Current Roster

[LHG]

So is this a "now I have UT players I can add to a trade" ? Because there are a LOT of 'decent' (not star) players in the Giants' bin that simply wont play in the majors in 2021, OR will be on the express shuttle between AAA and the majors.

Or, it being FZ, will be DFA'd ...

Still nothing official from the Giants about this signing. I assume that they are still waiting for results of the physical.
They are going to have to clear a spot on the 40 man roster for him. I assume that one of Duggar, Davis, Basabe or Gott will be the casualty.

 

[calsnowskier]

Still nothing official from the Giants about this signing. I assume that they are still waiting for results of the physical.
They are going to have to clear a spot on the 40 man roster for him. I assume that one of Duggar, Davis, Basabe or Gott will be the casualty.

I don’t think they need to open a spot for La Stella. He would bring the roster up to 40, unless I missed someone.

 

[LHG]

I don’t think they need to open a spot for La Stella. He would bring the roster up to 40, unless I missed someone.

If you count the arb eligible guys listed, that puts the 40 man roster at a full 40. And you don't have John Brebbia listed. He should be in there. That makes 41, counting LaStella.

By the way, Moronta settled with the Giants at $695,000 for 2021 so only Solano is going into arbitration. The timing of the LaStella signing is interesting. I wonder if management will use that to argue their side in the hearing.

 

[calsnowskier]

If you count the arb eligible guys listed, that puts the 40 man roster at a full 40. And you don't have John Brebbia listed. He should be in there. That makes 41, counting LaStella.

By the way, Moronta settled with the Giants at $695,000 for 2021 so only Solano is going into arbitration. The timing of the LaStella signing is interesting. I wonder if management will use that to argue their side in the hearing.

Somehow I missed adding Brebbia to the roster. And I even commented on his signing..

so there it is. Yes, i agree that they will need to remove someone from the roster to make room for La Stella.

 

[LHG]

LaStella signing official. Basabe has been dfa'd.

 

[LHG]

Twins, Giants Swap LaMonte Wade Jr., Shaun Anderson

The Twins have traded outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. to the Giants for right-hander Shaun Anderson, Dan Hayes of The Athletic …

www.mlbtraderumors.com

I'm just going to say it - this trade is stupid. Why? Wade hasn't looked good in the big leagues or AAA and he is 27 years old (but does have an option year left). How is it worth giving up a 26 year old pitcher who provides depth to the rotation and bullpen and has two option years left? Wade may be a lefty but I don't see why he's needed when the AAA outfield could consist of Jaylin Davis (when is he going to get a legitimate shot in the bigs, by the way? He's got nothing left to prove in AAA), Steven Duggar, Jason Krizan (which I'm not thrilled about either), Joe McCarthy, Vince Fernandez (whom I'm excited to see play in AAA, where he should be) and Drew Robinson.
Maybe Basabe gets through the waiver process and the Giants keep him, but then Wade's acquisition makes even less sense. Considering the timing, could the Giants just have traded Anderson to the Twins for some prospect not yet requiring 40 man roster protection and left Basabe on the 40 man? I guess the counterpoint to that is Basabe has no options left. Still, why Wade?

 

[MarcoPolo]

I have been really knocked off-stride concerning the minors, after a hectic 2019 and then a non-existent minor season in 2020. Could there be a flush 'pen in Sacramento already, with arms that need to be tried out? I really don't see the reasoning behind getting WADE , considering all the OF there are already in AAA, as you said.

Then again, it's FZ so maybe just a trade for the sake of making "an acquisition" ...

 

[LHG]

I have been really knocked off-stride concerning the minors, after a hectic 2019 and then a non-existent minor season in 2020. Could there be a flush 'pen in Sacramento already, with arms that need to be tried out? I really don't see the reasoning behind getting WADE , considering all the OF there are already in AAA, as you said.

Then again, it's FZ so maybe just a trade for the sake of making "an acquisition" ...

The Giants still have 4 other outfielders (Davis, Fernandez, Krizan and McCarthy) that FZ wanted and barely given a chance. Duggar is probably on the way out. FZ has shown a tendency to not give org prospects he inherited a chance but, in Duggar's case, he did get a chance before FZ and didn't look that good.
FZ seems to have moved his favorite method of acquisition from the claim and drop to the trade. I just find it interesting that he determines areas of need (outfield) after acquiring a bunch of outfielders in the past year and a half and then barely plays them when given a chance (except Yaz and Dickerson). Then, somehow, he feels that the outfield needs more depth. How long before Wade is determined to not be the answer either? Even Yaz and Dickerson don't seem to be enough, considering the outfielders he was said to be looking into on the free agent market. And the most puzzling part is that he gets them, sometimes plays them, decides the team needs better, only to look at or acquire the identical (or worse) production that he already has.

 

[calsnowskier]

The Giants still have 4 other outfielders (Davis, Fernandez, Krizan and McCarthy) that FZ wanted and barely given a chance. Duggar is probably on the way out. FZ has shown a tendency to not give org prospects he inherited a chance but, in Duggar's case, he did get a chance before FZ and didn't look that good.
FZ seems to have moved his favorite method of acquisition from the claim and drop to the trade. I just find it interesting that he determines areas of need (outfield) after acquiring a bunch of outfielders in the past year and a half and then barely plays them when given a chance (except Yaz and Dickerson). Then, somehow, he feels that the outfield needs more depth. How long before Wade is determined to not be the answer either? Even Yaz and Dickerson don't seem to be enough, considering the outfielders he was said to be looking into on the free agent market. And the most puzzling part is that he gets them, sometimes plays them, decides the team needs better, only to look at or acquire the identical (or worse) production that he already has.

Actually, remember that Yaz was pretty much on his way out when there was an injury that delayed his ousting. He caught fire and the rest was history.

 

[LHG]

Actually, remember that Yaz was pretty much on his way out when there was an injury that delayed his ousting. He caught fire and the rest was history.

I completely forgot about that. While I appreciate the fact that we don't have the old regime allowing veterans to stay on the roster way too long, I would like to see this regime give guys a bit more than 2 or 3 games to prove themselves.

 

[LHG]

Giants To Sign Jake McGee

FEB. 22: It's a two-year, $5MM guarantee for McGee, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. McGee will …

www.mlbtraderumors.com

Don't get why him over Watson. McGee has been very up and down in his career. Meh. Still improves the bullpen (if the Rockie version or odd year Ray version doesn't show up).

 

[tzill]

Giants To Sign Jake McGee

FEB. 22: It's a two-year, $5MM guarantee for McGee, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. McGee will …

www.mlbtraderumors.com

Don't get why him over Watson. McGee has been very up and down in his career. Meh. Still improves the bullpen (if the Rockie version or odd year Ray version doesn't show up).

$. He signed for 2/7. Watson gets at least double that.

Another incremental upgrade. FZ knows what he's doing.

 

[LHG]

$. He signed for 2/7. Watson gets at least double that.

Another incremental upgrade. FZ knows what he's doing.

Not sure about Watson getting more than that. MLB Trade Rumors doesn't even rank Watson as among the best of the remaining free agent relievers and projects other guys on their list to getting mainly 1 year deals. Watson's offseason rumors have been nil so there doesn't seem to be much of a market for him.

 

[MarcoPolo]

Re: McGee. Good pickup for a decent price. OUTSIDE of Coors, he doesn't suck (generally). Doesn't suck against LHB, isn't super-pitcher against RHB. Can handle a decent workload. He's a bit older (34) but shouldn't be too bad over 2 years.

 

[LHG]

Re: McGee. Good pickup for a decent price. OUTSIDE of Coors, he doesn't suck (generally). Doesn't suck against LHB, isn't super-pitcher against RHB. Can handle a decent workload. He's a bit older (34) but shouldn't be too bad over 2 years.

But would you pick him over Watson? I doubt Watson is going to get more than McGee signed for.

 

[LHG]

 

[MarcoPolo]

But would you pick him over Watson? I doubt Watson is going to get more than McGee signed for.

I don't think that the real question is "what Watson finally ends up signing for". I think that the real question is "what was Watson willing to sign for on Feb 1" (or "during or just before negotiations with McGee"). Watson was absolutely outstanding last year, it wouldn't surprise me to hear that he has been holding out for a higher salary (but we'll never know, will we?) .

McGee was outstanding last year as well (and for a bunch of his career) - I am actually surprised that FZ was able to sign him for 2/$7M, especially considering his previous 3-year contract was for over $7M/yr.

I'm happy with either at 2/$7M - we happen to have McGee and not Watson.

 

[LHG]

I don't think that the real question is "what Watson finally ends up signing for". I think that the real question is "what was Watson willing to sign for on Feb 1" (or "during or just before negotiations with McGee"). Watson was absolutely outstanding last year, it wouldn't surprise me to hear that he has been holding out for a higher salary (but we'll never know, will we?) .

McGee was outstanding last year as well (and for a bunch of his career) - I am actually surprised that FZ was able to sign him for 2/$7M, especially considering his previous 3-year contract was for over $7M/yr.

I'm happy with either at 2/$7M - we happen to have McGee and not Watson.

Watson is an enigma. Most of us thought he exercised his player's option early last offseason, mainly because he had the first down year in his career. However, we later learned he actually declined the option and quickly signed a one year deal with the Giants. I have no idea what the terms were so I don't know if it was better or worse than what his option would have paid him.
Now he could be holding out on a better deal than McGee. However, many guys, other than a few top tier free agents, have had to settle for less dollars and/or years to get signed. Maybe he's stubbornly looking for the deal that he hoped he could have gotten last year, if not for his late season meltdown, but I would think he's wise enough to know that probably won't happen this offseason. It could be that FZ simply wants to move on from guys already on the team and/or in the farm when he was brought on and this is nothing more than picking up a guy his last org liked versus holding on to a guy the previous regime brought in. But, like you said, we'll never know.

 

[calsnowskier]

Watson is an enigma. Most of us thought he exercised his player's option early last offseason, mainly because he had the first down year in his career. However, we later learned he actually declined the option and quickly signed a one year deal with the Giants. I have no idea what the terms were so I don't know if it was better or worse than what his option would have paid him.
Now he could be holding out on a better deal than McGee. However, many guys, other than a few top tier free agents, have had to settle for less dollars and/or years to get signed. Maybe he's stubbornly looking for the deal that he hoped he could have gotten last year, if not for his late season meltdown, but I would think he's wise enough to know that probably won't happen this offseason. It could be that FZ simply wants to move on from guys already on the team and/or in the farm when he was brought on and this is nothing more than picking up a guy his last org liked versus holding on to a guy the previous regime brought in. But, like you said, we'll never know.

I believe Watson was in LA during FZs tenure there, though...

 

[LHG]

I believe Watson was in LA during FZs tenure there, though...

Completely forgot about that half season with LA in 2017. Good call. Then maybe my theory is just way off and it really boils down to McGee being the cheaper option. Its still puzzling to me, though, that Watson is one of only about 33 free agent relievers left on the market.