If you’ve been following along, you’ve seen that we here at Mets360 were engaged in a project where each of us got to be the General Manager of an existing MLB team…for a week. It was my great good fortune to draw the defending National League Champion San Francisco Giants.
I found that winning a pennant affords a GM certain luxuries, one of them being that the trade market pretty much comes to you. Other teams – including the Mets in this experiment — knock on your door, looking for talent so recently showcased on the biggest stage of all. This winter, real-life GM Brian Sabean will be in the enviable position of fielding offers and declining those he deems unworthy.
As Giants’ GM, I had one priority and one priority only: securing third base. I saw that the Giants had pitching a-plenty on its 40-man roster, so I wasn’t worried about the impending defections of Jake Peavy, Ryan Vogelsong and Sergio Romo. Another free agent to-be was a fungible outfield bat – actually ideal for the 2014 Mets, but a spare part on the Giants – Michael Morse. Among the non-tender candidates were a couple of pitchers, J.C. Gutierrez and post-season eye-opener and former Met Yusmiero Petit, as well as catcher Hector Sanchez and center fielder Gregor Blanco. None of these would be considered a crippling loss. No. There was only one pending free agent on the team that was a “must-keep,” everyone’s favorite panda, third baseman Pablo Sandoval. There was a real chance he would not be retained, given the budget restrictions – yes, even the NL Champs have a budget – under which we were working.
With an eye toward Sandoval’s possible defection, this GM took calls from the Brewers, Tigers and Mets. Names like Aramis Ramirez, Rajai Davis, J.D. Martinez, Jenrry Mejia, Eric Young, Jr. and Curtis Granderson were bandied about. There was some deep discussion about the Giants parting with some pieces of their stout bullpen for Ramirez, and such stalwarts as Hunter Pence, Tim Lincecum and Angel Pagan headed east to Detroit or New York. Late in the game, Seattle stepped forward, looking for a power bat.
Nothing happened. Either there wasn’t a fit or needs were filled elsewhere. Again, I knew I was dealing from strength and there wasn’t a dire need to make a deal at all costs: NL pennant, remember? Instead, I went all in. I put a major chunk of my 2015 budget in Pablo Sandoval’s basket and crossed my fingers. I waited…and waited…and waited some more for the 2015 free agent signings to be posted.
I’ll put an end to the suspense: Pablo Sandoval returned to the San Francisco Giants for a raise of $5 and a quarter million.
The Giants are ready to defend their crown – and annoy people at Citi Field – with largely the same squad that won it. We will gladly take on all comers.
Individual Salaries
San Francisco Giants