better form in recent outings. The Rockies are sorely in need of a bounce-back year from Shaw (not to mention Jake McGee and Mike Dunn) in order to reinforce a bullpen that lost Adam Ottavino to free agency.
Seriously setting Kratz cause they were so cheap about keep Rene will backfire. If Farhan wants to be cheap, the fanbase will get cheap too. It’s a two way street. Either hire top flight players, play the prospects, or lose your fanbases money.
Kratz or Rivera, Rivera or Kratz. They’re both old, defensive catchers that can’t hit. Salary difference is minimal. Not a franchise directional kind of move.
The % of fans who care about a teams backup catcher is about the same as the % of Human Beings who enjoy watching paint dry. You aren’t losing any fans over that move.
Obviously you’re not from the Bay Area. Posey is going to miss significant time to start the season, so a backup will be crucial. And yes, fans here care deeply.
Posey has been playing all Spring. He might not be catching the bulk of the games, but he won’t miss any time.
First of all, if you are Antibelt you have no credibility. Second of all, I’ve been a dedicated giants fan since 1968 and I too am not concerned with who the backup catcher is. Why? Because even tho I am not from the Bay Area (why that means anything is anyone’s guess) I do know that once Vogt is physicallyable to catch, he will be the backup catcher.
So antibelt, maybe you should “care deeply” for ur local slow pitch softball teams
Stupid response, as who has real credibility in a comment section. As a person who spends significantly on the Giants each year, I have a right to my opinion
As do I.
And I’ll repeat, your “opinion” stated that another’s opinion was meaningless because that opinion, in your opinion, came from someone who “obviously” was not from the Bay Area.
Now that was stupid, in my opinion. And again, if you don’t like Belt then you’re not credible.
Kratz will cost more than Rivera, so I fail to see how they went the cheap route?
Also, the Kratz acquisition and Rivera’s release were likely unrelated.
I don’t see how acquiring a backup catcher and releasing one of the candidates would be unrelated. It’s a minimal move either way but they definitely were related moves.
I commented below about how they weren’t related. It’s not like the Giants saw Kratz and released Rivera.
The Kratz opportunity came along after they released Rivera.
And you’re right, it’s a minimal move, but it’s a sign of what Zaidi has done and will continue to do: make small moves to constantly improve the team at minimal costs.
I see. Idk if a 38 year old Kratz is a better choice than the 26 year old Garcia though. But Maybe they want the pitchers to work with an established veteran.
They wanted Rene to sign a release consent form which basically said they could demote or release him within the first 45 days of the regular season. They were anticipating releasing him cost free once Voght was ready. Heance them being cheap.
Wow, cheap? Another dumb “opinion”. Please educate yourself. Read Baggerly or Schulman. It was a mutual decision, because of the FACT that as I stated earlier, they’ll go with Vogt as the backup eventually. In Rivera’s mind, he’s rather be on a time that wants him for the season, not as a temporary fill in.
Sorry dude, but your opinions are just stupid. And I don’t care how many games you go to or how much money you’ve spent. I live 250 miles away, and I guarantee you that doesn’t mean squat. And if you live in the Bay Area, thatOBVIOUSLY doesn’t mean squat.
How on earth is Kratz a better option than Garcia? Or Rivera for that matter? Very unimpressed by this move.
Added bonus of suppressing Archie’s arb salary if he isn’t the closer. What are Holland’s incentives? Spotrac is only showing a million each for 45 and 60 appearances.
If the Giants cut Pablo…then you will see a massive dry up of the fan’s money
Fake News! The dry up is coming because they suck. Giants aren’t competing so if Pablo is cut oh well. His only position is third and first and we don’t need any first basemen. Let someone younger be the backup.
Pablo needs to go. Defensive liability, doesn’t hit much, can’t run, he’s basically a novelty. oh but he’ll sell panda hats. Awesome.
A 38 year old Kratz instead of 35 year old Rene Rivera? From the outside looking in, it does not make any sense. Particularly when Kratz had to be acquired by trade while Rivera had been under contract. So either: Rivera: cost too much, was a negative clubhouse presence, wanted to catch more frequently than the Giants anticipated using him, the Giants were not impressed this spring with his – defense, framing, game calling…….
I agree it was definitely one of those things. Unless it was something else.
Maybe he stole some silverware from the team facility
I don’t think it was a “Kratz or Rivera” situation.
I think it was a circumstance where they thought they were going with Aramis Garcia, so they let Rivera go. Then they saw Kratz and they liked him more than Garcia.
Zaidi has already shown that he’s going to take advantage when better players come along. This was one of those moments. Giants fans should get used to it.
You’re wrong. See comment above. This was a financial move. Kratz has been horrible offensively, and he’s already 38. Us fans either want to see our prospects play or sign top flight talent. This crap will make me keep my money, as it will a lot of other season ticket holders.
You’re going to complain about the backup to a HOF catcher??
Yeah, I’d say you’re in the minority here.
Antibelt, opinions are not “wrong”. Btw, mrnate nailed it. Not sure where he lives or what $ he spends on the giants tho
And how in hell can you say the giants are cheap?? They offer Harper a ton AND they can’t make trades because they’ve been the OPPOSITE of cheap to the point of overpaying. Holy crap, there goes more credibility.
If you want to sell me your season tickets at a discount, I’ll take’em.
I liked Rivera’s defense. I dunno what the heck — this was crazy to me.
“…..he can begun…..”?
What?
I saw Holland throw several times this spring, his stuff was….not impressive. The Dbacks better be prepared for some pain this season with that roster.
If his eyesight gets any worse he can still be an umpire.
Canocorn – thanks for the laugh
Didn’t we pick up Steven Vogt for this role
Am I the only one who thinks Garcia is constantly looked over
Kratz could be traded away by Thursday.
That doesn’t make a lot of sense. To trade for a 38 Y.o backup catcher to flip. Don’t think the market is exactly sizzling for that type of guy right now. You can just go out and sign Rene Rivera or claim sandy Leon at this point.
When I saw Erik Kratz catch last season, he looked like he was in good shape, caught a good game and hit pretty well. He’s a young 38. I was critical of MIL for using him as the primary C at times but he won me over.
To all the whining SF Giants fans, Erik Kratz is a gift to you. Please accept him as such. He will be a perfect fill in for Buster Posey, who will need more breaks as he recovers. Erik will be a positive presence on and off the field. The Giants didn’t get him for his bat. They added him for his excellent catching and his mature leadership.
I dont have a problem with either catcher. But i have a feeling one will go and we’ll be seeing brian goodwin within 24 hours.
Having Kratz on your team is a firm commitment to mediocrity…