Farhan Zaidi

NL Notes: Waino, Chop, Zaidi

By Dylan A. Chase | October 5, 2019 at 8:22pm CDT

Sunday will mark the first postseason game played in St. Louis in three years, but Cardinals manager Mike Schildt will be trusting the game’s start to a relatively practiced postseason hand. Redbirds legend Adam Wainwright–a free-agent-to-be this offseason–will be taking the ball for Schildt, who is counting on the pitcher’s experience with what promises to be a raucous Busch Stadium atmosphere.

“You have to account for some of the vibe that’s going on out there,” Schildt told Anne Rogers of MLB.com today, “You have to be able to calm your nerves and you have to be able to control your adrenaline, because I’ve seen it where guys go out there and they’re feeling on top of the moon and their adrenaline is rushing, and two innings later they’re out of gas.”

As Rogers notes, Wainwright will be making his 24th appearance in a postseason game (13 starts), after first appearing in the national October spotlight in 2006 as a relief ace for then-manager Tony La Russa’s World Series-winning Cards team. That year saw a 24-year-old Wainwright begin his playoff career with 9.2 scoreless innings, and he has only followed up that initial success by compiling a nifty 3.03 ERA across 89.0 career postseason innings. This year marked the now-38-year-old’s first season over the 30-start mark since 2016, and this October should provide him yet another opportunity to assure the Cardinals–and rival clubs–that he deserves a healthy free agent guarantee this winter.

More notes from around the National League in anticipation of Sunday’s NLDS doubleheader…

The Associated Press is circulating a story involving Wainwright’s teammate Ryan Helsley, who did not take kindly to witnessing the en masse enactment of the Braves’ “Tomahawk Chop” tradition during Game 1 of the NLDS this Thursday (link). In comments originally made to writer/hero Derrick Goold, Helsley, who is a member of the Cherokee nation, called the “Chop” “disappointing” and “disrespectful”. “[The tradition] just depicts them in this kind of caveman-type people way who aren’t intellectual. They are a lot more than that. It’s not me being offended by the whole mascot thing. It’s not. It’s about the misconception of us, the Native Americans, and how we’re perceived in that way, or used as mascots.” Of course, with the NLDS tied 1-1 heading to St. Louis for Game 3 of the best-of-five NLDS, it’s possible Helsley could have a say in preventing the series returning to Atlanta. The 25-year-old Oklahoman pitched to a 2.95 ERA in 36.2 innings in 2019, his rookie season.
Giants executive Farhan Zaidi already made MLBTR headlines today, when he gave some insight into the team’s ongoing search for a new GM. In a separate set of quotes relayed by NBC’s Alex Pavlovic, Zaidi conducted something of a performance self-assessment in regard to his work at the 2019 trade deadline–and it’s clear Zaidi is a fair critic (link). “I feel like I alternate nights losing sleep about not potentially buying at the deadline and trying to improve our chances this year, or selling more at the deadline and setting ourselves up better for 2020 and going forward,” Zaidi admitted to Pavlovic. It stands to reason that the veteran baseball man would be left with some cognitive dissonance over his team’s activity this summer, being that the club took something of a walk-the-line approach in their dealings.
While San Francisco held onto impending free agents Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith (and sacrificed the potential prospect assets they might have acquired in a deal involving those players), the team also shaved down the bullpen by sending away Drew Pomeranz, Sam Dyson, and Mark Melancon in separate deals. To be fair, Zaidi was in perhaps the toughest position of any club executive heading into this year’s deadline, as his expected-to-flounder 2019 Giants ripped off a stunning run of success in advance of the Jul. 31 push-or-shove precipice. After playing to their expected level for much of the year, Bruce Bochy’s boys of summer went 19-6 in July, ultimately forcing their front office leader into something of a compromising position. The Giants went 22-36 from Aug. 1 onward, ultimately finishing with a 77-85 record.

Farhan Zaidi: “High Priority” For Giants To Hire GM

By George Miller | October 5, 2019 at 3:55pm CDT

Since Bobby Evans was removed from his post as the general manager of the Giants in September of last year, the team has yet to decide on a replacement for Evans. Of course, that doesn’t mean that the organization has been flying blind, as Farhan Zaidi was installed as the president of baseball operations in San Francisco in November of 2018 and has spearheaded the department for the better part of a year.

Now, though, Zaidi has made it clear that he and other Giants decision-makers plan to move quickly in their search for a general manager to co-pilot the franchise’s baseball ops department, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. After playing out the 2019 season without a second-in-command, Zaidi referred to the search for a GM as a “high priority” as the organization has also begun to vet candidates for the vacant managerial position.

It’s possible that the new GM could be hired in time to take part in the interviewing process for the Giants’ next manager, but that’s far from a foregone conclusion, with Zaidi saying that “there’s no favorite” for the job yet and that the hiring processes will be conducted simultaneously. Still, Zaidi and company are well aware that those two figures will need to have a close working relationship and will have that in mind during the hiring cycle. The interplay between front office and manager has grown in importance in recent years, with the two levels of administration needing to be on the same page as teams implement plans throughout all levels of the organization.

Despite Zaidi’s assertion that no one candidate has separated from the pack, Pavlovic speculates that Athletics assistant GM Billy Owens, familiar with Zaidi from their time together in Oakland, could have the inside track to the job. Owens was considered for the job last offseason, though ultimately the Giants elected to hold off on filling the post for the time being. Owens has experience in the scouting and coaching departments, serving as a minor-league hitting coach prior to assuming a position in the front office.

Per Zaidi, the Giants aren’t hunting for a candidate with a particular area of expertise, but rather looking for someone who will jibe well with the current front office and “[share] the load of managing the overall operation.” He hopes that such an approach will expand the pool of potential candidates, regardless of whether their background comes in scouting, player development, administration, or elsewhere.

In his first year at the helm, Zaidi already has his fingerprints all over the Giants’ makeup. He’s worked to expand the Giants’ analytics department to catch up to the rival Dodgers, his former employer. A seemingly endless cycle of bargain-bin outfield acquisitions has brought some potential pieces to the forefront, including solid performances from rookie Mike Yastrzemski and cast-off Alex Dickerson. Elsewhere, Donovan Solano and Trevor Gott looked like savvy acquisitions, while the signing of Drew Pomeranz later yielded Mauricio Dubon in a July trade.

While the Giants’ midseason hot streak ultimately expired too soon, the team improved its 2018 season and reached 77 wins, appearing to have made some marginal improvements to the roster. In his first full offseason running the Giants, the vacant GM and manager positions are the next priorities for Zaidi, who will have the chance to bring aboard his own staff to carry out an organizational plan.

Zaidi On Manager Search, Free Agency, Park Dimensions

By Steve Adams | October 1, 2019 at 2:56pm CDT

Farhan Zaidi’s first season as Giants president of baseball operations is in the books, and he’ll now embark on what could very well be a busier offseason than the one he navigated last year. The Giants will need to hire a replacement for longtime manager Bruce Bochy, conduct a search to add a general manager to work under Zaidi and, of course, address a roster that could lose Madison Bumgarner, Will Smith and several other free agents.

Zaidi met with the media today in a postmortem press conference, divulging that he intends to interview roughly six to eight external candidates as part of the club’s managerial search (Twitter links via Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle and Maria Guardado of MLB.com). He also confirmed that both bench coach Hensley Meulens and third base coach Ron Wotus will be interviewed as potential successors to Bochy. Prior managerial experience won’t be a necessity, though Zaidi also implied that it’d be important.

As for the rest of the coaching staff, no determinations will be made until a new skipper is in place. As such, the Giants’ coaches are free to interview elsewhere should other teams come calling. As is the case with during any managerial search, it seems safe to bet that there’ll be a fair bit of turnover in the Giants’ dugout. The search for a GM to work alongside Zaidi in heading up the baseball ops department will be conducted “concurrently” with the search for a new manager, Schulman tweets.

With regard to the on-field product, the Giants stand to lose not only Bumgarner and Smith, but also left-hander Tony Watson, third baseman Pablo Sandoval, catcher Stephen Vogt and lefty Fernando Abad. The organization has interest (presumably to varying extents) in retaining each of its free agents, tweets Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic, though Zaidi also anticipates that those players will want to explore the open market. There was no mention of qualifying offers, but Bumgarner stands out as a clear and obvious recipient (and rejector) of an eventual QO. Smith, too, could potentially merit consideration in that regard, given the dominant season he had as the team’s closer. Vogt has previously expressed interest in returning to the Giants, although he and the other impending free agents will surely want to see who is eventually tabbed as Bochy’s successor before making a commitment.

How aggressively Zaidi and his staff will pursue reunions with that group and potential matches with other free agents can’t be known at this point. Zaidi, Schulman tweets, voiced a willingness to deal from the farm system and to look at top-end starters, but he also stressed the importance of developing arms internally.

That’s an understandable point of emphasis not only because it’s a mantra for most clubs in the league but also because the Giants’ young arms didn’t perform well in 2019; each of Tyler Beede, Dereck Rodriguez, Shaun Anderson, Logan Webb, Conner Menez and Andrew Suarez struggled in auditions in the MLB rotation this year. Rodriguez and Suarez looked like potential long-term fits when they had unexpectedly strong seasons in 2018, making this year’s steps backward all the more discouraging.

That group, presumably, will have a chance at factoring into next year’s pitching staff, though it seems clear that some winter additions are in the offing. Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto are the only returning veterans, which should leave the Giants with ample room to supplement the rotation either via trade or free agency.

Augmenting the lineup will also be a point of focus, per Zaidi, who unsurprisingly indicated that adding power to the lineup will be a priority (Twitter link via Schulman). The Giants’ 167 home runs ranked 26th among 30 MLB clubs in 2019, and their .153 isolated power (slugging percentage minus batting average) was tied with the White Sox for third-worst in all of baseball. Alex Dickerson, acquired in a minor trade with the Padres in June, and Mike Yastrzemski, acquired from the Orioles in a minor Spring Training swap, were the team’s most productive hitters in 2019. Both are already 29 years old without any sort of sustained big league track record.

San Francisco carried a payroll north of $186MM in 2019 but only has $109MM in guaranteed money on the books for next season, which should further allow Zaidi to be creative to the extent he deems appropriate. The Giants’ only arbitration-eligible players are Kevin Pillar, Donovan Solano, Kyle Barraclough and Dickerson, so the payroll shouldn’t rise too much even when factoring in arbitration raises (particularly since that group contains some potential non-tender candidates).

While it seems like there’ll be money to play with, it’s also worth recalling that last week’s comments from Giants CEO Larry Baer didn’t exactly sound like a portent for aggressive offseason spending. In discussing the Giants’ 2010-14 run of dominance, Baer spoke of how the club relied on free agency as a complementary means of bolstering a roster that had largely consisted of homegrown pieces; the same, he noted, was true of Zaidi’s teams in Oakland and in Los Angeles. There’s little reason for the organization to tip its hand right now even if a strong run at Bumgarner or other free agents is on the docket, but there’s been no emphatic declaration to this point, either.

Beyond the innumerable personnel decisions the Giants will consider in the coming months, there’s been plenty of talk about changes to the dimensions of Oracle Park. While no final outcome was announced, Zaidi confirmed today that the organization has “made a lot of progress on designs that would have [the bullpens] move out to the outfield,” tweets Kerry Crowley of the San Jose Mercury News. Exact alterations aren’t yet determined, but Baer indicated last week that the club isn’t looking to turn Oracle Park into a hitter-friendly setting.

Giants’ Baer On Bumgarner, Offseason

By Steve Adams | September 23, 2019 at 8:44am CDT

The 2019 season has been a transitional year, to say the least, for the Giants franchise. Ownership hired Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi last offseason and named him president of baseball operations, and the Bruce Bochy farewell tour is nearing its completion as the end of the season looms. A perhaps improbable midseason hot streak may have kept the Giants from completely tearing down the roster, but it’s eminently possible that impending free agent Madison Bumgarner’s scheduled Sunday outing could be his last in a Giants uniform.

Giants CEO Larry Baer joined Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle for a half-hour interview (audio link) over the weekend to discuss a host of Giants topics. Giants fans, in particular, will want to give the entire interview a listen for Baer’s discussion of potential changes to Oracle Park, ticket prices, his perspective on the time he spent away from the team during his recent suspension and his overall impressions and takeaways from Zaidi’s first year on the job. But from a pure roster standpoint, specifically with regard to Bumgarner, Baer doesn’t speak as though a parting of ways is a foregone conclusion.

“I think Farhan has had ongoing discussions with his representatives throughout the 2019 season,” Baer says when asked about the possibility of an extension. “Characterizing them — I don’t want to get into what is or isn’t being discussed, but I know they’ve kept open lines of communication.”

The 30-year-old Bumgarner likely has two starts left as he looks to put the finishing touches on his healthiest season since 2016. He’s already topped the 200-inning mark for the eighth time in his illustrious career and is currently sporting a 3.86 ERA (3.78 FIP, 4.18 SIERA) with averages of 8.7 strikeouts and 1.8 walks per nine innings pitched. It’s not quite the dominant Bumgarner of old, but it’s nevertheless been a sharp rebound effort that has helped to quiet any concerns that might’ve existed surrounding his durability in the aftermath of 2017’s dirt bike debacle.

The question for Baer, Zaidi, the Giants and other interested parties, of course, will be one of how long and how lucrative an offer they’re willing to make to outbid the competition for Bumgarner. The lefty won’t turn 31 until next August, so he likely has at least a couple of prime years remaining. But the free-agent market has become increasingly harsh for players on the wrong side of 30, and we’ve seen fewer and fewer teams willing to push an offer past the hard number at which they value a particular asset. The days of impassioned bidding wars may not be over entirely, but they appear to be waning.

Furthermore, Zaidi’s track record with the Dodgers doesn’t suggest that he’ll adopt a “whatever it takes” mentality to keep Bumgarner. The largest sum of new money the Dodgers promised to a player under Zaidi and Andrew Friedman was Kenley Jansen’s five-year, $80MM contract — and Schulman reiterates in the podcast that he’s heard that was more an ownership-fueled decision than a front-office-driven reunion. The Dodgers also extended Clayton Kershaw shortly before Zaidi’s departure, but that deal “only” promised Kershaw an additional year and $28MM on top of the two years and $65MM from which he could’ve opted out. Baer references that as a “top-of-the-market” contract and points to the Giants’ own pursuit of Bryce Harper under Zaidi in suggesting that they won’t necessarily shy away from free agency — so long as a deal makes sense.

“It’s not so much, ’Hey do you have the money for Player X or the money for Player Y, and how much does ownership want to spend?'” Baer explains. “It’s more — how does Farhan and the staff want to bake the cake? The way he’s been successful baking the cake is doing a lot from within, making strategic moves when they make sense. … It’s not about being averse to spending money, but how do you really want to put the whole thing together? When you think about the way it was put together [from] 2009 on, when we won, it was put together pretty much internally. We would complement with free-agent signings a little bit — mainly [additions] at the break, at the trade deadline.”

Again utilizing the cake-baking analogy, Baer states that he believes Zaidi & Co. will do so “with depth, and with looking at current players and what we have in the farm system.” There’s nothing that expressly rules out a series of notable offseason additions, but it’s also far from the aggressive tone that ownership reps from other teams have offered up in recent offseasons (e.g. the Phillies’ “stupid” money decree or the Astros’ public acknowledgment of efforts to add a high-end starter). And while near the end of the interview, Baer suggests that contending for the postseason is a goal every year, including 2020, he spends more time preaching the importance of “taking another large stair-step” forward next season. Progress, he contends, can be measured by the “energy around the Giants,” which he expects to improve in 2020.

Given the Giants’ history with Bumgarner, it’d be a surprise if they didn’t have a significant presence in his offseason market, but beyond that obvious connection, Baer’s comments hardly seem like a portent for aggressive spending on the free-agent market.

Farhan Zaidi On Giants’ Trade Deadline Options

By Mark Polishuk | July 8, 2019 at 12:01am CDT

The Giants have quietly posted a respectable 15-10 record over their last 25 games, and have moved to 5.5 games behind the Phillies for the last NL wild card slot. While San Francisco is still ahead of only the Mets and Marlins in the overall National League standings, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi told reporters (including Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle) that he “wouldn’t rule out” being a deadline buyer. “I still think there could be opportunities for us to trade away younger players for guys who can help us now….I think the most important thing for us in this period is to maintain flexibility and our own open-mindedness over what makes the most sense as we get close to that July 31 deadline,” Zaidi said.

Needless to say, this would be rather a surprising turn of events given that speculation has swirled for months that the Giants would look to unload some of their veteran players. Still, while Zaidi’s comments could simply be construed as a negotiating tactic, the fact remains that with over three weeks until the deadline, the Giants are at least technically close enough that the front office is open to options.

Even when it comes to potentially being sellers, Zaidi noted “we don’t feel like we have to do anything, or there are X numbers of things we have to accomplish by July 31. When you put yourself in that position you create unnecessary pressure and panic to do something that is not in your long-term interest. Like every other team out there we’re in an evaluation period.”

It should be noted that Zaidi’s stance about the Giants’ shorter-term plans hasn’t much changed since he took their front office job last November. Both he and club ownership have expressed a desire to get San Francisco back into contention as quickly as possible, and while both sides have said they’re open to a rebuild if necessary, they also haven’t really committed to such a plan. Having to leapfrog at least eight teams just to grab a wild card berth doesn’t exactly scream full-fledged “contention,” though given the amount of parity in the National League this season, it could be the Giants see a genuine opportunity to make a run if they keep playing well and at least a few other clubs fall by the wayside in July.

The Giants’ best trade chips are well-known — pending free agents Madison Bumgarner, Will Smith, Pablo Sandoval, and (via a player option that seems a lock to be declined) Tony Watson. Sam Dyson is controlled through 2020 via arbitration, but could also draw a lot of attention come the deadline. If the Giants are actually within striking distance of a wild card in late July, Zaidi could try to thread the needle and be both a buyer and a seller at the deadline, dealing one or more of the expiring contracts while also acquiring another short-term asset to help the 2019 squad.

NL West Notes: Giants, Altherr, Anderson, Cordero, Jankowski

By Mark Polishuk | May 12, 2019 at 6:04pm CDT

Yesterday’s news that Derek Holland was being moved to the Giants bullpen came with some eyebrow-raising comments from the left-hander, who was critical of the front office’s decision and claimed that his April 29 injured list placement due to a bruised index finger was a “fake injury.” Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said Saturday that Holland’s injury was legitimate, and further discussed the matter today with reporters (including Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group). “I think every organization would like to create an environment where guys feel comfortable talking about their concerns in-house,” Zaidi said. “To the extent guys don’t feel comfortable, that’s on me. Maybe I haven’t been around as much as I should be.” The entire situation, Zaidi intimated, could be due to the shared displeasure between the front office and the players over the Giants’ lackluster start to the season: “If we’re 23-16, I don’t think we’d be sitting in this room right now. I understand it. I’m as frustrated as anybody. But again, I want us to have a culture of accountability where people are looking in the mirror and asking what they can do better.”

Giants Move Derek Holland To Bullpen

By Connor Byrne | May 11, 2019 at 11:42pm CDT

The Giants are moving struggling left-hander Derek Holland to their bullpen, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. Righty Tyler Beede will take the ball in Holland’s place Tuesday.

This is the second noteworthy change of the day in San Francisco’s rotation, as the team previously demoted 2018 rookie sensation Dereck Rodriguez to the minors in response to his discouraging start to the season. Likewise, Holland has thus far failed to follow up last year’s quality performance – one that convinced the Giants to re-sign him to a one-year, $7MM guarantee in the offseason.

A year ago at this time, Holland was in the early stages of a renaissance season after the former Ranger and White Sox accepted the Giants’ minor league offer. Holland ended up notching a 3.57 ERA/3.87 FIP with 8.88 K/9 and 3.52 BB/9 over 171 1/3 innings, making him one of the majors’ top bargain pickups of 2018. Now, though, the 32-year-old’s sitting on a 6.75 ERA/6.35 FIP with a bloated walk rate (5.19) and a sky-high 27 percent home run-to-fly ball rate in 34 2/3 frames. While Holland’s strikeout rate has surged to 10.9 per nine, it hasn’t come close to offsetting his flaws.

Furthermore, it seems bad blood has developed between Holland and the Giants’ front office, as the hurler accused the club of putting him on the IL with a “fake injury” last month (via Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle). Holland added he’s “not happy about” that IL placement, which occurred April 29 on account of a bruised left index finger and ended quickly when he returned May 9.

Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi responded to Holland’s comments, per Schulman, saying in part: “He had a finger issue that he had back in spring training. It flared up. We got an MRI. He felt he could continue pitching. We felt it would be prudent to give him the time off. The decision was collaboratively made. We have extensive medical records of it.”

Zaidi also noted that “players and the staff and front office people sometimes have differences of opinion when they should or shouldn’t play.” It seems Holland’s not the only Giant who has differences with Zaidi & Co., though, with Pavlovic tweeting there’s unhappiness within the clubhouse regarding the team’s recent IL placements and roster moves.

Now, with Holland losing his spot in favor of Beede, the Giants’ staff still has two vacancies after Drew Pomeranz went on the IL on May 9 with a left lat strain. Aside from Holland, Beede, Rodriguez, Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija, the only experienced, healthy starting options on the Giants’ 40-man roster are Triple-A arms Andrew Suarez and Ty Blach. Those two don’t inspire much confidence, however, which could lead the Giants to make another 40-man promotion (Shaun Anderson’s a possibility, according to Schulman) or deploy an opener.

Farhan Zaidi On Giants’ Outfield Situation

By Jeff Todd | March 8, 2019 at 12:34am CDT

Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi discussed his team’s outfield situation in the wake of the team’s failed pursuit of Bryce Harper. As John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports, Zaidi won’t be rushing out in search of a replacement star.

The Giants’ pursuit of Harper, while clearly genuine, was not premised upon a need to boost the 2019 roster. The club hopes to be competitive in the coming season — Zaidi reiterated the point again today — but obviously also understands it isn’t terribly likely to field a playoff team.

Having missed out, Zaidi says, “the Plan B really takes place over 12 years, not just a couple of days.” In the near-term, the club will be able to engage in “continued pursuit of some guys in the trade or free-agent market [that] probably would’ve been precluded” in the event of a Harper deal.

What might the club be looking for? The preference is for a right-handed hitter, says Zaidi, perhaps reflecting the fact that both Steven Duggar and Gerardo Parra appear likely to crack the roster as left-handed-hitting outfield pieces. Veteran free agent Adam Jones makes some potential sense, though Zaidi says that trade scenarios appear more likely at this point.

Guessing at trade targets is difficult, since roster battles are still taking shape and other moves could drive the final decisions. Zaidi says he anticipates exploring roster changes right up through the end of camp, so it seems he’s ready to wait out the market if needed.

Quick Hits: Harper, Phillies, Giants, Barreto, A’s

By TC Zencka | February 24, 2019 at 6:31pm CDT

Rule changes are coming to major league baseball and – if these changes occur – they could favor a long-term union between the Phillies and Bryce Harper, writes Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Adding the designated hitter to the National League, though still very much in question, would help preserve Harper’s body long-term and keep his bat in the lineup even if his glovework doesn’t rebound after a difficult 2018. Salisbury also mentions the elimination of the shift and the proposed three-batter minimum for pitchers as rule changes that could benefit Harper and the Phillies in the long-term. Of course, these changes would be implemented league-wide, so if in fact they would benefit Harper, they’d benefit him wherever he lands. It’s particularly curious to list the potential adoption of the designated hitter as a benefit to a Harper-Phillies marriage, as there are fifteen teams not based in Philadelphia who could claim that benefit today (though he’s not wrong). Speculation of the future can begin in earnest as soon as Harper puts pen to paper, which some think will happen by tomorrow latest, while Buster Olney of ESPN suggests a resolution could come by Tuesday. As we await the big decision, let’s see what else is happening around the league…

The answer in San Francisco continues to be “not much” as fans await a splashy move from new president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi, per Al Saracevic of the San Francisco Chronicle. It’s not all doom-and-gloom for Giants fans, some of whom are holding out hope for a Harper signing. Harper continues to make sense for the Giants, who lack established bats in the outfield, but signing him would be a quick pivot for Zaidi, who has preached patience in the early going. Of course, Harper is a unique case. If he ends up with the Giants, fans will certainly have something to be excited about, and if he doesn’t, they can at least look forward to reaping the long-term benefits of Zaidi’s prudence.
Franklin Barreto began a new endeavor in his career with five innings in left field yesterday. The starting second base job belongs to Jurickson Profar for now, and it appears as if the bench role will go to Chad Pinder, per MLB.com’s Jane Lee. Barreto was the A’s top prospect per Baseball America in both 2016 and 2017, but after struggling through two short stints in the majors the last two seasons, Barreto’s future in Oakland is muddled. Jed Lowrie’s free agency seemed an opportunity for Barreto to stake his claim to the keystone, but the Profar acquisition thrust Barreto back into limbo. He’ll be 23 this season, slated to begin the year R Triple A where’s he has played most of the last three seasons. Barreto has only one option year remaining, making 2019 a make-or-break year. Pinder, meanwhile, has three option years remaining, but established his value to the big league club last season by hitting .258/.332/.436 while appearing at every position except pitcher and catcher.

Quick Hits: Giants, Harper, Iglesias, Severino

By TC Zencka | February 16, 2019 at 12:04pm CDT

Giants frontman Farhan Zaidi is still exploring trade opportunities, per Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter). The recent additions of Gerardo Parra, Craig Gentry, and Yangervis Solarte, after all, aren’t likely to form the backbone of the next World Series champion in the Bay. Still, they fit as puzzle pieces in Zaidi’s strategy to build the organization’s depth while maintaining future roster flexibility. They’re particularly high on Solarte, whom they see as a switch-hitter with above-average contact skills and 15-20 homer potential. His ability to play all over the field should keep him getting regular at-bats, Crowley writes in the Mercury News, and the Giants are optimistic about the potential returns. Per his word, Zaidi has focused on building depth and flexibility thus far, extending more than 20 invites to major league camp and avoiding any long-term roster obligations. Of course, Bryce Harper remains at large, and the Giants have emerged as a potential suitor. One would think Harper would be the type of foundational piece who could buoy the type of depth Zaidi is amassing, but Zaidi knows that even a talent like Harper isn’t a cure-all. For now, Harper remains one avenue among many open to Zaidi. In that sense, he fits Zaidi’s plan perfectly. Let’s check in on a couple other notes from around the league…

New Reds manager David Bell won’t assign the “closer” label to Raisel Iglesias, as the Reds are buying the new fad gripping bullpens league-wide of role fluidity, per the Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans. Put simply, the Reds plan on using Iglesias to help them win games. If that manifests itself through an appearance in the 7th or 8th, so be it. Still, the Reds anticipate Iglesias getting the bulk of save opportunities. Jared Hughes, David Hernandez and Amir Garrett could be called upon to close out games when Iglesias is unavailable. Traditional thinking has kept bullpen arms in well-defined roles in part because of the supposed psychological benefits of “knowing your role” – otherwise known as clear expectations. Bell and the Reds staff plan on communicating often with the bullpen crew, making sure that they are aware of their roles, even as those roles prove more dynamic than in year’s past.
It’s probably better for players overall if Luis Severino and Aaron Nola go year-to-year through the arbitration process, writes Joel Sherman of the NY Post, but therein lies the quandary for players weighing the risk/reward of securing their own long-term futures against market growth. While setting high arbitration annuals and reaching free agency at the earliest possible moment might technically be the best thing for the player market overall, Severino’s prudent personal decision to lock-in the first significant payday of his career makes a lot of sense from a personal standpoint. His future value was always going to be vulnerable to injury or further uneven performance such as his struggles at the end of last season. The competing interests of individual security v. collective wealth is a disadvantage the players’ union will face continually in the lead up to CBA negotiations in 2021. Yasmani Grandal represents the best recent example of the other side of this issue, as he took a one-year deal over multi-year offers in part to keep establishing higher AAVs for catchers.

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