Former Giants in the Big Leagues - 2024 edition

[calsnowskier]

Damn, really had high hopes when he came here. Guess it wasn’t all on his situation in SF

His numbers SLIGHTLY improved in Atl, but he was still bad.

 

[LHG]

Braves Trade Jorge Soler To Angels

The Braves started their offseason by trading outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler to the Angels. Read more at MLB Trade Rumors.

www.mlbtraderumors.com

Soler kicked to the curb from Atlanta.

I kinda like this trade for the Angels. If Soler can continue to improve, he may allow the Angels to actually win a trade. Canning seems serviceable as a back of a rotation starter but Soler's ceiling could get the Angels a potent middle of the order bat. Of course, if early 2024 Soler shows up, then the Angels will look dumb once again.

 

[LHG]

It is that time of the year again, where I look at how former Giants did in the big leagues in 2024. Just to remind everyone, a player is counted in this endeavor if the player (A) played with the big league club in SF, (B) played in the Giants' farm system; (C) was ever on the Giants' 40 man roster; and/or (D) was involved in the big league club's spring training.

This year, a total of 97 (!) former Giants appeared on a big league team and played in at least 1 big league game. For the first time since I've started tracking this (I did miss last year though) all other 29 big league teams had at least 1 former Giant on their club at some point in the season. The club with the most former Giants in 2024? That would be the formerly known as Anaheim Angels, with 10 former Giants (Willie Calhoun, Kevin Pillar, Tyler Anderson, Hunter Strickland, Matt Moore, Jose Marte, Johnny Cueto, Mike Baumann and Amir Garrett). And who had the least? That would be a 4 way tie - Arizona Diamondbacks (Joc Pederson), Detroit Tigers (Shelby Miller), Saint Louis Cardinals (Brandon Crawford) and Boston Red Sox (Tyler Heineman). Heineman's 2 game stint with the Red Sox gives them the edge for least amount of playing time in this group.

So who would make up a 26 man roster from this group? I've pulled the players with the most ABs for position players, and looked at who posted the best numbers as starting pitchers and relief pitchers to compile this "closest we could get to All-Star" former Giants.

Catcher - This is not a very deep group at all. A total of 8 players caught at the big league level this year among this group. Only two of them got into more than 20 games (and of the remaining 6, only 2 more caught more than 7 games). They are: Gary Sanchez (.220/.307/.392 in 280 PAs with Milwaukee) and Joey Bart (.265/.337/.462 in 282 PAs with Pittsburgh). Their 168 combined games make for a very even platoon situation.

Infield - This is another light group of regulars so I'll need to fudge a bit to build a roster. Connor Joe was the guy with the most PAs who also played 1st base, so he gets stuck there by default (his .228/.320/.368 in 416 PAs with the Pirates was slightly below league average for 1st basemen, the bar has sunk low my friends). The Marlins snatched up Otto Lopez from the Giants early in the year and played him mainly at 2nd base, where he hit .270/.313/.377 in 434 PAs. Paul DeJong played a lot of shortstop with the White Sox and hit .227/.277/.417 (482 PAs) between there and the Braves (where he played more 3rd base). Donovan Solano rounds out the starting infield. He played more at 3rd base (but also some at 1st and 2nd) for the Padres and hit .286/.343/.417 in 309 PAs. No more primarily infielder got into more than 46 games on the year.

Outfield - Here is where most of the playing time occurred, with 17 outfielders. However, its a mostly pitiful hitting group. Based on playing time, the starting 3 would be: Left Field - Bryan Reynolds (.275/.344/.447 in 692 PAs with the Pirates); Center Field - Jose Siri (.187/.255/.366 in 448 PAs with Tampa Bay); Right Field - Mitch Haniger (.208/.286/.334 in 423 PAs with Seattle). Mike Tauchman slides in as the 4th outfielder, playing mainly in right field but some time at left and center. He hit .248/.357/.366 in 350 PAs with the Cubs. Mauricio Dubon would fit in well as the 5th outfielder/slash super utility. He got into a total of 137 games but at a total of 7 different positions (everywhere but catcher and pitcher) and hit .269/.296/.361 in 428 PAs with the Astros.

Designated Hitter - Two players got a lot of playing time at the DH spot this past season - Joc Pederson (.275/.393/.515 in 449 PAs with the D-Backs) and Andrew McCutchen (.232/.328/.411 in 515 PAs with the Pirates). While Pederson played exclusively at DH (some team finally got it right), McCutchen did play a little (emphasize a little, like less than 15 games) in right field. So I am putting them both on the roster.

Starting rotation - This is a pretty strong group, the strength of this whole roster. It starts with Zack Wheeler, who started 32 games with the Phillies and posted a 2.57 ERA and 0.955 WHIP in 200 IP. His 158 ERA+ puts him firmly in ace status. Following behind him is a surprise - Tobias Myers (3.00 ERA and 1.174 WHIP in 25 starts). No one else in this group could beat him out for number 2, with an ERA+ of 140. Getting the nod at the 3rd spot was a bit trickier, as there are a few pitchers close together, but Sean Manaea (114 ERA+) gets it on the strength of a 3.47 ERA and 1.084 WHIP in 32 starts with the Mets. Right behind him are Zack Littell (3.63 ERA, 1.247 WHIP in 29 starts with Tampa Bay) and Tyler Anderson (3.81 ERA, 1.288 WHIP in 31 starts with the Angels), both with an ERA+ of 110. However, it is hard to choose between one of these two and Kevin Gausman (3.83 ERA, 1.221 WHIP in 31 starts with Toronto) so I'll fudge a bit and go with a 6 man rotation.

Bullpen - First, let's start with a closer. Oh wait, the guy that would lead this team (with 4 saves) wasn't very good. So we'll just stick the guy with the best season here - Derek Law (155 ERA+). In 75 games with the Nationals, he only saved 1 game but posted a 2.60 ERA and 1.178 WHIP (90 IP). However, close behind him is Scott Alexander (2.56 ERA, 1.190 WHIP in 45 games with the A's) with an ERA+ of 155. Maybe they could share the closing/set up man roles. Sam Long (3.16 ERA 1.195 WHIP in 43 games with the Royals), Sam Moll (3.35 ERA, 1.088 WHIP in 48 games with the Reds), Anthony Banda (3.08 ERA, 1.248 WHIP in 48 games with the Dodgers) and Hunter Strickland (3.31 ERA, 1.091 WHIP in 72 games with the Angels) would take the next 4 bullpen spots. I'm going to combine two pitchers for the last bullpen spot. Dedniel Nunez (2.31 ERA, 0.914 WHIP in 25 games with the Mets) and Jakob Junis (2.69 ERA, 0.851 WHIP in 24 games with the Reds and Brewers) both pitched well but were limited due to injuries. They combine to pust a really good season, so let's consider one healthy while the other is injured and they swap during the season.

Honorable mentions:
Hitters - Jorge Soler. He finished 2024 strong with the Braves and posted a .243/.356/.493 slash with them in 182 PAs. That is in line with his 2023 season. Too bad he didn't do the same with the Giants.
Small sample size - I'm putting 4 hitters here because, while they did perform well in the big leagues, it was all in 18 or fewer games. They are: Cal Stevenson, Phillies (.294/.345/.549 in 27 PAs); Alexander Canario, Cubs (.280/.357/.440 in 28 PAs); Matt Duffy, Rangers (.286/.500/.286 in 10 PAs) and Austin Wynns, Reds (.368/.400/.579 in 20 PAs).
Bullpen - Pierce Johnson (3.67 ERA, 1.296 WHIP in 58 games with Braves)
Small sample size - Matthew Boyd (8 starts - 2.72 ERA, 1.134 WHIp with Guardians); Alex Cobb (3 starts - 2.76 ERA, 1.043 WHIP with Guardians); Jose Marte (2.33 ERA, 1.241 WHIP in 14 games with Angels); Prelander Berroa (3.32 ERA, 1.478 WHIP but 12.3 K/9 in 17 games with White Sox)

 

[sf1giantfan]

I really appreciate the effort you put into this, it keeps me coming back to enjoy the content.
Also the Cards released Crawford, just wanted everyone to know.

 

[LHG]

I really appreciate the effort you put into this, it keeps me coming back to enjoy the content.
Also the Cards released Crawford, just wanted everyone to know.

 

[LHG]

His numbers SLIGHTLY improved in Atl, but he was still bad.

His numbers were much better with ATL than SF but one thing I didn't think about with the Angels is Mike Trout. Not sure why they wouldn't keep the DH spot clear for him, unless he is adamant about continuing to play in the outfield. Maybe this is just the Angels' way.

 

[tzill]

This prompted me to take a look at Carlos Correa, and what his contract would have looked like if the Giants didn't back out.

Remember it would have been 13/350 (AAV of $27M)

2023: 1.4 WAR; 94 OPS+
2024: 3.7 WAR; 152 OPS+

Total 5.1 WAR, cost $54M...slight overpay.

BUT! He'd still have 11 years left on that contract.

We dodged a bullet.

 

[LHG]

This prompted me to take a look at Carlos Correa, and what his contract would have looked like if the Giants didn't back out.

Remember it would have been 13/350 (AAV of $27M)

2023: 1.4 WAR; 94 OPS+
2024: 3.7 WAR; 152 OPS+

Total 5.1 WAR, cost $54M...slight overpay.

BUT! He'd still have 11 years left on that contract.

We dodged a bullet.

I briefly considered adding him to my list of former Giants, just as a joke. But I thought better of it.

If he can put in a few more years like 2024, the contract may work out for the Twins. However, it would have been difficult for the Giants' contract to have worked out to even be a slight overpay for the duration of the deal.

 

[calsnowskier]

Sean Manaea To Opt Out Of Mets Contract

Left-hander Sean Manaea declined the player option on his contract with the Mets and is once again a free agent. Read more at MLB Trade Rumors.

www.mlbtraderumors.com

 

[calsnowskier]

Athletics Sign Matt Krook To Minor League Deal

The Athletics have signed left-handed pitcher Matt Krook to a minor league contract.

www.mlbtraderumors.com

 

[LHG]

This is an interesting transaction.

Sandro Fabian Reportedly Signs Three-Year Deal With NPB's Hiroshima Toyo Carp

Outfielder Sandro Fabian has reportedly agreed to join the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, per details from …

www.mlbtraderumors.com

 

[LHG]

A handful of former Giants got nontendered by their current teams today. The list:
Athletics - Dany Jimenez
Cubs - Mike Tauchman
Mets - Alex Young
Padres - Bryce Johnson
Pirates - Connor Joe

 

[calsnowskier]

A handful of former Giants got nontendered by their current teams today. The list:
Athletics - Dany Jimenez
Cubs - Mike Tauchman
Mets - Alex Young
Padres - Bryce Johnson
Pirates - Connor Joe

Interesting to see Derrick Law not on that list. Good for him.

 

[LHG]

Interesting to see Derrick Law not on that list. Good for him.

There were rumors and I thought it odd that his team would jettison him. He had a decent year. Of course, Kyle Finnegan was good with the Nationals last year (except for the late season meltdowns) and he got nontendered.

 

[tzill]

There were rumors and I thought it odd that his team would jettison him. He had a decent year. Of course, Kyle Finnegan was good with the Nationals last year (except for the late season meltdowns) and he got nontendered.

With Finnegan, it was mostly luck. Dude has zero ability to miss bats.

 

[calsnowskier]

With Finnegan, it was mostly luck. Dude has zero ability to miss bats.

Tyler Rogers is a pitch-to-contact. Cain was a pitch-to-contact. Woody was a pitch-to-contact.

I wouldn’t call any of them “lucky”.

 

[LHG]

Tyler Rogers is a pitch-to-contact. Cain was a pitch-to-contact. Woody was a pitch-to-contact.

I wouldn’t call any of them “lucky”.

Wasn't Maddux a pitch-to-contact guy as well?

 

[calsnowskier]

Wasn't Maddux a pitch-to-contact guy as well?

Another great example.

 

[tzill]

Tyler Rogers is a pitch-to-contact. Cain was a pitch-to-contact. Woody was a pitch-to-contact.

I wouldn’t call any of them “lucky”.

With Finnegan, it was mostly luck. Dude has zero ability to miss bats.

I'm not saying all PTC guys are lucky. I'm saying Finnegan is. Contact off him is LOUD. Hard pass

 

[LHG]

I'm not saying all PTC guys are lucky. I'm saying Finnegan is. Contact off him is LOUD. Hard pass

Not trying to say that the Giants should sign him. Just odd the Nats let him walk.