A week ago, you, a Giants fan, could have dreamed about the team signing every big name on the market.
Sure, some of them were less realistic than others — were they gonna play Corey Seager at second base? Maybe!!!! — but the team has lots of money and a smart front office and a state of the art player development program, and it seems like players would want to come here.
Yes, I also thought something similar when the team was in Dynasty Mode, and absolutely could not sign any of the big free agents, but, I figured, this time it’s different! This time, they can get it done. This time, they have a front office that’s ahead of the curve instead of behind it. This time, if they see a name that they really want, there’s no reason on Earth that-
And that’s about when 75% of the big names on the market signed, all of them with the not-Giants.
I don’t want to slight Alex Cobb here, who is reportedly on the verge of signing with the Giants and whose stats I have definitely looked up in order to have an informed opinion, and I don’t want to slight Anthony DeSclafani or Alex Wood either, both of whom were good players last year, but neither of them is a Difference Maker the way that Max Scherzer or Marcus Semien are Difference Makers. They are excellent complementary players, and it is, at the very least, an open question whether the Giants have enough to complement.
Yes, the team won 107 games last year, but they’ve clearly lost a lot more than they’ve gained this offseason. Buster Posey is gone, and hopefully Joey Bart will be a good major league catcher, but he struck out almost 30% of the time in AAA last year, and was an above league average hitter but not that far above, and that’s worrying. That’s not someone who you automatically hand the reins to and say, “All yours, kid. We’ll see you in 12 years when you retire a beloved legend.”
Kevin Gausman is gone too, and while the Giants seem likely to improve Alex Cobb — again, I certainly know at least two facts about Alex Cobb and am showing exemplary restraint in not sharing them with you all the time just to prove how many things I know about him — they probably won’t improve him to a 6th place Cy Young finish, so that’ll be a downgrade.
So even before you factor in the likelihood of regression from some of the returning players, you look at this team and understand it is likely to be substantially worse. What you want, then, is a splash. Something to strike fear into the hearts of teams around the league. Something that you can point to and say, yeah, last year we had those guys, but this year we have this guy. Something that makes you think that life is an endless cycle of rejuvenation, not an endless cycle of decay. Something that excites you.
Instead, you get Alex Cobb.
Probably.
As of 9:15 on Monday night, the deal’s technically not done yet, you know.
Look, maybe this is the best baseball move. Maybe Robbie Ray’s going to go back to walking tons of guys, and Jon Gray won’t be anything special, and Max Scherzer will be hurt all the time, and Marcus Stroman will continue being short, which definitively means he’ll break down in Year 3 of his new contract. I don’t know. But the team doesn’t seem to be taking the big swings that will make them better in the short term.
Admittedly, this could all be moot if the Giants sign Nick Castellanos tomorrow, or win the bidding for Seiya Suzuki, or do actually pony up for Stroman. But all we’re seeing right now is a free agent frenzy, as players scramble for financial security before the lockout and teams that otherwise might not be in the running for those players pay big money to lock in roster certainty.
The Giants, meanwhile, are paying more money to re-sign players who were on the team last year. It’s dispiriting. It’s barely any fun at all. Maybe during the season we’ll appreciate that the team went with “prudent” moves over fun ones, but right now, I want some fun before the owners lock out the players, dammit. C’mon, Giants. Sign that perfect free agent I alluded to in the title who I haven’t mentioned yet.
Crap! Don’t want to leave my audience hanging here.
Okay, the new perfect free agent is, oh, let’s say, Chris Taylor. Versatile, good hitter, Farhan knows him, losing him makes the Dodgers worse. There you go. Nailed it. See? I’ve got good information for you. Just not about Alex Cobb.