Fatal flaw: Every MLB contender has a weak spot
By Bill Felber
San Francisco Giants
Statistically, the Giants are in the best position of any of the postseason contenders. Possessing an overall +11.4 WAA, they are a team without truly glaring weaknesses.
But there are bumps in the team’s performance that could stand an upgrade to prevent them from becoming a fatal flaw. It will be interesting to see whether team President Farhan Zaidi can fix one or more of them.
Begin at second base. Donovan Solano’s numbers aren’t bad, but they are relatively powerless. Solano is a .266 hitter with only three home runs and a .675 OPS. He’s also a defensive liability with a -7 defensive runs saved.
His backups, Mauricio Dubon and Wilmer Flores, are competent as fill-ins, but that’s about it. The sum of San Francisco’s production from second base this season is -0.6 WAA. That may not be a disaster, but it does rank 23rd among the 30 MLB teams.
Production has also lagged at the consummate offensive position, left field. The regular, Alex Dickerson, is at .226. He and his backups – principally Mike Tauchman and Austin Slater – have combined 23 home runs, a solid total. But neither Tauchman (.173) nor Slater (.218) have hit a lick. As a group, they have combined for -0.8 WAA, leaving Giants left fielders 22nd in production among the 30 MLB teams.