This is a project where 30 people got together to act as the GMs of the 30 MLB teams with the idea of conducting the offseason in one week. This is what happened in this simulation, not a prediction of what will happen in real life.
By Steve Hoeffler
The Giants do not have many degrees of freedom with respect to their roster in 2018. The overall budget given was $190m and the guaranteed payroll for the 25-man roster was $184m. As such, my scope in terms of bidding for FAs was for mid-level guys who could help in the outfield or at third base. This focus was driven by the fairly steady presence of Buster Poser (catcher), Brandon Belt (1B), Joe Panik (2B), and Brandon Crawford (SS). While there is hope for bounce back years from Hunter Pence and Denard Span — there is still not a lot of power in the outfield. The only two free agents signed this offseason were Austin Jackson ($5m) and Jayson Werth ($5m). The one that got away was Jay Bruce. The Giants were next in line for Bruce when two teams tied for Cain and we would have had him for $8m. With respect to trades the only trade made was for Scooter Gennett — who we anticipate being the everyday 3B. The only trade discussion was with regards to Madison Bumgarner — and none of them got really serious.
My guess is that the Giants are going to largely stand pat this offseason and look for mid-level help in the outfield and third base. Further, they may bring in one or two low level starting pitchers (as you can never have enough) and you may get someone who uses the friendly confines of AT&T park to resurrect their career (a la Charlie Morton). I do not anticipate the Giants doing a full rebuild (like the Astros & Cubs have done) — and several others are trying as that full rebuild strategy may be effective if you are one of the only teams doing it — when multiple teams try to rebuild then the competition for draft picks mitigates the effectiveness of the strategy.
Giants Opening Day Roster:
Starting Pitchers: Madbum, Cueto, Blach, Samardzija, Moore
Infield: Posey, Belt, Panik, Crawford, and Gennett
Outfield: Pence, Jackson, Werth
Reserves: Span (OF), Federowicz (catcher), Sandoval (IF),
Parker (OF), Hernandez (OF), Williamson (OF & 1B)
Relief Staff: Melancon (Closer), Dyson, Smitch, Strickland, Gearrin, Law
| Name | Pos’n | 2018 |
|---|---|---|
| Posey, Buster | c-1b | $22,177,778 |
| Cueto, Johnny | rhp-s | $21,000,000 |
| Melancon, Mark | rhp-c | $20,000,000 |
| Samardzija, Jeff | rhp-s | $19,800,000 |
| Pence, Hunter | rf | $18,500,000 |
| Belt, Brandon | 1b | $17,200,000 |
| Crawford, Brandon | ss | $15,200,000 |
| Bumgarner, Madison | lhp-s | $12,000,000 |
| Span, Denard | cf | $11,000,000 |
| Moore, Matt | lhp-s | $9,000,000 |
| Gennett, Scooter | 2b-3b | $6,100,000 |
| Jayson Werth | lf | $5,000,000 |
| Austin Jackson | cf | $5,000,000 |
| Dyson, Sam | rhp | $4,600,000 |
| Panik, Joe | 2b | $3,500,000 |
| Smith, Will | lhp | $2,500,000 |
| Strickland, Hunter | rhp | $1,700,000 |
| Gearrin, Cory | rhp | $1,600,000 |
| Federowicz, Tim | c | $1,300,000 |
| Sandoval, Pablo | 3b | $555,000 |
| Parker, Jarrett | lf | $555,000 |
| Hernandez, Gorkys | of | $555,000 |
| Law, Derek | rhp | $555,000 |
| Williamson, Mac | lf-rf | $555,000 |
| Blach, Ty | lhp-s | $555,000 |
| $200,509,796 |
Giants are a tough team because they have so much committed in payroll. And they’re up close against the luxury tax threshold so it’s not likely to go up in real life, either.
Not sure what I would do with this team – maybe offer Cueto around and eat half his salary? Not a bunch of obvious moves, at least to me.