SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Meeting with reporters in the Scottsdale Stadium dugout, Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi tipped his metaphorical pitch.
“At this point, as we add guys — I wouldn’t rule it out — it’s starting to become harder to think about who comes off that position group,” Zaidi said. “Factoring injuries to some degree, but we don’t want to create too much of a crowd there. So I think the right fit, we would still look at it. But we feel pretty set on the position player side.”
Even before adding Joc Pederson on a one year “prove it” deal, Zaidi said San Francisco was confident in its roster’s depth. At this point, tough conversations would have to take place if the Giants bring in another free agent, Zaidi said.
“I do think we’re at a point now where we’ll be having a conversation about a player, and you have to think ‘Who’s coming off the roster? Who’s losing at-bats? Who’s losing at-bats against righties? Who’s losing at-bats against lefties?’ And we kind of like the composition of our roster right now. So any additions do come at that cost.”
Considering that calculus publicly doesn’t make Zaidi seem like a man one call away from signing Carlos Correa. There aren’t too many big fishes left in the free agency ocean anymore, anyway. Correa, Nick Castellanos and Trevor Story stand out, but don’t count on the Giants pursuing them — or others. Take Zaidi’s word for it.
It’s possible Zaidi is posturing, but it’s much likelier that the Giants are comfortable with their team as currently constructed. They did, after all, address their needs by bolstering their rotation and adding Pederson to the outfield mix.
The Giants re-signed Alex Wood and Anthony DeSclafani before adding Carlos Rodón — the top free agent starter available — to join Logan Webb as the co-ace of the staff. SF also brought in Alex Cobb as a fifth starter, committing $100 million to him, Rodón, Wood, DeSclafani and Cobb.
San Francisco also has extra arms like Sean Hjelle, Tyler Beede, Sammy Long, Carlos Martínez, Matthew Boyd and Jakob Junis in the building to compete for innings. The Giants brought the band back together in the bullpen, so pitching isn’t the problem — even with the health concerns associated with a shortened spring training and condensed schedule.
Pederson, whose signing became official Thursday, was SF’s sole big position player acquisition. The Giants lost Buster Posey and Kris Bryant, but believe their depth and matchup advantage style can produce runs effectively in their stead. The formula worked in 2021.
San Francisco’s 40-man roster includes two catchers, eight infielders and nine outfielders (although several players can handle multiple positions). Thairo Estrada and Steven Duggar are expected to play a bigger role than 2021. Mike Yastrzemski could bounce back from his down 2021 and Brandon Crawford could repeat his MVP-level production.
But will San Francisco’s roster as currently constructed be enough to win a title? Las Vegas currently considers the Giants the 12th-most likely team to hoist the World Series trophy in the fall.
Pederson thinks these Giants have a good chance at the World Series. “It’s an even year,” he said. Crawford, never one to blow things out of proportion, told KNBR he’s confident in this group — particularly the lineup that led the National League in home runs last year.
“I think we have a good team,” Crawford said. “I think our lineup is very similar to last year. Obviously added (Pederson), who will obviously help from a power standpoint and has had a few clutch hits in his career in the postseason. I like our lineup a lot. I think we’re maybe even deeper than last year.”
Crawford continued: “And then from a pitching standpoint, Webb showed how good he can be last year, he’s just got to build off of that. Having a few guys coming back with DeSclafani and Wood, and adding Rodón is huge. Alex Cobb, veteran guy. Knows how to pitch. I think that’s big also, just to kind of round off that rotation. And then a lot of our bullpen guys are similar. I think we can just build off of last season.”
They’ll have to do it with, most likely, the guys currently in Scottsdale. Zaidi said the Giants have the financial flexibility to add more — SF has committed roughy $145 million to the 2022 payroll, well below the $230 million luxury tax and also below last year’s figure. But adding would come with subtracting, too, which Zaidi doesn’t appear thrilled about.
Anything is possible. Zaidi isn’t philosophically opposed to shelling out $100 million contracts akin to what Bryant will earn with Colorado. The Giants have had discussions with players of that caliber, Zaidi said. But the fit has to be right.
Giants fans may not love the relative lack of spending coming off a franchise-record 107-win season. But there hasn’t been any reason yet to lose trust in Zaidi, the man who’s won his fantasy football league three straight years — beating Pederson and Wood, among others.
“I saw what Farhan did in LA and the players that he was on and brought there,” Pederson said. “How they really helped them win a lot of ballgames. He left to the Giants, and I gave the Giants three to five years and they’re going to be really, really good. And it took him two years. He sees things that other people don’t, and he’s going to have a roster that’s going to be able to compete and win a World Series…Just being ready for any occasion. Any injury. There’s always a plan. It’s pretty incredible. And you can see that happening here, like if something happens, it’s not the end of the road. They’re going to continue to win ballgames and find a different person to help win ballgames.”
