San Francisco Giants: Three moves to push the Giants into the playoffs
These three free agent signings would be a big help in pushing the San Francisco Giants over the hump and into the playoffs.
Despite a fourth-straight losing season, the San Francisco Giants fell just one game short of a playoff spot in 2020. It was a big step forward for the organization, which now has a bit of optimism heading into the 2021 season.
The Giants have been fairly active this offseason already, locking down starting pitcher Kevin Gausman for another year (accepted qualifying offer) after a solid first season in San Francisco and bringing in recently non-tendered bullpen arm Matt Wisler to shore up a bullpen in need of a few pieces.
While the Giants likely won’t be bringing in a Trevor Bauer or Marcell Ozuna over the next few weeks, they do still have holes to fill, have been connected to many quality names in that next tier of free agents underneath Bauer/Realmuto/Springer/etc, and have the financial flexibility to make a few notable moves.
The National League West is a much-improved division with the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers leading the way and a young San Diego Padres team built to contend for many years to come.
But the San Francisco Giants are in a position to make a run at a playoff spot in 2021, in what is sure to be another year of expanded playoffs.
Here are three moves they could make to help themselves get over that hump and back into the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
The San Francisco Giants need multiple starting pitchers to add to their rotation.
It’s been widely reported that the San Francisco Giants are expected to be one of the more aggressive teams when it comes to adding starting pitching this offseason, the organization’s biggest weakness.
The Giants have been connected to many names on the market, including Tomoyuki Sugano and Jake Odorizzi, but let’s go in a slightly different direction here to look for starting rotation depth.
It seems less likely that the New York Yankees bring back Masahiro Tanaka this winter, instead focusing their efforts on keeping DJ LeMahieu as their big-ticket acquisition. Other than a connection with the Toronto Blue Jays, the market has been fairly quiet when it comes to Tanaka, arguably the third-best starting pitching option available.
Tanaka is a battle-tested veteran, posting an 18.9 fWAR over his seven seasons in the AL East with the Yankees, including 10 playoff starts during his tenure.
MLBTradeRumors.com projects a three-year deal just south of $40 for Tanaka this offseason, which isn’t the kind of deal that’s going to break the bank for the San Francisco Giants, and would leave plenty of wiggle room to add to the fringes of the roster.
It’s been a long time since Johnny Cueto has been a reliable five-WAR pitcher and while Gausman pitched very well in 2020, he has to prove he can build on that success and continue to be a reliable option.
Tanaka owns a career 3.74 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and groundball rate of just under 50%. He’s been a sturdy and reliable arm for the Yankees would greatly help solidify a San Francisco Giants rotation.
A veteran left-handed option in Jon Lester makes sense for the San Francisco Giants.
Other than starting pitching, the San Francisco Giants have expressed a desire to add more right-handed bullpen options and a left-handed bat in the lineup to help complement an offense that was very competitive in 2020.
Touching on that left-handed bat later, there’s still work to be done in the starting rotation.
The Giants could go after a veteran starter with a track record of success, but is coming off an injury, allowing the Giants to sign them for a lower price, but if they want to make a serious run at a playoff spot, they need stability.
Jon Lester makes a lot of sense here. A five-time All-Star and three-time World Series champion, Lester may be pushing 37 years of age, but he still has another season or two left in him as a reliable backend of the rotation starter.
There were some struggles last season, but as recently as 2019, Lester pitched to a 13-10 record, a 4.46 ERA, and struck out 165 hitters across 171.2 innings. There’s still plenty left in the tank.
San Francisco heavily pursued Lester six years ago and came close to landing him, but with a number of connections to the current coaching staff, including Gabe Kapler, maybe this year is finally the year the Giants persuade Lester to sign.
A rotation consisting of Kevin Gausman, Johnny Cueto, Tanaka, and Lester instantly becomes a major upgrade, loaded with veteran pieces.
The San Francisco Giants should pursue outfielder David Dahl.
So, what about that left-handed bat? The San Francisco Giants added Jason Vosler earlier in the offseason, a left-handed option who can play third base and spell Evan Longoria some, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see the team make another addition to the infield mix.
However, Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi was intrigued by a number of recently non-tendered options (Matt Wisler included) and one name continues to stand out above the rest as a good addition.
Surprisingly, outfielder David Dahl was let go by Colorado last week, a potential high-upside addition for another organization looking for outfield help.
Dahl figures to have multiple suitors, some of whom likely to offer a full-time starting outfield role, but the Giants should be heavily in the mix here.
A former 10th overall draft pick and top prospect with the Rockies, Dahl was an All-Star in 2019, slashing .302/.353/.524 with 15 home runs, 28 doubles, and five triples, playing all three outfield spots defensively.
Dahl is a left-handed hitter who can play center field and flashed some real ability when healthy. Injuries have been a major concern over his career, but the Giants wouldn’t be asking him to start every day, allowing them to keep him fresh against right-handed pitching.
With an outfield of Mike Yastrzemski, Alex Dickerson, and Mauricio Dubon, Dahl would provide quality depth and allow the Giants to keep Dickerson fresh with extra days off as well. And it doesn’t hurt that Dahl is very familiar with NL West pitching and ballparks.
Giants: Matt Wisler is a solid gamble. dark. Next
It’s going to take some work, but by adding these three free agents, the San Francisco Giants would put themselves in a great position to make the playoffs in 2021.