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MLB Hot Stove: Teams that need to make moves, but haven’t

By Kristen Bentley

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 15: San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (28) looks on from the dugout during a MLB game between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 15, 2018 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 15: San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (28) looks on from the dugout during a MLB game between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 15, 2018 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 23: Todd Frazier #21 of the New York Mets rounds the bases after hitting an eigth inning home run against Madison Bumgarner #40 of the San Francisco Giants during their game at Citi Field on August 23, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 23: Todd Frazier #21 of the New York Mets rounds the bases after hitting an eigth inning home run against Madison Bumgarner #40 of the San Francisco Giants during their game at Citi Field on August 23, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

The Giants are a team that needs to do something – anything. The aging squad can’t compete with the youth in the rest of the NL and it’s fan base expects a competitive team.

While the team has only made one move with players, it did make an extremely aggressive move to name Farhan Zaidi as the President of Baseball Operations. But, since he’s been in the positive, only one new player has been signed: Mike Gerber, an outfielder who was claimed off of waivers from the Detroit Tigers.

The aging team does have a farm system, but their top prospect is a catcher – Joey Bart. With Buster Posey on the roster, any young catcher doesn’t have much of a chance to make it to San Fransisco. Their other top prospect, Heliot Ramos, is an outfielder who is only 19. According to the MLB Pipeline, the Giants only have two prospects in the top 100.

The big talk in the media is the hope that the Giants will make a trade to move Madison Bumgarner, their most valuable player. Most of the other players including Pablo Sandoval, Johnny Cueto, and Brandon Belt have contracts that are overwhelming. Boston is still paying Sandoval’s contract, but he’s certainly not a player worth $18 million at this point in his career.

With these massive albatrosses, the Giants are in an unusual position. According to Spotrac, the Giants have the third highest payroll (~$151 million) in the MLB entering the 2019 season. They finished fourth in the NL West and won 73 games. The Cubs have the highest payroll and the Red Sox are second.

If the Giants do nothing, they can field a team. But, they will still have the massive payroll, aging players, and not enough wins to get to the playoffs – or even close to the playoffs. Giants fans won’t stand for it. There are plenty of other teams in California and it is way more fun to follow a team that’s winning.

The Giants are in the same position that the Detroit Tigers were in with aging players and not enough wins. The Tigers traded away any asset that they could, including several fan favorites like J.D. Martinez and Justin Verlander. Fans weren’t happy, but they understood the need. At this point, the Giants may have waited too long.

Something has to give. This team is too storied to do nothing.

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