They Know the Way in the Bay
January 17, 2018
San Francisco had a tough year for the franchise last season. After going 64-98 and getting the #2 pick in the draft they are looking for a quick bounce back. Looking at how last year went, I feel that the Giants were a team that extremely underperformed. They have hitting talent in Brandon Belt, Buster Posey, and Hunter Pence. They have pitching talent in Madison Bumgarner, Jeff Samardzija, and Johnny Cueto, but the problem was they had a couple holes in their lineup and bullpen which hurt them in close games. The offseason has rolled around and oh boy have the Giants done some good and they aren’t done yet. The Pirates dealt all-star OF Andrew McCutchen to the Giants in exchange for RP Kyle Crick and a minor leaguer. The Giants had a hole in their outfield and they filled it with McCutchen. The former NL MVP hit .279 with a .363 OBP to go along with 28 HR and 88 RBI’s. He will bring a big bat to the lineup who hit .255 as a whole not including pitchers.
Not only did they add McCutchen, but they also added 3B Evan Longoria from the Tampa Bay Rays. Longoria will fill the hole at third base and add yet another heavy bat into San Francisco’s lineup. Longoria hit .261 with a .313 OBP hitting 20 HR with 86 RBI’s. The Giants have now added two former All-Stars to their lineup to add to a well built lineup already in itself. But the Giants aren’t done. They have been in talks to acquire SP Yu Darvish and OF Lorenzo Cain and have put in on OF J.D. Martinez.
When the Giants start playing really well next year, don’t be surprised. They have picked up players from teams looking to start a rebuild such as Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay. They will chase other players and especially pitching. The lineup is now solid with Andrew McCutchen, Joe Panik, Evan Longoria, Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, Hunter Pence, Brandon Crawford, and potentially a Free Agent OF such as Cain. This team will be able to compete next year and the front office worked hard for that to happen. Just know it didn’t happen overnight.
Written by Nick Kazandjian
