2016/2017 Off-Season Thread

[LHG]

ITALY??? With who? The Milan Fashionistas? The Rome Gladiators? The Sicily Assassins?

Although if you're a marginal player bouncing from job to job, you could do a lot worse than beautiful Italy.

Great names. Maybe you should apply for a marketing job in the IBL.

The 2016 team was the Unipol Bologna. Interestingly, there were a couple of familiar names that played with him: 2016 Unipol Bologna Statistics -- Register | Baseball-Reference.com. I would think that the IBL is a last ditch effort to keep a professional career going, but what a great place (so I've heard, I've never been to Italy) to have your career on life support.

 

[VASFfan]

Great names. Maybe you should apply for a marketing job in the IBL.

The 2016 team was the Unipol Bologna. Interestingly, there were a couple of familiar names that played with him: 2016 Unipol Bologna Statistics -- Register | Baseball-Reference.com. I would think that the IBL is a last ditch effort to keep a professional career going, but what a great place (so I've heard, I've never been to Italy) to have your career on life support.

Wow. Tyler LaTorre. Now THAT is a blast from the past (at least for those of us who pay any attention to the Giants farm teams). Ronny Cedeno too.

 

[LHG]

Wow. Tyler LaTorre. Now THAT is a blast from the past (at least for those of us who pay any attention to the Giants farm teams). Ronny Cedeno too.

Those two were the guys I noticed right off the bat. The other guy (besides Cedeno) with big league experience was someone I don't remember - Scott Patterson. I looked up his information and he is quite intriguing. Started his career in indy ball, from age 23 through age 27, and put up some nice numbers during that time. The Yankees picked him up and at AA in 2006 and 2007. He got his big league cup in 2008 with the Yankees and Padres before bouncing back and forth with indy and affiliated teams from 2009 to 2012. He took a year off before coming back to indy ball in 2014 and, at age 37, threw 6 games in Italy.
Back to Rivero, he pitched for Italy in 2013, then only played winter ball in Venezuela in 2014 and 2015 before returning to Italy again in 2016. I only recognized one name from the 2013 team. Apparently, that is where Chris Aguila had his swan song.

 

[LHG]

Mike Morse signing a possible favor to Morse? - NL Notes: Giants, Mets' Starters, Rockies, Cardinals' Payroll

 

[SFGRTB]

Happy New Year everyone. This has been one of the quietest offseasons in a long time, and that says a lot about the Giants.

Some reading material from Mark Melancon himself: Hello, San Francisco | The Players' Tribune

The dude is going to fit right into the clubhouse, and he's already won over many of the fans with his gesture to that little kid who wrote the letter.

 

[SFGRTB]

Also, some news. Looks like the Giants are showing some interest in Korean player Jae-Gyun Hwang.

Don't know a thing about him? Well, he's a left-side of the infield player, probably 3rd base in MLB. He's a right-handed bat with some pretty decent power, which people expect to translate to moderately good power over here. No one bid on his last year, so he stayed with the Giants (in Korea) and improved his status. The fangraphs article I'll post covers that in detail, and more.

My guess is he'll cost somewhere between $1M-$3M on a short term deal. Minor investment.

Before the offseason started, I thought it could make sense if the Giants upgraded 3B and used Nunez as a super-utility player. After we signed Melancon, that sort of went out the window. There are a couple guys who could still fit that profile, like Valbuena and Plouffe, but they still stand to make decent money, and the Giants could negotiate with Hwang to allowed to be sent to the minors if need be.

None of the 3 guys I mentioned are perfect, clear cut upgrades over Nunez. But they all have value. The question is fit. That's where Hwang is a good option because it's such a small investment, and frankly the attention the signing would receive might pay for the contract itself.

Assuming Posey, Belt, Panik, Craw, Nunez, Mac, Span, Pence, Brown and 12 pitchers, we have Parker, Gorkys, Gonnor, Kelby, EA, with Ruggiano, Morse, Rollins, and Calixte with outside chances. The Giants are really trying to build their depth. Hwang would be a nice piece to have on the bench for a modest price.

The Next Good Hitter to Come from South Korea | FanGraphs Baseball

 

[calsnowskier]

I like this rumor. If they can get him for less than 4M AAV, I think it would be a great fit.

Although, it would pretty much kill Thomlinsons chances of doing anything with the org. But the org has been super hesitant to trust him, even with a roster spot, so I have to assume they know better than I...

 

[SFGRTB]

I like this rumor. If they can get him for less than 4M AAV, I think it would be a great fit.

Although, it would pretty much kill Thomlinsons chances of doing anything with the org. But the org has been super hesitant to trust him, even with a roster spot, so I have to assume they know better than I...

Yeah I think all of us like Kelby a lot, but he still has options so he's probably screwed in that aspect. Better to have more depth though. Joe Panik still doesn't have a full-season under his belt yet. SSS for sure, but we've been bit a lot in the past with depth issues.

 

[LHG]

Also, some news. Looks like the Giants are showing some interest in Korean player Jae-Gyun Hwang.

Don't know a thing about him? Well, he's a left-side of the infield player, probably 3rd base in MLB. He's a right-handed bat with some pretty decent power, which people expect to translate to moderately good power over here. No one bid on his last year, so he stayed with the Giants (in Korea) and improved his status. The fangraphs article I'll post covers that in detail, and more.

My guess is he'll cost somewhere between $1M-$3M on a short term deal. Minor investment.

Before the offseason started, I thought it could make sense if the Giants upgraded 3B and used Nunez as a super-utility player. After we signed Melancon, that sort of went out the window. There are a couple guys who could still fit that profile, like Valbuena and Plouffe, but they still stand to make decent money, and the Giants could negotiate with Hwang to allowed to be sent to the minors if need be.

None of the 3 guys I mentioned are perfect, clear cut upgrades over Nunez. But they all have value. The question is fit. That's where Hwang is a good option because it's such a small investment, and frankly the attention the signing would receive might pay for the contract itself.

Assuming Posey, Belt, Panik, Craw, Nunez, Mac, Span, Pence, Brown and 12 pitchers, we have Parker, Gorkys, Gonnor, Kelby, EA, with Ruggiano, Morse, Rollins, and Calixte with outside chances. The Giants are really trying to build their depth. Hwang would be a nice piece to have on the bench for a modest price.

The Next Good Hitter to Come from South Korea | FanGraphs Baseball

I like this rumor. If they can get him for less than 4M AAV, I think it would be a great fit.

Although, it would pretty much kill Thomlinsons chances of doing anything with the org. But the org has been super hesitant to trust him, even with a roster spot, so I have to assume they know better than I...

If the Giants could work it out to send him to AAA to see how he does before earning a spot on the big league roster, I'm all for the signing. I'd much rather see that than either Valbuena or Plouffe. I think Nunez should get the starting spot if just for the fact that he is still a fairly recent acquisition. He cost to be acquired and he had a good half season with Minnesota before coming over to SF. I'd rather see what he does through June before giving up on him as a starter.
As for Tomlinson, he deserves at least the edge to making the team as a reserve. I'm not too thrilled with all the guys the team has brought in as competition but it does help to have depth at AAA. The Giants don't have a whole lot of depth without all these guys at the upper levels of the farm.

 

[LHG]

Rangers, Cubs, Nationals Pursuing Tyson Ross
It was just a blurb at the end of the article, but the Giants are mentioned as expressing interest in signing Tyson Ross. He would have been a nice piece as a possible mid season replacement, if needed, for the starting rotation. However, given that he still wants $9 to $11 million in a one year deal, and that our rotation doesn't really need any help, I'm glad that this was not pursued very much.

 

[SFGRTB]

Rangers, Cubs, Nationals Pursuing Tyson Ross
It was just a blurb at the end of the article, but the Giants are mentioned as expressing interest in signing Tyson Ross. He would have been a nice piece as a possible mid season replacement, if needed, for the starting rotation. However, given that he still wants $9 to $11 million in a one year deal, and that our rotation doesn't really need any help, I'm glad that this was not pursued very much.

For once, I'm surprised to see the Giants named in any starting pitcher's rumor. I haven't seen us once connected to Tyson Ross either. Not sure he's really a fit here.

I think he's likely to go to someone like the A's, Rays, D-Backs, Twins etc. to rebuild his value and probably get traded in July.

 

[LHG]

For once, I'm surprised to see the Giants named in any starting pitcher's rumor. I haven't seen us once connected to Tyson Ross either. Not sure he's really a fit here.

I think he's likely to go to someone like the A's, Rays, D-Backs, Twins etc. to rebuild his value and probably get traded in July.

It was probably only a "kick the tires" kind of interest. The article indicates that the Rangers and Cubs are the front runners to sign him. While the article does say that his asking price has dropped from the original $9 to $11 million he was originally hoping for, I would guess his cost is still prohibitive for those teams. That, combined with the risk of his rehab going long, would probably make him not enticing for them.

 

[LHG]

This offseason has been incredibly quiet for the 8 free agents from the team. While the Dodgers and Yankees were linked earlier in the offseason with Sergio Romo and the Padres were rumored to be interested in Jake Peavy, I've heard nothing about Beckham, Blanco, Casilla, Lopez, Nathan, and Pagan, other than some potential fits for Casilla and Pagan. As this point, how many of these guys are even going to get a major league contract offered to them? Will any of them just hang it up?

 

[calsnowskier]

This offseason has been incredibly quiet for the 8 free agents from the team. While the Dodgers and Yankees were linked earlier in the offseason with Sergio Romo and the Padres were rumored to be interested in Jake Peavy, I've heard nothing about Beckham, Blanco, Casilla, Lopez, Nathan, and Pagan, other than some potential fits for Casilla and Pagan. As this point, how many of these guys are even going to get a major league contract offered to them? Will any of them just hang it up?

Romo, Casilla and Pagan are the only one who will "definitely" get MLB contracts. I 100% expect Peavy to come back to the Padres. They need SOMETHING to appeal to the fan base, and I think he fits perfectly. It doesn't hurt that they have arguably the worst rotation in the game. Blanco is a tweener as far as getting an MLB deal and having to go in with just having an invite. Beckham will almost certainly get an invite from a bottom-tier team.

Lopez and Nathan are done. I expect Lopez to eventually get a job in the Braves FO. He is a family guy, and his family lives in that neck of the woods. Nothing beyond that, I suspect.

 

[SFGRTB]

This offseason has been incredibly quiet for the 8 free agents from the team. While the Dodgers and Yankees were linked earlier in the offseason with Sergio Romo and the Padres were rumored to be interested in Jake Peavy, I've heard nothing about Beckham, Blanco, Casilla, Lopez, Nathan, and Pagan, other than some potential fits for Casilla and Pagan. As this point, how many of these guys are even going to get a major league contract offered to them? Will any of them just hang it up?

To build on what Cal said, Javy mentioned that the only way he would pitch next year is if he gets an offer from an east coast team close to home (so Atlanta, Washington, Baltimore), or the Giants. If not, he's retiring.

I'm surprised at the utter lack of Pagan interest. Haven't seen him linked to anyone, except Baltimore and they just traded for an outfielder.

Romo too should have a job somewhere. That slider is still a plus pitch.

Blanco and Beckham are probably locks to go somewhere on MiLB deals. I'm sure they have some offers in hand, but are waiting for a ML deal.

 

[LHG]

To build on what Cal said, Javy mentioned that the only way he would pitch next year is if he gets an offer from an east coast team close to home (so Atlanta, Washington, Baltimore), or the Giants. If not, he's retiring.

I'm surprised at the utter lack of Pagan interest. Haven't seen him linked to anyone, except Baltimore and they just traded for an outfielder.

Romo too should have a job somewhere. That slider is still a plus pitch.

Blanco and Beckham are probably locks to go somewhere on MiLB deals. I'm sure they have some offers in hand, but are waiting for a ML deal.

The outfield market has been pretty slow. Only half of the 38 major league free agent outfielders have been signed to any kind of deal. Beyond just Pagan, the market has been really slow for guys like Jose Bautista and Mark Trumbo. Yes, there are concerns about both, but if Brett Cecil can be signed to a 4 year deal and Jason Castro can get a 3 year deal, it seems interesting that teams are so reticent to sign some of these outfielders.

 

[LHG]

Romo, Casilla and Pagan are the only one who will "definitely" get MLB contracts. I 100% expect Peavy to come back to the Padres. They need SOMETHING to appeal to the fan base, and I think he fits perfectly. It doesn't hurt that they have arguably the worst rotation in the game. Blanco is a tweener as far as getting an MLB deal and having to go in with just having an invite. Beckham will almost certainly get an invite from a bottom-tier team.

Lopez and Nathan are done. I expect Lopez to eventually get a job in the Braves FO. He is a family guy, and his family lives in that neck of the woods. Nothing beyond that, I suspect.

There also seems to be little movement on many relievers. I'm surprised that there are so many of them still left. It seems strange to me that a guy like Michael Dunn can get a 3 year but Boone Logan, Travis Wood and Sergio Romo remain available. The offseason market is a weird entity. It seems just a bit weirder than normal this year.

 

[LHG]

Here's an interesting prospect from Cuba - Prospect Luis Robert Leaves Cuba. Just turned 19 and put up from impressive numbers in Cuba as an 18 year old. He's going to cost money, though, once he hits the open market.

 

[calsnowskier]

Here's an interesting prospect from Cuba - Prospect Luis Robert Leaves Cuba. Just turned 19 and put up from impressive numbers in Cuba as an 18 year old. He's going to cost money, though, once he hits the open market.

I think the Giants are still locked out of the amateur international market this year due to Fox. The new CBA rules do not take hold until next year.

 

[LHG]

I think the Giants are still locked out of the amateur international market this year due to Fox. The new CBA rules do not take hold until next year.

Too bad. This guy looks like he is worth picking up, at least based on initial reports.