Coming into the offseason, the Giants had a specific goal in mind.
YOU, A REAL WISE GUY: To come in second on big free agents in new and exciting ways!
No! Well, maybe, I don’t know what they were saying inside the building. But their publicly stated goal was this:
“We definitely this offseason are going be looking to get a little younger, a little more athletic”
That quote was from late August, but he backed it up in early October, as the Giants’ offseason was starting:
“We don’t necessarily view it as, ‘We need more everyday players.’ We’re looking at this as we want to get more athletic,” Zaidi said.
So, it was a mission statement then. More athletic. Younger. More athletic. If we’re reading between the lines, then the message is Hey Let’s Catch The Dang Ball On Occasion, which, great. I think everyone’s all for it.
So how did they seek to carry out this mission? What players did the Giants sign who were younger and more athletic than the guys who were around last year?
Well, they signed Mitch Haniger, who should probably be a DH. They signed Michael Conforto, who had been a perfectly able outfielder when healthy, so let’s all hope that shoulder holds up. They brought back Joc Pederson, who should definitely be a DH, and also kept JD Davis around, who should be a DH but at like 4 different positions. Sure, he’s not good at any of them, but he’s versatile!
You know what? That’s a good metaphor for the Giants:
The San Francisco Giants: Not actually good, but versatile!
By Fangraphs’ estimation, the Giants were the worst defensive team in the majors last year, and it’s hard to see where the big improvement is going to come from. Sure, they’ve already cut ties with at least some of their dead defensive weight, but there’s more out there, and they’re going to play. It’ll just get ugly.
If the team trots out a lineup with Pederson, Davis, and Haniger, that’s essentially three DHs with only one DH spot between them, so two of those guys are going to have some butchery to do. Beyond that, well, Brandon Crawford is playing shortstop and he’s not actually de-aging like Benjamn Button, so some regression from him is likely. Evan Longoria was one of the team’s steadier defenders last year, and now he’s in a much worse place now (Arizona). Luis Gonzalez was an absolute butcher in the field, so if he’s able to get into some games this year, it’s not going to go well for him.
The Giants have been calling defense a priority for a while. Yes, they tried to sign Carlos Correa, which certainly would have helped, and they tried to sign Aaron Judge, who moves reasonably well in the outfield, but this is still a team with more butchers than vegans. Maybe they won’t be the worst defense in the majors again in 2023, but it sure doesn’t seem like they’ll be anywhere close to the best.
Getting "younger and more athletic" is pretty tough to do via free agency since those players by definition are advancing in age. They gave it the old college try with the youngest free agent on the market, unfortunately Carlos Correa's ankle is apparently 47 years old with a two pack a day habit.
And with (I'm assuming) no appetite for trading prospects after a down year on the farm the defensive improvement is going to be limited to separating Joc from his glove as much as possible and having a 1B who plays the position with two legs (apologies to Belt, we love him). Also limiting the waiver wire to MLB lineup expressway that left the SFG roster 'enjoying' the defensive prowess of the Yerminator, the Padlos and the Fords should help some too.
All that said, I too don't really see much in the way of defensive improvement. They are deeper which will limit the oh-crap claim Padlo/trade for Machado moments of last year's cursed season. But 2023 really seems like a stop gap year while we wait for actual young and athletic players like Casey Schmitt, Vaun Brown, Luis Matos, to hopefully take steps towards SF.
I, too, wonder about the defense. If Schmitt comes up at some point, then yes - you’ve gotten younger and better defensively at 3B. But Villar wasn’t the problem in either category.
The Flores/Davis/Villar/Wade/Pederson Axis of Meh is really puzzling.