2016/2017 Off-Season Thread

[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?

Athletics Nearing Two-Year Deal With Santiago Casilla

Casilla is finally picked up, by the A's.

Solid move for them, I still think he's got stuff left in the tank. And solid place for Casilla to land, doesn't have to change his living situation very much II assume).

 

[LHG]

Tigers "kicking the tires" on Blanco - Tigers "In Touch" With Peter Bourjos, Gregor Blanco

 

[SFGRTB]

Tigers "kicking the tires" on Blanco - Tigers "In Touch" With Peter Bourjos, Gregor Blanco

The Blanco market was on FIRE today....

Signed with the D-Backs.

Diamondbacks, Gregor Blanco Agree To Minors Deal

$2.7M maximum isn't terrible for the guy, and he can op-out on April 1st if he wants to

 

[LHG]

The Blanco market was on FIRE today....

Signed with the D-Backs.

Diamondbacks, Gregor Blanco Agree To Minors Deal

$2.7M maximum isn't terrible for the guy, and he can op-out on April 1st if he wants to

The opportunity in Detroit looked better but the Tigers may not have been serious at looking at him as an option.

 

[calsnowskier]

The opportunity in Detroit looked better but the Tigers may not have been serious at looking at him as an option.

They figured they already had too many ex-Giants in the system.

 

[LHG]

Looks like we won't see Josh Johnson in spring training - Josh Johnson retires at 32 due to elbow issues

 

[calsnowskier]

Looks like we won't see Josh Johnson in spring training - Josh Johnson retires at 32 due to elbow issues

 

[msgkings322]

Bonds (and Clemens) got a big jump on HOF votes this year. I think they're gonna make it in 2-3 years.

 

[LHG]

Nice article highlighting Blanco's time with the Giants - Gregor Blanco appreciated in Giants' clubhouse

 

[LHG]

Tim Lincecum doesn't seem to understand where he will best stick in the big leagues - Tim Lincecum Hoping To Start, Pitch In Majors In 2017

 

[SFGRTB]

RIP to Andy Marte and Yordano Ventura, who both died in separate car accidents last night.

 

[calsnowskier]

Wow.

That's two high profile, young MLB pitchers in less than a half year. Throw in Tavares, and that is 3 high profile young players in just over 2 years.

I don't remember any league getting like this in such a short span of time before.

 

[msgkings322]

Here's the latest 2017 odds:

Latest 2017 World Series odds

Giants opened at 16-1, now 14-1, 8th best odds.

5th best in the NL. Seems like there's really only 5 solid playoff teams in the NL according to Vegas (the usual names Cubs, Dodgers, Nats, Mets, us). The Cardinals and maybe Rockies could be the sleepers but I don't see it (health issues aside as always).

 

[SFGRTB]

Giants are close to a minor league deal with Jae-Gyun Hwang. I think this will be a real solid move for the Giants. See my thought's below on the matter.


Giants Nearing Minor League Deal With Jae-Gyun Hwang

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]

Giants are close to a minor league deal with Jae-Gyun Hwang. I think this will be a real solid move for the Giants. See my thought's below on the matter.


Giants Nearing Minor League Deal With Jae-Gyun Hwang

That would be great. Low risk, HIGH reward.

He could offer competition at both 3B and 2B and could free up Panik to be traded if he becomes solid at either position.

And Panik could fetch a very nice return, even if his bat does not return to its 14/15 level. He likely won't win any more GGs (I think Baez will have that locked up for the next 5 or 6 years), but he still offers elite D.

 

[SFGRTB]

That would be great. Low risk, HIGH reward.

He could offer competition at both 3B and 2B and could free up Panik to be traded if he becomes solid at either position.

And Panik could fetch a very nice return, even if his bat does not return to its 14/15 level. He likely won't win any more GGs (I think Baez will have that locked up for the next 5 or 6 years), but he still offers elite D.

Yeah, it could also push Nunez back into the super-sub role. Low-risk depth moves are usually never a bad thing, and this move even has some splash to it. The contract will pay for itself with the attention he's going to receive from Korea.

 

[calsnowskier]

He looks capable with the glove, but nothing jumps out that he is GG level...

 

[SFGRTB]

The Dodgers traded for Logan Forsythe to play second base for them. They parted with Jose De Leon, their best or second best, depending who you ask, pitching prospect. De Leon was suppose to be the big piece in a Brian Dozier, but that fell through so they moved on.

Forsythe comes back to the NL West, but as a much better player now. He's a great defender with a solid bat.

 

[LHG]

Spring training is going to look very interesting. The Giants have brought in a lot of infielders for just a few spots. Now we've got Jae Gyun Hwang, Orlando Calixte, Ramiro Pena, Jimmy Rollins, Ehire Adrianza, Kelby Tomlinson, Juniel Querecuto, Ali Castillo, Juan Ciriaco, Mike Morse, Chris Marrero and Kyle Blanks. They get to compete for two spots on the Giants' roster. Then there's Christian Arroyo and, presumably, Ryder Jones, locked in AAA roster spots, meaning 3 to 4 spots available in Sacramento. Ricky Oropesa is fighting to stay within the organization as well.

Spring training is going to be a bloodbath of cuts (or there's going to be some full disabled lists).

 

[SFGRTB]

He looks capable with the glove, but nothing jumps out that he is GG level...

He also has some bat-flip swag



And took classes from the Buster Posey School of Sliding