Less than two weeks after the conclusion of the World Series, baseball is back in the news cycle as all 30 general managers traveled to Orlando, Florida for annual meetings that began Monday.
For a San Francisco Giants franchise hampered by a massive payroll and an under-performing roster, the 2017-2018 offseason has become a critical juncture in time, and it’s up to general manager Bobby Evans to lead the organization out from the depths of the National League West. Evans and vice president of baseball operations Brian Sabean are now charged with taking a creative approach to adjusting the Giants’ roster and preparing it to compete next season, and while their work in diagnosing San Francisco’s issues began this summer, the chance to take action is now upon them.
Both Evans and Sabean have indicated the franchise will explore a wide variety of trade opportunities to address the Giants’ most glaring weaknesses, and as a result, the Giants’ are expected to be one of the most active organizations this offseason. With potential trades on the horizon, here are five franchises that should receive plenty of calls from the Giants this offseason.
Miami Marlins
Think for a moment how different the Giants’ lineup would look next season with two-time All-Star Marcell Ozuna penciled into the cleanup spot, or a career .290 hitter like Christian Yelich playing center field and hitting near the top of the order. What if the Giants were able to flip some payroll and add the ultra-fast Dee Gordon at second base?
The young and established talent the Marlins posses will obviously warrant Evans’ attention, and that’s before you consider that nearly every plugged-in national reporter has linked the Giants to Giancarlo Stanton. Miami is in position to field calls from nearly every team looking to improve its roster this offseason, in part because the franchise has so many intriguing young athletes, but also because its new ownership group is reportedly interested in cutting its payroll.
Should the Marlins move forward with a plan to abandon a core group of players most franchises would love to have, Evans would be wise to position the Giants as one of the primary beneficiaries. The attraction to Stanton, who hit 58 home runs last season, is obvious, and could be the Marlins player the Giants have the best odds of landing, too. The California native has a gargantuan contract that would require San Francisco to pay him at least $25 million annually through 2027, which could alter plans the franchise might have to become more fiscally responsible in the coming years. And while Stanton’s injury history and ability to transition his power to AT&T Park are serious concerns, it’s possible that Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and other stars on the rise sign contracts in the future that put Stanton’s deal in better perspective.
Any deal sending Stanton to the Giants would change the trajectory of the franchise for years to come, but in the short-term, it would give San Francisco’s lineup a transcendent power-hitter to build around, and ease the pressure on other middle of the order bats like Buster Posey and Brandon Belt. For the Giants to pull off a trade of this magnitude, it could require parting with top prospects like Christian Arroyo and Chris Shaw, but it could also give Evans a chance to drop a contract like Denard Span’s in the swap.
Boston Red Sox
There are a handful of reasons the Red Sox would make a good trade partner for the Giants, and it’s not just because center fielder Jackie Bradley, Jr. has the type of controllable contract San Francisco is starving for.
Boston is one of the few teams in a similar payroll position to the Giants that will look to upgrade its roster via trades this offseason, which means Evans could find a willing franchise to assume a contract or two San Francisco is attempting to unload. First baseman Brandon Belt may not be a trade candidate for many suitors because of his concussion history and the remaining $64 million left on his contract, but the Red Sox are an organization that could use a better two-way player at first base and Belt certainly fits the bill.
The Red Sox might also be enticed to add Jeff Samardzija or Mark Melancon if the Giants are attempting to shed salary, and though Samardzija would be a difficult player to lose for a pitching staff expected to anchor the club in 2018, any deal involving a high-priced Giants’ arm would help the team stay under or at least closer to the luxury tax threshold.
Aside from potentially adding Bradley, the Giants could also push to acquire a proven Red Sox relief pitcher like left-hander Robby Scott, who finished the 2017 season with a 3.79 ERA over 57 appearances.
St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals are also considered one of the leaders in the “Giancarlo Stanton sweepstakes,” and could be in a more favorable position than the Giants due to the depth of their farm system. But even if the Cardinals and Giants both strike out on Stanton, first-year St. Louis general manager Michael Girsch should be one of the executives Evans has frequent dialogue with this offseason.
St. Louis is in a comfortable position with its outfield depth, and should the Cardinals acquire Stanton, the Giants would be wise to work their way into a three-team deal that could allow them to take another outfielder off the Cardinals’ hands. If that doesn’t work, San Francisco can still work a straight-up deal to acquire a Cardinals’ outfielder like 26-year-old Randal Grichuk or 23-year-old Harrison Bader.
As it stands now, the Cardinals have a slew of outfielders including Dexter Fowler, Tommy Pham, Stephen Piscotty, Grichuk and Bader who are all capable of playing at a high level, and three of those players (Fowler, Grichuk and Bader) are center fielders. Grichuk could be the odd man out in St. Louis regardless of whether the franchise trades for Stanton, and though he’s not as rangy in center as Bradley, Jr. or the Reds’ Billy Hamilton, he has more upside than Denard Span and his controllable contract is well within the Giants’ wheelhouse.
Because Grichuk has posted an on-base percentage below .300 in each of the last two seasons, San Francisco might be better served inquiring about Bader, a high upside prospect who projects as a solid right-handed bat. Bader has the speed to play center field at AT&T Park, and though he’s played in just 32 Major League games, he has enough potential to merit serious consideration as an Opening Day starter. San Francisco could acquire Bader and over the next two years, allow the Florida product and Giants’ center field prospect Steven Duggar to battle for the right to become the franchise’s center fielder of the future.
Any deal involving St. Louis will be complicated for the Giants because San Francisco doesn’t have many high-caliber prospects to swap, and it’s possible Samardzija’s contract or a controllable player like Joe Panik or Christian Arroyo wouldn’t address a primary need for a St. Louis team that has Kolten Wong at second base and Jedd Gyorko at third.
Still, the Cardinals have enough resources in the field worth checking in on, and San Francisco could also work to swing a deal involving one of St. Louis’ promising pitching prospects, too.
Toronto Blue Jays
It’s still unclear whether Toronto is willing to part with many of its top assets and attempt to rebuild its foundation, but at the very least, the Blue Jays are considering moves that may play into the Giants’ hands.
The obvious asset who would fill an immediate need for San Francisco is Toronto third baseman Josh Donaldson, a right-handed power hitter who was an All-Star with the Oakland A’s in 2014 and has appeared in two of the last three All-Star games with the Blue Jays. Donaldson made $17 million in 2017 and after hitting 33 home runs, he’s arbitration-eligible this offseason and won’t become a free agent until 2018.
Because his contract situation is complicated and because he may not be on the trade block until next summer, it’s possible the Giants pursue other Toronto players like center fielder Kevin Pillar. While Pillar isn’t nearly the defensive upgrade San Francisco is looking for, he’s an average center fielder with a controllable contract who can keep the seat warm for Duggar if the Giants swing and miss on other trade opportunities.
If Toronto determines it would rather add pieces than subtract through trades, Panik and or Arroyo could be players the Blue Jays pursue because they received subpar play at second base from Darwin Barney in 2017.
Tampa Bay Rays
General managers enjoy familiarity, and while the Rays’ front office has experienced a bit of a shakeup since Evans’ Matt Duffy-Matt Moore trade, current Tampa Bay general manager Erik Neader was still the vice president of baseball operations when that deal was struck.
The Giants’ top priority this offseason is finding a two-way center fielder who represents a significant defensive upgrade, and Tampa Bay has one of the most enticing options for the Giants to consider in 27-year-old Kevin Kiermaier. Kiermaier is as talented of a defensive outfielder as San Francisco could realistically acquire, and he’s strong enough at the plate to merit consideration. A two-time Gold Glove Award winner, Kiermaier finished sixth in the Major Leagues in Outs Above Average (12) this season, despite playing just 98 games due to injury.
The question, of course, is whether Tampa Bay would consider trading Kiermaier, and whether the Giants would be willing to part with the prospects it would take to make a deal happen. Kiermaier has five years remaining on his current contract, but he’s not owed more than $13 million in each of the next five seasons. Though San Francisco would likely have to go over the luxury tax threshold to bring this deal to completion (Tampa Bay won’t take a salary dump), his contract is a lesser hit than several other center fielders the Giants could make calls on.
