2018 Roster Expectations

[SFGRTB]

All rumors are we are getting Cain for center

The Giants have said time and time again that they are NOT going to sign a guy with a QO.

Also the fact that those rumors came from national media, I would ignore them.

 

[calsnowskier]

Evans was just on Tolbert and they were discussing the #4 and #5 rotation slots. Gregorio was not even mentioned in passing.

Either he has a hidden option; is penciled in for the bully; is expected to be traded; or is so off the radar, we should expect him to be DFA’d without concern for his survival.

 

[SFGRTB]

My point from earlier though, at least 3B is now set for a few years. No one is getting blocked there anyway. And that also means that Panik is staying long term.

This deal is net-neutral for the luxury tax according to Bobby Evans too (for next year).

So the Giants still have around $9M-$16M to play around with.

 

[SFGRTB]

Evans was just on Tolbert and they were discussing the #4 and #5 rotation slots. Gregorio was not even mentioned in passing.

Either he has a hidden option; is penciled in for the bully; is expected to be traded; or is so off the radar, we should expect him to be DFA’d without concern for his survival.

A hidden option would be nice. Perhaps he hasn't looked good, or lost all good graces with the org after his suspension.

I'm assuming Stratton and Blach were heavily mentioned, with Beede mentioned too and a vet option, if only to make sure Beede doesn't think the spot is his?

 

[LHG]

For shins and goggles...

Panik
Posey
Longoria
Bruce
Belt
Pence / McParker
Crawford
Duggar
Pitcher

That actually has some length. But OF defense would be rough, and the DL will be used a LOT.

I'd put Belt in the 2 spot, move Posey to 3rd and Longoria down to 5th (or even 6th and bump Crawford to the 5th spot).

 

[SFGRTB]

Brian Sabean also quoted saying "We're not the type of organization or fan base that can go through a rebuild. We need to press the reset button and that's what we're trying to do"

Which is code for "the ownership group won't stand for losing money for a few years, so this is what we gotta do"

Which for the front office, I can appreciate the effort. There are absolutely other ways to build a team than just tanking for a draft pick. Look at the Dodgers for example.....

Unfortunately the Giants have not shown a willingness to operate like that in the past either.

BUT, I think all these recent changes on the minor league landscape are a flag for that type of change. The big overhaul in scouting and player development and even the big league staff was a message that they understand they needed to change philosophies.

So that's exciting to me. The Giants are hopefully going to be competitive for a long time and show a willingness to spend money to improve the minor league system as well, like the Dodgers do. Because if they don't spend money to fix the minor leagues.... they're fucked.

 

[calsnowskier]

A hidden option would be nice. Perhaps he hasn't looked good, or lost all good graces with the org after his suspension.

I'm assuming Stratton and Blach were heavily mentioned, with Beede mentioned too and a vet option, if only to make sure Beede doesn't think the spot is his?

Evans specifically brought up Suarez.

Stratton, Blach, Beede and Suarez are the internal options (according to Evans). But they think they might need one more.

 

[calsnowskier]

I'd put Belt in the 2 spot, move Posey to 3rd and Longoria down to 5th (or even 6th and bump Crawford to the 5th spot).

I really like Crawford in the 8 hole. He has the eye/power combo that works well with no protection.

With Longo and (potentially) Bruce, Belt would be able to let ‘er rip a bit more, so I would expect a bit more power. Having Panik and Posey setting up for boooers at the top could be interesting.

 

[SFGRTB]

I really like Crawford in the 8 hole. He has the eye/power combo that works well with no protection.

With Longo and (potentially) Bruce, Belt would be able to let ‘er rip a bit more, so I would expect a bit more power. Having Panik and Posey setting up for boooers at the top could be interesting.

I've always liked Posey batting 1st or 2nd.

 

[SFGRTB]

Evans specifically brought up Suarez.

Stratton, Blach, Beede and Suarez are the internal options (according to Evans). But they think they might need one more.

Another Russ Ortiz/Todd Wellemeyer situation I gather.

I'm excited to see what Suarez can do. And obviously Beede as well. Just think Suarez is the overlooked guy.

 

[LHG]

Evans specifically brought up Suarez.

Stratton, Blach, Beede and Suarez are the internal options (according to Evans). But they think they might need one more.

I figured the FO wouldn't be comfortable filling two spots in the rotation internally. I wonder if the Giants will even consider Gregorio for a bullpen spot or if just hope that either (A) he looks good in spring training and they can trade or (B) he is able to pass waivers at the end of spring training.

 

[SFGRTB]

So depending on the range of this, the Giants may actually save some money in this deal towards the tax line. Tough to say with so many little factors. It's fair to say though the Giants are doing everything they can to get as much space as possible under the line, likely to add one more big piece.

 

[LHG]

I really like Crawford in the 8 hole. He has the eye/power combo that works well with no protection.

With Longo and (potentially) Bruce, Belt would be able to let ‘er rip a bit more, so I would expect a bit more power. Having Panik and Posey setting up for boooers at the top could be interesting.

Longoria's on base seems to make him a bit of a stretch to be in the 3rd spot. Usually, the team's best hitter is placed there. That's why I have Posey there. Both he and Belt have on the on base percentages to hit 2nd. I just looked at Belt's numbers in the different parts of the lineup and his career OPS at the numbers #2, #3, #4, #5, #6 and #9 spots are all over .800. The best two are #4 (.924 in 128 ABs) and #6 (.841 in 738 ABs).

 

[LHG]

I know that Longoria has the better bat of the two, but it was interesting to see his and Span's 2017 slash lines side by side:

Longoria - .261/.313/.424
Span - .272/.329/.427

Longoria's batting average and on base in 2017 were close to his career norms (AVG was .017 lower while on base was .005 lower). Its his power that has gone downhill in recent seasons. His career slugging is .483 but has only gotten that high, or higher, once in the previous 4 seasons.

 

[SFGRTB]

 

[SFGRTB]

I know that Longoria has the better bat of the two, but it was interesting to see his and Span's 2017 slash lines side by side:

Longoria - .261/.313/.424
Span - .272/.329/.427

Longoria's batting average and on base in 2017 were close to his career norms (AVG was .017 lower while on base was .005 lower). Its his power that has gone downhill in recent seasons. His career slugging is .483 but has only gotten that high, or higher, once in the previous 4 seasons.

Longo's groundball% was a career high and his flyball% was a career low. Hopefully both of those get back towards the mean for him and lead to a better line.

I liked Span as a platoon guy in LF, and I think he's going to have a nice year in Tampa TBH.

 

[LHG]

Another Russ Ortiz/Todd Wellemeyer situation I gather.

I'm excited to see what Suarez can do. And obviously Beede as well. Just think Suarez is the overlooked guy.

I hope that they don't go this route. Neither of those guys' numbers suggest that the veteran filler works for anything more than to delay the service clock. Both pitched so badly, the team might as well just throw the rookie into the fire of the big leagues. The bumps along the way would shake out to similar production. If the Giants do go the way of Wellemeyer/Ortiz, then Trevor Cahill makes a lot of sense. His season looked as bad as both of those did the year before they came to/back to the Giants.

 

[SFGRTB]

I hope that they don't go this route. Neither of those guys' numbers suggest that the veteran filler works for anything more than to delay the service clock. Both pitched so badly, the team might as well just throw the rookie into the fire of the big leagues. The bumps along the way would shake out to similar production. If the Giants do go the way of Wellemeyer/Ortiz, then Trevor Cahill makes a lot of sense. His season looked as bad as both of those did the year before they came to/back to the Giants.

The lastest name in the rumor mill is Scott Feldman, which fills that scenario just as "well"

 

[LHG]

Longo's groundball% was a career high and his flyball% was a career low. Hopefully both of those get back towards the mean for him and lead to a better line.

I liked Span as a platoon guy in LF, and I think he's going to have a nice year in Tampa TBH.

It would be nice but his infield-fly rate has been going up for the past four years. He may just be losing his power.

 

[SFGRTB]

Pulled it from this website.

Based off of Baggs' recent findings, it seems like Cots Baseball Contracts is on top of the luxury tax counter and roster resource isn't (edit- did not expect the site to post the entire spreadsheet, wonder if this auto updates?):



@calsnowskier if this table auto-updates, might be worth throwing on the current roster pinned page. Your call Current Roster