2016 News & Transactions

[VASFfan]

Turner and Cespedes were really the only two bats that I think would have offered an increase as big as what we got with MM. McParker deserves the shot in left if for nothing else, than as a morale boost to the system. If the org always looks outside to fill openings, the bats in the system may grow frustrated.

I agree with this. Plus, worst case scenario, if McParker suck, there are options that might be ready in the minors (Slater, Duggar) and the front office is never shy about swinging a deal. I expect McParker will get a fair and reasonable shot, but will be on a relatively short leash. If 2 or 3 months go by and they just aren't cutting it, a move of some kind will be made.

 

[tzill]

That us where the game is today. The Giants, Royals and Cubs (and Indians) have shown that an elite bully can get you rings. Pro sports are practices in imitation. Bully arms, in general, are over priced. But when the black hole on a team can be filled, is there an over pay for it?

Overstatement, but if the Giants had a legit closer last year, they could seriously have won the Series. Without one, they were an over-achiever by going out in the Divisional round.

Good post. Another way to think about it is opportunity cost -- that is, what would you do with the money paid to Melancon to make the 17 team better than it is now?

I cant think of a thing

 

[tzill]

Have to disagree with most of the names you listed. Outside of 2011 and his brief stint with the Mets, Salas has been quite average. Rodney (who just signed with the D-Backs) is 39 and his 2016 was a microcosm of his career - he is good one year and awful the next. Howell's peripherals were deteriorating the past couple of seasons and caught up to his ERA this year. He may bounce back for 2017 but could be a good candidate for an overpay as well. Feliz is two seasons removed from being good. Holland needs to show that he's fully bounced back from his TJ surgery. Benoit and Logan would be, in my opinion, worth signing, but I'm fine with standing pat after Melancon.

Agree. Also, would the delta between what Logan will get and the minimum (which is what we'll pay the guy he would replace) be worth the marginal improvement? I kinda doubt it. I think there is a very good chance that the bullpen delivers excellent value in 17.

 

[calsnowskier]

And, SFGRTB, in general, I agree with your conclusion that a closer is arguably the most over-rated position in the game. 9 years out of 10 I would agree with your stance here.

But for THIS team, closer is super-critical. We all saw what happened to the team without one. It not only affected the game that was blown, but it affected the following games as well and the overall confidence of the team, even in earlier innings. Sabermetrics could not have possibly captured how it changed the performance of the '16 team.

 

[tzill]

Agree with the dumpster fire.

But which offense will show up in 2017? The first half offense was brilliant, fun, energetic. The second half offense was dull, boring, lifeless. Even if the pitchers held the other team scoreless, you still gotta score to win. We did not do this in epidemic proportions post-ASB.

Still, our need was a closer. We got that. I am pretty good with the rest of the team. Let MacParker take LF for the entire year and see how they do. If they approach the ASB hitting below .200 with a combined 8 homers or less, then yeah, start dumpster diving. Other than that we are pretty set.

I am anxious to see how Slater does in ST, and how Arroyo handles himself in Sactown. Ryder Jones looked very good in the AZL, as did Garcia. Well, way better then TT15, anyway.

I think Slater is going to be a key X factor in 2017

 

[Stokes1931]

And, SFGRTB, in general, I agree with your conclusion that a closer is arguably the most over-rated position in the game. 9 years out of 10 I would agree with your stance here.

But for THIS team, closer is super-critical. We all saw what happened to the team without one. It not only affected the game that was blown, but it affected the following games as well and the overall confidence of the team, even in earlier innings. Sabermetrics could not have possibly captured how it changed the performance of the '16 team.

Just a thought, maybe a what if. It is water under the bridge now, so why not? I don't want KCYa back, and he is not coming back. But, he has been very good until last season. Some would argue that he is in decline, and it did seem like the late inning issues got into his head a bit. (A LOT!) But wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that he will return to where he has been the last few years, and 2016 was an outlier? I am not sure I want to make that gamble, unless it's with house money. The guy may be a pariah to those who lived through the 2016 meltdowns, but I expect him to land with a team and do very well in 2017.

I think the huge issue in 2016 was that no one knew their role, and no one was stepping up into their role in the bully. While we had the Core Four, everyone's role was clearly defined, and could be altered on occasion. But there was no sense of who was dependable in what role in 2016, and KCYa took the brunt of that. Sad, really, as he has been a good Giant.

I am looking forward to the difference MM makes.

 

[calsnowskier]

KCYa will not be back. I think he burned bridges with Boch with his reactions on the mound. To a lesser extent, I think Romo burned his bridges as well.

I can certainly see both moving on to other teams and being somewhat successful. I would hate to see Romo wearing Blue, but I think he has enough ties to the org that he would be willing to give them a sizable discount to play there. Maybe KCYa to the A's?

 

[SFGRTB]

Just a thought, maybe a what if. It is water under the bridge now, so why not? I don't want KCYa back, and he is not coming back. But, he has been very good until last season. Some would argue that he is in decline, and it did seem like the late inning issues got into his head a bit. (A LOT!) But wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that he will return to where he has been the last few years, and 2016 was an outlier? I am not sure I want to make that gamble, unless it's with house money. The guy may be a pariah to those who lived through the 2016 meltdowns, but I expect him to land with a team and do very well in 2017.

I think the huge issue in 2016 was that no one knew their role, and no one was stepping up into their role in the bully. While we had the Core Four, everyone's role was clearly defined, and could be altered on occasion. But there was no sense of who was dependable in what role in 2016, and KCYa took the brunt of that. Sad, really, as he has been a good Giant.

I am looking forward to the difference MM makes.

I think whoever Casilla signs with will get a pretty good reliever, if he chooses to eat his ego a bit.

 

[SFGRTB]

And, SFGRTB, in general, I agree with your conclusion that a closer is arguably the most over-rated position in the game. 9 years out of 10 I would agree with your stance here.

But for THIS team, closer is super-critical. We all saw what happened to the team without one. It not only affected the game that was blown, but it affected the following games as well and the overall confidence of the team, even in earlier innings. Sabermetrics could not have possibly captured how it changed the performance of the '16 team.

It's more of my belief that your best pitcher shouldn't have to pitch the 9th. It's a different argument than the one I was trying to make, but it's an extension of it. It's not that I think closers are overrated, it's that I think they're dumb. It's purely a mindset thing that was clearly shown last year with this team, and it's something that I would get rid of if I could. But as it stands, yeah we needed help in the bullpen and we were able to add one of the top guys in the league. Hard not to get excited about that, and I am excited. I'm also excited for Mac and eventually Arroyo and Duggar and Slater. I only brought this up because of the cheap deal Turner signed (which he probably wouldn't have even signed with us), and was amazed an everyday player with 5 WAR signed for less than his teammate closer and $2M more than ours.

 

[LHG]

But that's my point, I think Law, Strick, and Smith are perfectly capable to handle the toughest situations, and adding a couple guys to eat up lesser innings could have been okay. Melancon strengthens that further and it's hard to get mad about that.

But it would seem counter intuitive to sign a "big name" free agent (thinking about the guys you mentioned and the reliever market this year) to fill in those lesser roles. Those seem tailor made for the non-roster invitees and the guys breaking into the big leagues.

 

[LHG]

Stratton's not a candidate for long relief? Maybe not, but I can't think of a reason why he couldn't/shouldn't be.

I was thinking more about the guys that seem to have a guaranteed role and/or inside track to a role. Stratton may be looked at but I have to think he is a bit down in the depth charts as of right now. His primary role, I would think, going into 2017 is AAA insurance for the rotation or bullpen.

 

[LHG]

Just a thought, maybe a what if. It is water under the bridge now, so why not? I don't want KCYa back, and he is not coming back. But, he has been very good until last season. Some would argue that he is in decline, and it did seem like the late inning issues got into his head a bit. (A LOT!) But wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that he will return to where he has been the last few years, and 2016 was an outlier? I am not sure I want to make that gamble, unless it's with house money. The guy may be a pariah to those who lived through the 2016 meltdowns, but I expect him to land with a team and do very well in 2017.

I think the huge issue in 2016 was that no one knew their role, and no one was stepping up into their role in the bully. While we had the Core Four, everyone's role was clearly defined, and could be altered on occasion. But there was no sense of who was dependable in what role in 2016, and KCYa took the brunt of that. Sad, really, as he has been a good Giant.

I am looking forward to the difference MM makes.

Maybe a lack of defined role fits a few pitchers but not Casilla or Lopez. Casilla, if anything, was in a defined role much longer than he should have been. Same thing for Lopez. Neither pitched very well in their historic positions. And when the roles did become less defined, the guys should have seen an opportunity to step up, not get nervous about when they may be used.

 

[tzill]

Just a thought, maybe a what if. It is water under the bridge now, so why not? I don't want KCYa back, and he is not coming back. But, he has been very good until last season. Some would argue that he is in decline, and it did seem like the late inning issues got into his head a bit. (A LOT!) But wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that he will return to where he has been the last few years, and 2016 was an outlier? I am not sure I want to make that gamble, unless it's with house money. The guy may be a pariah to those who lived through the 2016 meltdowns, but I expect him to land with a team and do very well in 2017.

I think the huge issue in 2016 was that no one knew their role, and no one was stepping up into their role in the bully. While we had the Core Four, everyone's role was clearly defined, and could be altered on occasion. But there was no sense of who was dependable in what role in 2016, and KCYa took the brunt of that. Sad, really, as he has been a good Giant.

I am looking forward to the difference MM makes.

Great post. I think KCya will return to form, and especially that lack of roles doomed the 16 bullpen.

I also think there was zero chance KCya would have returned to form here. I'm excited about the 17 bully.

 

[LHG]

Great post. I think KCya will return to form, and especially that lack of roles doomed the 16 bullpen.

I also think there was zero chance KCya would have returned to form here. I'm excited about the 17 bully.

This is where I'm getting lost on this conversation. Other than the last month, when the bullpen was already melting down, when was there a great lack of roles in the bullpen? I remember Romo being the 8th inning guy (when healthy), Casilla closing and Lopez being the lefty specialist. Strickland and Kontos slotted in the 6th and 7th innings (there was some movement between them) and Gearrin was the mop up guy. I do think that Strickland filled in for Romo when he was injured but there's going to be movement in roles when injuries occur. That has to be expected. Are you all just referring to September or is this a more blanket statement for the entire season? If the latter, who and what roles were not defined?

 

[LHG]

A few interesting transactions:
Detroit Tigers signed Waldis Joaquin (remember him?), Travis Blackley and Juan Perez to minor league deals.
Kansas City Royals signed Jonathan Sanchez (and Brooks Conrad!) to a minor league deal.
Miami Marlins signed Kelvin Marte to a minor league deal.

 

[LHG]

Anyone remember Eric Hacker? Apparently, he has pitched decently in Korea and will be returning for a 5th season there in 2017 - Eric Hacker Re-Signs With KBO's NC Dinos

 

[Stokes1931]

Anyone remember Eric Hacker? Apparently, he has pitched decently in Korea and will be returning for a 5th season there in 2017 - Eric Hacker Re-Signs With KBO's NC Dinos

Didn't he get a WS ring for his 10 innings with the Giants in 2012?

 

[LHG]

Indians Designate Left-Hander Edwin Escobar For Assignment
I didn't know that he was related to so many baseball players. It would be nice to see a possible reunion with the Giants' farm system (better than some of the guys the organization inevitably pick up) as he is still young and has a nice arm. If he could only put it all together.

 

[calsnowskier]

Indians Designate Left-Hander Edwin Escobar For Assignment
I didn't know that he was related to so many baseball players. It would be nice to see a possible reunion with the Giants' farm system (better than some of the guys the organization inevitably pick up) as he is still young and has a nice arm. If he could only put it all together.

Meh.

He has been passed around the league more than a woman at a CIA convention in South America.

 

[LHG]

Chris Dominguez signed a minor league deal with the Cubs and Jackson Williams signed a minor league deal with the Pirates.