Official 2023 San Francisco Giants Off-Season Thread - Jung Hoo Lee signs with SF 6-years $113 Million

[ThePeoplesChamp_]

another season with y’all let’s go Giants

 

[thasoleful1]

Defense playing pretty bad today

 

[Fozz]

Defense playing pretty bad today

It's Opening Day.

Solid win to start the season. The team had to get the win with a little dramatic flair.

Webb looked great.
Belt looked good after being out majority of the Spring. He'll get hot, then cool off. Unless we see a "Crawford-type" year from him this year.
Yaz had some good swings, but I'm sure he was pressing. He looks like he bulked up a little too.
Thairo Estrada is my sleeper player this year. Dude already made some impressive plays with the glove today and he hit a dinger?
Excited for Joc Pederson.
I hope Ruff has a big year.
Dubon needs to go.

Rodon is on the mound tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing how he pitches.

Looking at next Wednesday's day game against the Padres...

 

[spizike231]

The ab I saw for Joc he just wanted to knock every pitch into the cove. Ended up striking out.

 

[red is on nt]

Heliot Ramos is getting the call up for tomorrow's game. According to Pavlovic, he'll be starting.

 

[Fozz]

2-3 For Heliot. I hope he sticks around the rest of the season. Dubon has not been impressive at the start.

I think Luke Williams can stick a 3B until Longo returns. He can actually throw to 1B accurately.

 

[Fozz]

They need to let Heliot play along with Joc and Yaz. The OF production has been hideous.

Seiya Suzuki should've been offered the money. Dude is already producing for the Cubs.

 

[sohi 23]

They need to let Heliot play along with Joc and Yaz. The OF production has been hideous.

Seiya Suzuki should've been offered the money. Dude is already producing for the Cubs.

He looks good man. I’m mad we didn’t offer up more bread.

 

[Fozz]

He looks good man. I’m mad we didn’t offer up more bread.

I want to know if they even offered him anything at all. The deal he signed was affordable.

How does Duggar, Slater, and Dubon convince you that they can produce more on the field than Suzuki? The team had enough money to sign him and Joc.

Saving all this money only to save more money.

I'm all for the prospects...but he would've been a nice piece on this team.

 

[sohi 23]

Yeah I’m cool with being financially responsible and I’m sure Farhan will strike when the right opportunity arises but fans are impatient

 

[sohi 23]

I know the Giants have been slumping bad recently but I gotta bump this thread to say #ThankYouBuster.

No doubt Hall of Famer. It was a pleasure to watch his entire career in the bay.

 

[sohi 23]

This ceremony got me in my feels. The Buster Posey era brought me so much joy. What a decade man.

 

[danger style]

These last two innings

 

[ozboi]

Swinging at air dang

 

[Fozz]

Always great to see the Giants sweep the Dodgers. Bullpen was lights out this weekend.

 

[spizike231]

Always great to see the Giants sweep the Dodgers. Bullpen was lights out this weekend.

Us in the playoffs -

Us in a regular series at home -

 

[Fozz]

Welp. Would've been nice to get back-to-back series sweeps. I hope they take care of business in Pittsburgh

 

[Fozz]

Welp. Looks like this is the roster the Giants are going to make a push for the wildcard.

 

[sohi 23]

idk about the rest of y’all but I consider this the true year 1 of the rebuild. We have a long way to go to compete with the padres and dodgers

 

[Fozz]

With the minor moves Farhan made yesterday, I think he really needs to build the roster for next year. Meaning, going for Judge and other MLB ready players that can contribute and allow the team to compete while the top prospects continue to grow and prep for the MLB.

Sucks that Hunter Bishop doesn't seem like he's going to pan out. Also hoping Patrick Bailey and Luciano really begin to find their groove.

We'll just wait and see. But as of now, this team ain't making a fight for the wildcard if their bullpen pitches this way.

 

[ozboi]

They get what they pay for

 

[Fozz]

Giants officially announce Astros' Putila as new GM​

AN FRANCISCO -- When the Giants needed a new general manager in 2019, they chose a young executive from a Chicago Cubs franchise that won the World Series in 2016. For Scott Harris' replacement, the Giants went to the 2017 champion.S

Former Houston Astros assistant general manager Pete Putila was named the Giants' new general manager on Monday night, ending a quick search that started when Harris took the president of operations job with the Detroit Tigers in September. Putila has spent the last 12 seasons with the Astros and was in his third year as assistant general manager.

Putila was a finalist for the job when president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi hired Harris in 2019, and Zaidi said he was thrilled that he got another shot to interview Putila and bring him in this time. The Giants had several finalists who interviewed over the last few weeks, but Putila's background in player development -- for an organization that does it as well as anybody -- stood out.

"He has an extensive background in player development," Zaidi said. "That doesn't necessarily mean that you're limiting the scope to the minor leagues. We've talked a lot over the last couple years about how much we value continued player development through the Major League level and think players can continue to improve. That's really been a point of emphasis throughout Pete's successful career with the Astros."

A Pennsylvania native who went to West Virginia University, Putila started with the Astros as an intern in 2011 and worked his way up through the baseball operations department, working as a director of player development and then assistant GM. Asked what stood out about the Giants since his previous interview, Putila pointed to the record-setting 2021 squad.

"I think it's incredible the team set a franchise record with 107 wins in one of the tougher divisions in the league," Putila said. "I think that speaks to the players, obviously. Players play and it's all about the players. It also speaks to (Gabe Kapler) and the coaching staff and their ability to put them in the best position to succeed."

RELATED: Report: Giants look to trade Stella, shed $11.5M contract​

In introducing Putilia, Zaidi said he also was swayed by an "incredible number of really strong endorsements from people who had worked with Pete in the Astros organization." The process this time was different than in 2019, when Zaidi did most of the interviews himself. This time around, candidates met with everyone from Larry Baer and Kapler, to prominent members of the baseball operations department like Zack Minasian, Jeremy Shelley and Yeshayah Goldfarb.

"Pete was the consensus choice from those internal discussions," Zaidi said.

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Interested in seeing what Putila will bring to the Giants org. Buster supposedly recommended him based off his player development. We'll see. IMO, I feel like Buster joining the ownership group was a PR move and he's going to be the 'face'.

 

[Fozz]

Why Zaidi sees role for Longo on Giants' 2023 roster​

AN FRANCISCO -- The offseason is a time for subterfuge. It's months and months of anonymous sources, cagey answers and leaked meetings meant to benefit one side of negotiations or the other. Except, it seems, in the case of Evan Longoria and the Giants.S

On Monday of last week, Longoria sat down in a barstool chair in the visiting clubhouse at Petco Park, and made it very, very clear that he would like to return to the Giants, even if they don't pick up his full $13 million option. At the end of the week, Farhan Zaidi, the man who will ultimately make that decision, showed some of his own cards.

"There's certainly a role for Longo on our team in 2023," Zaidi said during his end-of-season Zoom call.

Both sides have made it clear they would like a reunion, and most of the traditional hurdles seem to be more minor issues. The Giants can simply pick up the $13 million option and bring Longoria back, but that approach seems unlikely. Longoria himself admitted he wouldn't get that much on the open market, or likely even the $8 million difference between the option and a buyout clause, and he said he would be open to finding a number somewhere in between $5 million -- the buyout figure -- and $13 million that satisfies both sides.

"I think that's a real possibility," he said.

Assuming money doesn't stand in the way, the key for the Giants will be determining how Longoria fits a 2023 roster that needs to be younger and more athletic. Zaidi started his media session by talking about that need, and he was speaking on a day when Longoria celebrated his 37th birthday.

But the Giants see a way to thread the needle at third base for one more season. Zaidi noted that Longoria should fit with the way the Giants like to manage their roster.

"I think one of the questions for us with Longo -- and it's a question for him as well -- is at this point of his career what's the appropriate workload and what's the appropriate role," Zaidi said. "He's got a great relationship with (manager Gabe Kapler) and I think that helped us navigate, particularly in the second half of the season, what he could manage, especially after his hamstring issues. But we know he can still play a great third base, he can give you a good at-bat, and when he's 100 percent or as close to 100 percent as you can be during the grind of the season, he can be a real asset to a team both on the field and off."

Longoria has brought a lot to the table the last few seasons from a leadership perspective, but he also remains the Giants' best option at third base when healthy. He had an OPS+ of 124 with 13 homers in 2021, and this season he was at 114 and 14 homers. That puts him comfortably above league-average as a hitter, and he remains particularly dangerous against left-handed pitching. Among Giants who played for the team both of the last two seasons, Longoria's .915 OPS against lefties easily leads the way.

Longoria, even this late in his career, also still remains the roster's best defensive option at third base, at least until prospect Casey Schmitt is ready.

The caveat to all of that production is that it has come in limited time. Longoria's season-ending IL stint for a fractured thumb was his fourth of the year, and he played just 89 games a year after appearing in 81.

RELATED: Former Astros exec Putila is named Giants GM​

If the Giants are to bring him back, they probably should not plan for much more, and that's where it sounds like they learned a tough lesson in 2022. Zaidi noted that one of the lessons from this past season was the need to "manage the workloads for those veteran players," which in 2023 could mean keeping a close eye on Longoria and Brandon Crawford, in particular. The Giants were too dependent on those two, plus Brandon Belt, this past season, and it burned them when injuries popped up.

If Longoria is back, the Giants will go into the season hoping for much of what he has given them the last two years: Good defense and solid offensive production, albeit in a somewhat limited role. That still has value, though.

If Longoria can duplicate the 1.3 Wins Above Replacement he provided in 2022, he would more than make a modest one-year deal worthwhile. If not, the Giants will go into next year knowing they have J.D. Davis, David Villar, Wilmer Flores and, at some point, Schmitt, ready to soak up those innings.

Schmitt, who had a breakout year in the minors, is likely the long-term solution at the position. If he hits as he did in High-A and Double-A this summer, he could be an All-Star. Even if he doesn't, his glove could make him a Gold Glove candidate. The Giants will, one day soon, have their young and athletic third baseman, but as they wait for Schmitt to finish developing, they sure seem likely to bring Longoria back for a sixth season in orange and black.

"I don't want to get too much into the impending free agents and what the likelihood is of us bringing him back," Zaidi said, "But as far as he goes, there's certainly a role for him on our team, even if it's not us needing or expecting him to play 140, 150 games at third base."

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Honestly am not sure if I'd prefer him back. Maybe on a cheaper deal.

 

[ozboi]

champs lmaaaooooooo

 

[spizike231]

So satisfying to see LA not be in the running anymore

Now if the Yankees can get knocked out too I’d be stoked for this post lol