If you are tired of hearing Shohei Ohtani-to-the Giants rumors, get used to it. With no other major sports going on and the best player in baseball apparently on the trading block, you best believe the noise is going to ratchet up until the Aug. 1 trade deadline.
While recent odds don’t have the Giants as frontrunners, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle had an interesting answer when asked when might entice Ohtani to head to the Bay.
“I think working with Pat Bailey for a couple months,” Slusser began before mentioning a few other intangibles. “You assume he’ll like the clubhouse. The coaching staff on the pitching side is absolutely as good as it gets. Look what they’ve done with some older veteran pitchers. I think all of those things might not seem from the outside, but when you experience it, then it’s major.”
Bailey is looking like the best young catcher in baseball, and the Giants’ pitching staff has raved about him. Not to mention, in games Bailey has started, the team is 25-14.
Slusser also believes the quality of the Giants’ coaching staff can’t be overlooked.
“When they added all these really young and extra coaches — 17, 18 coaches — there was some eye rolling from the young guard in baseball, but players swear by this coaching staff,” Slusser said. “The hitting coaches are really, really thorough, have every tool at their disposal. The pitching coaches are off the charts great. They really do have all these tools to help everyone get to their very best level, and I think that goes a long way for everyone.”
Money goes a long way too, and the Giants have plenty of that.
“And then they’ve got plenty of money to sign him,” Slusser concluded. “They can go above and beyond.”
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